MICHAEL DOUGLAS N A NAME OF JESUS WE RECALL DURING CHRISTMAS

- Duke Jeyaraj

Michael Douglas had it all. Fame and the money to with it, he had it - he was an Academy award winning actor and among the highest paid actors in Hollywood. 'Sizzling' sex outside of marriage, he had it - he was part of the one of most watched movie sex scenes in the planet. A beautiful wife, he had her - he was married to Catherine Zeta Jones, a gorgeous actress. Yet, he was on the hunt for peace. He reportedly planned a visit to India hunting for peace (The Times of India, Hyderabad Times, October 22, 2010). All the things he already had apparently did not quench his inner thirst or give him permanent peace.

What robs our hearts of its peace? Many a time it is sin. The Bible, a Book from God to us in a language we can understand, talks about this. "The wicked are like the tossing sea," a Bible prophet wrote (Isa 57:20). Yes, when you and I commit a sin, our heart loses its peace and we feel as if we tossed up and down in a turbulent stormy sea.

What gives true and lasting peace? A relationship with Jesus. A living daily walk with the one who was called 'Prince of Peace' in the Bible (Isa 9:6). A Priest named Zachariah compared Jesus the Sunrise from on High who came down to guide us in the 'way of peace' (Luke 1:78,79). Jesus promised his disciples his own peace; He said, "My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives..." (John 14:27). The peace that Jesus give is far different from temporary peace that the world and its pleasures give. It is permanent. It does not depend on happy circumstances or swank comforts around. It is born out of a deep relationship with Him.

Your life may in turmoil. You may caught in a storm even as you read these words. The storm of family dispute. The storm of rebellious children. The storm of financial difficulty. The storm of your loved one betraying you. The storm of addiction to destructive sinful habits. But let Jesus get into your life boat. And allow him to speak to your storm. And then, trust me, there would be great calm (Mark 4:39). Your problem may still remain. But in your heart, there would be great peace.

I know what I am talking about here. I have experience what I am talking about. Let me elaborate: Before I left my worldly job, it was working in a couple of Call Centres so that I could support my family and ministry with the money I earned from there. I also ran three minute fellowships in Office.

It was my dream at that point in time to work for Google's office in Hyderabad, India, the city where I live. Some of the most modern youth of my city, the group I wanted to touch with the message of Jesus Christ, worked there. I got through fairly difficult rounds of interviews that came first-up. I reached the stage where I was to have the very final round of interview with a senior manager with Google. She was the final barrier I had to get past, in order to start working in Google. I prayed to the Lord Jesus to give me grace to get through in that pivotal interview. But alas, I could not. I was informed that I did not make it. I was sad. But I still had the strange peace which Jesus alone could have given me at that hour of dour disappointment which could have easily made me very sour. The calm that my Creator gave me that hour did not depend on the circumstances around me. I again experienced this heart-warming calm when my application for a US Visa was rejected in August 2010. I was to go to the US on a trip fully-sponsored by a Christian organisation. I had to play the role of a coach in a large youth event. As I walked back in the long passage, minutes after this heart-breaking rejection in the US Consulate Office in Hyderabad, I was very gloomy. But pretty soon, deep down, a deep assurance swept over my heart that told me what had happened was actually for my ultimate good. I was at peace with myself because I had the peace that Jesus Christ had given me - a peace that I still had, no matter what happened around me! What the Bible told taught about Jesus I found to be true with my own life experience - he is the Lord of peace who gives peace at 'all time and in every way' (II Thess 3:16, NIV).

To give you this peace , this calm will only come after your sins are forgiven, Jesus went to the Cross. The Scripture declares, "The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him" (Isa 53:5). When Jesus hung on the Cross, bloodied, bruised, bashed-up and broken, he did what it takes to give you peace - peace on the inside. The blood he shed on the Cross is your passport to peace. You need to be forgiven of your sins by his blood. Where is peace? It is not in fame. It is not in the dame. It is not in a sex-game. Ask Michael Douglas, he would tell you, if he were honest. It is in that Name. Only in that Name, the Bible declares (Acts 4:12). The name of Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace and He alone can give you peace. Would you repent from your sin and trust him right now?

Jesus had this to say about the stiff-necked people of Jerusalem - the people who repeatedly rejected him: He said, “If only you knew on this of all days the things that lead to peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes" (Luke 19:42, Common English Bible). They had rejected Jesus, the way to true inner peace repeatedly and now it was too late for them to find that peace - this was Jesus' point here! What a costly miss! Right now, even as you read this piece on peace, you have an opportunity to discover true peace that is only available only through Jesus Christ. But if you keep rejecting him, a time will come in your life, when it would be too late to come to him to discover this amazing peace. After you die (death can come to any one of us, anytime, please remember!) it would be too late. After Jesus comes back to this earth to judge everyone, it would be too late. After the Holy Spirit stops speaking to the repeatedly stubborn you, it would be too late. At that sad point in your life, you would be hopelessly meandering toward eternal hell - a lake of burning fire and sulphur where you would have lost forever your peace! But now, you have an opportunity to avoid all that by coming to Christ in true penitence to receive lasting peace!

What Deepika wanted to gift Ranbir; What Jesus wants to gift you….

