JESUS WOULD HAVE PREACHED, "REMEMBER GATELY!"

-- Duke Jeyaraj
Duke Jeyaraj's thoughts on the sudden death of Stephen Gately of Boyzone fame

His voice was "so sweet". Very melodious. A voice you felt like hearing time and again. His singing was awesome. Simply suberb. But now, he gone. He's dead. He was the voice of Boyzone's best ballad, No Matter What, one of the first modern pop stars to come out before he was outed, and an enthusiastic live performer who'd grab his crotch as high notes approached, allowing the audience's screams to drown out any vocal shortcomings. So wrote Peter Robinson for The Gaurdian. About who? About Boyzone's Stephen Gately. He is dead. Suddenly dead. Suddenly dead, when he was holidaying in Spain with his homosexual civil partner in a gay club, Andrew Cowles. He was not even 35.

He was the voice of Boyzone's best ballad, No Matter What, one of the first modern pop stars.

When I heard the news of his sudden death some somber thoughts crossed my mind. Some serious reflections flashed through my mind. May I share them with you?

I recall having listened to his smash hit song, "Words". The words for "Words" went this way: Talk in everlasting words and dedicate them all to me... And when I heard those words I recalled that is exactly what God had done for me. Confused? Stumped? Hang on. Let me explain: God talked in everlasting words and dedicated them to me. Jesus' words were everlasting, weren't they? Didn't He say, "Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away?" Those eternal words He spoke were specially meant for me. They were meant for you. Have you taken them seriously? Stephen Gately didn't. If he had, he would not have continued to be a homosexual. The Bible takes its stand against homosexsuality through an episode (Sodom and Gomorrah) as well as through edicts (for example, I Cor 6:9). It is to be noted that Stephen Gately suddently died when he was holidaying with his homosexual partner. It is quite possible that God sent judgement on him. I could be wrong. But I could be right as well. Read Amos 4:6-12. Verses 6-11 talk about the disasters God sent to the nation of Israel, to get His people's attention. But they did not repent. But they did not listen up. So in Verse 12, he tells them that they should get ready to meet Him. You will meet with God the moment you die. In other words, in Amos 4:12, God was telling His unrepentant and stiff-necked people, to get ready to die!

This is what God could have kept telling Stephen Gately: "Your parents gave you the name of the first martyr for the faith - Stephen. I gave you a voice that would 'wow' millions. Yet, you have turned against me, your Creator. You have been rebelled against my Word to become a homosexual and do other things displeasing to Me. Repent!" But Stephen Gately did not listen up. God was patient with him. Extremely patient. He gave him a long rope (He has been a homosexual for over 10 years, atleast). He gave his many chances. But you know what - God's patience has a limit. Read Jeremiah 6:16 and Jeremiah 7:16. Between these two chapters He lost his patience with Israel - a nation that told him, "No - we will not follow your ancient paths". That is why he stopped Prophet Jeremiah from praying for them. When they had become too stubborn, and there was no way they would repent (God knew this), why should a prophet of God waste his time, praying for them? God gave them up, because they gave God up, stubbornly (Romans 1:18-32).

I gave you a voice that would 'wow' millions. Yet, you have turned against me, your Creator

What you about you, buddy? God is being patient with you. Extremely patient. He does not want you to perish. He does not want live a life of hell and go to actual hell. But don't take his patience for granted. That could prove to be very costly. As Stephen Gately probably found out the other day when he was holidaying with homosexual partner in Spain. You cannot mock God and get away with it. Your sin will found you out, my Bible declares (Num 32:23).

Certain websites and newspapers also reported that Stephen Gately and his homosexual partner, Andy, were boozing away to glory in a gay bar they partied in, that fateful night. It was an "eight hour booze marathan". They continued boozing even after they returned to their holiday home with a Bulgarian young man they met up at the bar at the wee hour of 4:30 am. Andy went to the bedroom to have sex with a Bulgarian young man at 5:30 am while Stephen collapsed on the sofa in the living room in a drunken stupor.

Stephen Gately and his homosexual partner, Andy, were boozing away to glory in a gay bar they partied in, that fateful night.

When Andy woke up he found Stephen in the prayer position. When he tried to wake him up, he discovered to his horror that his homosexual partner was dead. Police believed he died a natural death after he choked on his vomit. Prophet Jeremiah warned in the Bible that vomiting and collapsing never to rise again while getting drunk could be a God-sent judgement (Jer 25:27). Did Stephen cry out to God before he died saying, "Oh Lord Jesus, please forgive me! I have sinned against you by living a homosexual lifestyle. On top of it, I have gotten drunk today, which is again a horrific violation of Your Word!"? We only hope that he did. Only the day of Judgement would reveal if he did.

Did Stephen cry out to God before he died saying, "Oh Lord Jesus, please forgive me!

Come now to the Lord Jesus. He can transform you from being a Stephen Gately (a talented Christian only by name, living in open sin) into a biblical Stephen (a Spirit filled believer who was willing even to die for Christ)! Stephen Gately's "husband" was unfaithful to him on that tragic night he died - it looks like. The friends you hang around with, committing sin after sin, may leave you high and dry, during the time of your crisis and pain. They could be far too busy to help you - busy enjoying sin's pleasures themselves. But, let me tell you that there is a "friend who sticks closer than a brother," about whom the Bible talks about (Prov 18:24). His name is Jesus. Come now to Him! You don't have to wait till you are looking at death in the face to pray to Him. Yes, you don't have to wait till the eleventh hour to pray the sinner's prayer without being even able to even complete it only to land in ever-burning hell. You can pray that prayer right now and turn over your one life to Jesus to experience an earth-shattering joy and peace which money cannot buy, the world cannot give and the Devil cannot take away!

You might say, "I am neither this Stephen or that Stephen. I am somewhere in between!" That is a very dangerous postition to be in, friend. Here is why: the words of Jesus found in Revelation 3:16 which goes this way, "So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth."

Let's run to Jesus, right now!

Alexandra Topping wrote at the website, gaurdian.co.uk on 13 October 2009 thus: Stephen Gately had recently said he hoped his children's fantasy novel, The Tree of Seasons, which he spent three years on, would be released for Christmas this year, adding that it would be his "dream" for it to be turned into a film.You see, Gately had many wonderful plans for his earthly future - plans that did not materialize because of his unexpected death. But, unfortunately, he did not plan things out for his eternal future. May be he could have thought, "I have lots of time to do that!" But, as you and I know buddy, he did not have lots of time to do that. He passed away so suddenly, swiftly and shockingly. Mrs. Lot, the woman who wanted to have one last look at sin in the then homosexual capital of the world, Sodom, too passed away so suddenly, switfly and shockingly. If Jesus preached today, He would say, "Remember, Stephen Gately!" I say that because He said then, "Remember, Lot's wife!" (Luke 17:32). Mrs. Lot did not have lots of time to repent and prepare for eternity. Stephen Gately, too, did not have lots of time to repent and prepare for eternity. And, guess what, you and I, also, may not have lots of time to do that. So, let's run to Jesus, right now! A living, daily, deep, relationship with Jesus will land you in heaven after death. And without it, you and I, would have to go to eternal literal hell on the other side of eternity after a horrible life of living hell on earth.

IS BEING GAY, OKAY?

--Duke Jeyaraj

So Homosexuality is cool, the courts have ruled. Being gay is okay, is what they assert. Lesbianism is legal now in India. Atleast in New Delhi. Hmmm.

This is what the greatest book in the World, the Bible, has to say about one of the most burning issues / hotly debates of our time:

CREATION
When God created the World he could shown us that He was fine with homosexuality. He could have. But He did not. He could have created one set of Adam and Eve and put them under one tree and married them off. "You guys are a straight married couple - My blessings are upon you!" he could have said. He could have created one more couple, Adam1 and Adam2 and solemnized their wedding under yet another tree in the Garden of Eden. As someone smartly put it: God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve! God could have blessed saying, "My homosexual married couple - my choicest blessings are with you. He could have created couple No.3 - Eve1 and Eve2. He could have visited the tree under which they were copulating and uttered, "Be fruitful and multiply - my blessings are with you, you lesbian couple!" But He did not. You know why? Homosexuality never entered His mind as a valid way of living. So it is not an option for us His creatures, to consider. The Maker knows what is best for his makes, right?!! The very way God has designed the body of a male and the body of the female, it is quite obvious that a male was meant to have intercourse with a female only, isn't?

God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!

COMMAND
When God issues a set of commands to Moses he made sure He included a straightforward command about Homosexuality. He did not dodge the issue. He did not sweep it under the carpet. Instead, He told Moses to tell His People, Israel, "Do not sleep with a man as you sleep with a woman." (Lev 18:22). God reserved a word for such behavior: abomination (ESV). Some homosexuals might call homosexuality "awesome". But God calls it "awful".

CONDEMNATION
Las Vegas is known for gambling. New York, for Sky-scrappers. Tirupathi, for laddoos. And the city of Sodom was known in the Bible times for rampant homosexuality. And what happened that city? God rained fire on them (Genesis 19). That was His way of firing the homosexuals. What fell on them that day was just a temporary fire, mind you. It just took away their physical life. An eternal fire that would torment their souls and bodies awaits the sold-out, stubborn homosexual offenders of Sodom, we read in the Bible book of Jude (Jude 7). God, I am afraid, will not be ready to congratulate you for your homosexual behavior. He is, make no mistake, getting ready to condemn you, my homosexual friend, for this outrageous behavior. If He did not do that, He would have to apologize to the city of Sodom. And that won't happen. Shahid Afridi might block 12 balls without taking a single run, but that will not happen. God, the sinless One, never apologises to anyone. So before God's fierce condemnation strikes you, my gay buddy, I am appealing to you in love, to repent from the sin of homosexuality! If we are still alive, despite our homosexuality and other sins, it is because of the great grace of God - a grace that is waiting for us to repent! And that grace can run out anytime.

CHRIST
Jesus, God in human flesh and bone, talked a lot about sex and marriage. He went back to the story of Creation found in the book of Genesis in the Bible to teach what God's plan was for sex and marriage. "A man will leave his father's house and be joined to his wife," he taught (Mark 10:7). He did not teach, "A man will leave his father's house and be joined to another man." He did not teach, "A woman will leave her family and be joined with another woman." He said that some folks have been born as eunuchs (Math 19:12). But never did He say, some people have been made homosexuals by God.

When Jesus did on the Cross, our sins were laid upon Him, the Bible teaches. He bore ours sins on His body (I Pet 2:24). Our bodies should be punished for the sin of homosexuality. That punishment is death. Hear this for yourself from the Bible: If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them (Lev 20:13). We deserve punishment for our other sins, too, from the all-Holy and all-Just God who cannot and will not wink at sin. But Jesus says, "I love you. I will take your punishment." He was bound, blind-folded, boxed, battered, bashed, bruised, bloodied, broken, for your sin and mine.

He did not teach, "A man will leave his father's house and be joined to another man."

COMMUNICATION
When Paul communicated God's truths with believers in Rome, he talked about this issue. In his very first chapter he talked about homosexuality as a condition you fall into, when you stubbornly fall away from God (Rom 1:26,27). Homosexuality was a punishment that God allows in your life, when he sees that you are hell-bent on rebelling from him. Later Paul in his communication with Timothy writes that homosexual behavior was one way you break the laws of God and become disobedient to Him (I Tim 1:8-11). While writing to the church at Ephesus, Paul acknowledges the only plan that God ever had for marriage was this: "... a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Eph 5:31). No other permutations and combinations were permissible!

CORINTH
In one church Paul ministered to, there were former homosexuals (I Cor 6:9-11). After naming homosexual behavior as one of the sins in the sin list he made up, he writes, "Such were some of you". Paul warns, if they returned to such behavior and persisted in it, they would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They would not go to heaven. I have goodnews for you. If it was possible for the people of Sodom to turn from their homosexual behavior, it is possible for you too. God does not want you to live in this sin and perish. He does not want your riddance. He wants your repentance.

CLARIFICATION
So people say they are born with a homosexual bent and so they have every right to be homosexuals. This is how their argument goes: Some are born lefthanders. Some others are born righthanders. Similiarly, some are born homosexuals while some others are born straight. God made us homosexuals and so we don't want to be straight!Come on! When one makes the choice of being a left hander or a right hander, he or she is not making a moral choice. But when one makes a choice of homosexuality over a normal man-woman relationship, one does make a moral choice. And God has not created anyone with a homosexual bent. Some were created as eunuchs, yes. But as homosexuals - they weren't. We chose a homosexual lifestyle using our inborn sinful instincts - instincts inherited from the first man, Adam. Just like Ethiopians naturally have dark skin, we too have naturally inbuilt instincts to sin. This is the teaching of the Bible (Jer 13:23). But, through Jesus, we can overcome those sinful instincts. When Jesus died for us on the Cross, our sins and sinful desires were nailed with Him, the Bible teaches (Gal 5:24). We could have many other natural desires and inborn bents that are surely sinful - the desire to have many sexual partners, the desire to murder, the desire to rape, the desire to have sex with animals, etc, etc. But those natural desires should be curtailed, curbed, cleaned and consecrated with the power of the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. They should not be used as a justification for our sins. Some others say that David and Jonathan were homosexuals and that God was cool about their relationship. There is no biblical warrant to believe that if you have understood what the whole Bible says about this issue. The message of part of the Bible should not contradict the message of another part of the Bible - this is the cardinal rule of Bible interpretation. Yes, it was true that David's love for Jonathan was a very deep love - a love deeper than the love he had for women (II Sam 1:26). The word the Septuagint, the most respected and the oldest available Greek translation of the Bible, uses here for the love David had for Jonathan is certainly not "eros" - the Bible word for sexual love.

When one makes the choice of being a left hander or a right hander, he or she is not making a moral choice. But when one makes a choice of homosexuality over a normal man-woman relationship, one does make a moral choice.

So my friend, say "bye" to the sin of homosexuality and every other sin you may be in. "Sin is anything, Jesus would not do." His Blood, shed for you on the Cross, will cleanse you. And you will be a new person. You will have a joy and peace which homosexuality can never give you. You will be filled with inexpressible and glorious joy - something no sin can give you.


WANT TO SEE THE SAME MESSAGE?
If you are person who loves to see things and not merely read about them, see find a youtubevideo, link of which is found below, featuring my talk on this hot topic of homosexuality titled IS BEING GAY OKAY? I say this for the Glory of God that this was one of the few talks of mine that has been interrupted by crowd applause. It was part of talk to a group of 500 modern youth in the New Life AG church, Hyderabad, titled, TAMING TOUGH TEMPTATIONS (also titled, What the Bible Teaches About Sex). The DVD of this message can be made available to you (along with two other messages of mine titled, TRUE ROMANTIC LOVE n COMMON YOUTH QUESTIONS answered in the same DVD), if you live in India for just Rs.100/- (Rs.200/- for overseas addresses). You could deposit the amount in Duke’s ICICI account Account Number: 024401000969 and sms your full address and pincode to me at 91 - 9441352433.

So here is the Youtube link for "Is Being Gay Okay - Duke Jeyaraj": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLvrHCUT6AQ
Click on the link above now to "see" the same message now!

WANT TO HEAR THE SAME MESSAGE FROM YOUR CELLPHONE?
You could also freely download an audio message of mine onto your cellphones on the same topic by clicking on www.duke.mypodcast.com. The message is titled, What the Bible Teaches About Sex.

TWENTY ONE REQUIRED OFF THE LAST OVER....

A Duke Jeyaraj Poem on the last over of the Kolkota Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers in IPL – II on 16 May

The score-board said, twenty one required off the last over,
The Game between the Deccan Chargers and the Knight Riders was far from over,
With only three men in the ring, Mashrafe's first ball - was called a "No!"
Rohit Sharma smashed it for a four - to hear the Chargers' cheering, "Go Rohit! Go!"

16 runs off 6 balls, was the new equation,
In Hyderabadi homes like mine, the air was charged with so much tension!
However, sleepy-eyed, silken-touch Rohit Sharma stayed cool as a cucumber,
He suddenly exploded and tonked the 3rd ball - a juicy full toss - for a huge sixer!

It was then the $600,000 worth Mortaza bowled a nervous wide,
At that point, he (and his captain McCullum) wished they had some place to hide,
With 7 off 3 balls, now required, Rohit hit the ball down the ground and set out for a run,
Venugopal's high velocity sprint converted that one into two - boy, for him, it was fun!

5 needed off 2 balls - that was the challenging task now,
When Rohit stylishly pierced the infield to clobber a four, the Chargers' fans roared, "Wow!"
1 off 1 ball - that is what the Chargers had to now get,
This was surely a goose-bumps-giving, game, you won't, in a hurry, forget,

When Rohit Sharma sent the last ball over the square leg!
It was celebration time for the Chargers - everyone was shaking a leg!
While it's true, it was Rohit who, for the Chargers, saved the Day!
It is also true that it is Jesus, who is the Life, the Truth and the Way!

It was celebration time for the Chargers - everyone was shaking a leg!

Why bring Jesus into the final over of Twenty20 game, you may well ask,
Here is why - While the Twenty20 excitement can fade behind our life mask,
The excitement, the peace, the life purpose, that Jesus alone offers, does last,
And I could not just wait to tell you this great news - so I made this poem up fast!

PATHAN BROTHERS AND PROVERBS’ VERSE

--DUKE JEYARAJ

Two brothers were in the middle. India was in a muddle. India was losing that game of Cricket. They needed an out of the world performance from the Pathan brothers – Yousuf and Irfan – to beat Sri Lanka in that one-off T20 game on February 10, 2009 at Colombo. It was first Yousuf’s turn to turn on the heat on the Lankan bowlers. He hoisted the Lankan bowlers for sixes after six. When he saw his brother go berserk Irfan wasn’t too far behind. He too started thrashing the Lankan bowlers with impunity. And in the last over, the Pathan brothers stole a nerve-wracking win for India in that electrifying T20 game. “Chasing a stiff target of 172, Irfan (33 not out) and Yusuf (22 not out) scored 59 runs from 25 balls in the tense final moments to steer India home in a pulsating flood-lit contest at the Premadasa Stadium”, reported one website.

There was an unmistakable camaraderie that was evident between the two brothers when they put up this match-winning partnership in lightning quick-time. They hugged each other tight and celebrated!
What I saw in that gripping game reminded me of a Bible verse found in the book of Proverbs: “There is a friend closer than a brother!” (Prov 18:24) Did you know that every book of the Bible talks about Jesus at least in shadow, if not in substance? The book of Proverbs is no different. The title of “a friend closer than a brother” best fits with Jesus.

Let me explain: Though he was God Eternal, Jesus deliberately got close with humans during his earthly journey. In Lazarus, he had a buddy. He addressed him as friend (John 11:11). When Lazarus suddenly died, his sisters Martha and Mary were sobbing not knowing that Jesus would raise him from the dead. Jesus, when he reached the scene after four days also wept (John 11:35)! “Jesus wept” is the shortest Bible verse. But it is a long and loud statement that tells us how much Jesus loves us, humans. Isn’t that astounding? Jesus knew He would raise Lazarus up from the dead. Yet He wept. That day, Jesus’ handkerchief got wet, you bet! Jesus by that gesture showed that He was much closer to Lazarus than his sisters were. Here was a friend closer than his own sisters for Lazarus!
How close is Jesus to you? Do you tell Him, “Jesus, don’t come too close to me. You won’t like the thick friends I keep, the books I read, the movies and TV shows I watch, the raunchy songs I listen to on my Ipod?”

A daily, living, deep relationship with Jesus would give you unalloyed joy – something that no other thing or relationship can give you. Would you run into the one who wants to sweep you into His arms with arms open wide? Would you stick close to this “Friend who sticks closer than a brother” who, for you, on the cross, died?

YOU AND THIS YAHOO ENGINEER

- Duke Jeyaraj

Raghavan Devarajan with his wife and kids

The newspaper headline was painful to read. It went this way: “Indian Techie kills five of his kin, turns gun on himself in US” (The Times of India, Hyderabad edition, 1 April 2009). Here are dreadful details of that gory story: He had it all - a dream job in the US. A job with a great company – Yahoo to be precise. A decent house in an upscale Santa Clara locality. A pretty wife. Two cute kids - an 11-year old boy and 4-year old girl. Financial trouble was far away despite the financial downturn. Yet Raghavan Devarajan, the 43 year old techie we are talking about was apparently missing something in his life – inner peace. He felt so empty on the inside that he felt compelled to empty bullets from his .45 semiautomatic handgun on his two school-going children and three relatives who stayed with him till they no longer were breathing. Yes – he killed them brutally. His wife, in her mid-thirties barely escaped with multiple gunshot wounds. He was found on the home’s top floor, dead from a self-inflicted wound. Police Lt. Phil Cooke, who inspected the crime scene specifically, said there was no reason to believe that this Yahoo engineer was in the danger of losing his job (http://www.news.yahoo.com/ accessed on 19 April 2009).

You know what – there is a connection between you and this suicide-committing Yahoo engineer. Yes, there is a link. Yup, there are some striking similarities between you and this bloke. Hang on and I will explain that.

What would you make of this sort of suicide – a suicide by a man who apparently lacked nothing in life? It is this: Man’s needs go beyond the physical world. You can have the best of food, clothing and shelter – yet you can be so empty and miserable. You have been there – haven’t you? When you are about to switch off your bedroom light and sleep off, some questions simply don’t switch off.

I am talking about questions like, “Who am I? What is the purpose of my life? Where am I going? What is my destiny?”

Jesus was spot on when He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!” Jesus’ point was this: you need bread to satisfy physical hunger within and you need the Bible (which is God’s Word) to satisfy your spiritual hunger.

Not possessions
Jesus also stated, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Life does not become meaningful when you have the latest gadgets to captivate you, and a stout salary to feed you - that was Jesus’ assertion here. What makes life meaningful is a living relationship with the One who is Life. I am talking about Jesus here. What makes life purposeful is a living relationship with the One who gave His life for you. I am talking about Jesus here. Nothing else will fill your life with sense. Your possessions cannot give your life meaning. Ask Judas he would tell you. Judas, who? The Judas who was Jesus’ disciple. We read in the Bible about how this money-loving guy killed himself (Mathew 27).

Not profession
Your profession cannot fill your life with meaning. Ask Ahitophel he will tell you. Ahithophel who? The Ahithophel in the Bible. This counselor to the kings ended his life on his own when he found that he was a failure in his profession and his counsel was not listened to (II Samuel 17).

Not position
Your position cannot fill your life with meaning. Ask Saul he would tell you. Saul, who? The Saul in the Bible . This young man who ascended to the position of the first ever king of Israel only to fall on his sword to end his life (I Samuel 31).

If you are looking in the direction of your profession, position and possessions to find meaning in life, you are looking in the wrong direction. Having found out that these do not give meaning to life, you too have asked yourself, “What is the point of living, then? I might as well die!” (You may not admit this before people, but deep down, you know, this is true).

Jumping from the frying pan to the burning furnace
But make no mistake - suicide is no solution to your life’s lack of purpose and meaning. It is like jumping from the frying pan to the burning furnace. The Bible teaches those who commit suicide will have to live forever in the lake of burning fire and sulfur called “Hell” through the example of Judas. He was doomed to hell, Jesus told us in no uncertain terms. And as a matter of fact, you cannot kill yourself. The real you – which is the soul – will go on living forever. What you do with Jesus will decide where your soul will live – eternal heaven or eternal hell.

Embrace Life, Embrace Jesus
Are you toying with the idea of suicide? Commit your life with the only one who ended His life on His own terms without having to resort to suicide – Jesus. He was the only one in this planet who bowed His head and then died – He knew exactly when He would die. After all, He is God in human flesh. And when you do that, all your suicidal tendencies would fly away. You will begin to truly enjoy life with Jesus who came to give you life to the full (John 10:10). Why should you wait even one nano-second to do that?!