-Duke Jeyaraj speaks about condoms n Christ on World AIDS Day
I bumped into this news piece in The Week magazine the other day: After some dignified silence over her break-up with Ranbir Kapoor, Deepika Padukone is exercising no restraint now when answering questions about her her ex-beau. First, she said she has no plans of getting rid of her RK tattoo. Then, when Karn Johar asked her on his show what she would like to gift Ranbir, she replied, “a pack of condoms” (The Week, November 22, 2010). A pack of condoms, Deepika probably believed would really help to prevent Ranbir who is reportedly known for his playboy lifestyle from catching the dreaded virus, AIDS. When Ranbir heard this, he also started preaching about how it was important to practice ‘safe’ sex by wearing condoms each time one had sex.

But is safe sex possible when one wears condoms? Does the wearing of the condom stop the AIDS virus from entering your body when you have sex with a person who is infected by it? No. Ask the 800 doctors and researchers who gathered in a Washionton DC conference if wearing of a condom would stop the AIDS virus each time. They would say, it would not. That’s why none of them raised their hands when asked, if any of them would wear condoms and have sex with an AID-infected patient! The AIDS virus is 250 times smaller than the male sperm (Source of information: Focus of the Family, The US). To give you an exaggerated and crude comparison, if the male sperm equals to Ishant Sharma (6 foot plus), the AIDS virus equals to Amit Mishra (just over 5 foot). The male sperm sometimes seeps through the condom. In the movie, Salaam Namaste, this is accurately potrayed. The boy despite wearing condoms makes the girl he is living-in with in Australia, pregnant. I can't wait to ask this after making that observation: If Ishant can go through the condom pores, what guarantee do we have that the much smaller Amit won’t go through?! So, don’t get carried away from ‘safe’ sex lie. The ‘safe’ sex hoax.

The only way to have ‘safe’ sex is to save sex for marriage. It is preserve sex for the one person you will marry and that too only after you actually get married. Only Jesus can help you practice abstinence till then. He is the Only One who beat every temptation which came to him, each time. He, God is human flesh, died on the Cross for your sins and to give you an option to escape from living a purposeless and empty life of living hell and going to an literal hell. His blood can cleanse you from every sin, including the sin of pre-marital sex. Come to Him, now. Give your life to Him, Him who loves very much. And see that you experience a joy unspeakable which will beat the best orgasm you ever had when you had pre-marital sex. And what's more Jesus will give power to overcome sexual-sin because he has overcome all temptation.

WHEN SCHUMI DROVE A TAXI....

-- Duke Jeyaraj

That particular news piece about Michael Schumacher wowed me. Floored me. I went gaga over it. Believe me - I am not a big Formula One fan. I don't even know it's rules, to tell you like it is. But I just loved what I read. Here is what I read: Michael Schumacher, 38, flew into the aerodrome at the Bavarian town of Coburg (Germany) on Saturday and took a taxi to the village of Gehuelz, 30 kilometres away, to pick up a new puppy - an Australian Shepherd dog called "Ed." But when the former Formula One ace, plus his wife and two children, caught a taxi back to the airport they were short on time and, after a polite request, cab driver Tuncer Yilmaz watched in wonder as Schumacher took the wheel. "I found myself in the passenger seat, which was strange enough, but to have "Schumi" behind the wheel of my cab was incredible," Yilmaz told the Muenchner Abendzeitung. "He drove at full throttle around the corners and over-took in some unbelievable places." Yilmaz was well rewarded for the unusual journey - on top of the 60 euros ($88) fare, he was also given a 100 euros ($146) tip.... (The Times of India, Hyderabad, 13 December 2007).

Not just Tuncer Yilmaz, you too are driving a taxi. I can almost hear you moan, "Come on, Duke - you're kidding me!" What I meant was that, you were driving the taxi of your life. The seven-times Formula One world champion Schumi requested the taxi driver Tuncer to vacate his taxi's driver's seat so that he could take it over. One person who took, five-wounds on His body for your sake on the Cross of Calvary, asks you to vacate your bottom from the driver's seat of the taxi of life. His name? Jesus. And if you do that, having swallowed your pride, your ego, you will have an "unbelievable", "full throttle" ride like Tuncer did. At the end of that exciting journey, you will get something far more precious than the 100 euros that Tuncer pocketed from Schumi - you would get eternal life.

Are you ready to ease your bottom from the driver seat of your taxi and hand over the steering wheel of your life to Jesus? By doing that, you would be telling him, symbolically: "Jesus, I can't make it to heaven and eternal life on my own. In fact, I don't even deserve to be there. I'm a sinner. I am willing to repent from my sin. Please forgive me by the blood you shed for me on the Cross. Thank you for rising up from the dead so that you could be beside me to take over the steering wheel of my life." And - guess what? - your life taxi couldn't be in safer or surer hands!

Two Men With Sore Back

-Duke Jeyaraj's Poem On The Exciting fifth day of the India-Australia Mohali Test 2010, one of the Greatest Ever Test Matches

Battling a sore back,
He batted with resolve to lead India' comeback,
He came in when India were 76-5 succumbing to the fierce Aussie bowling attack,
He batted with plenty of resolve, and oodles of "wristy" knack,
But wickets kept falling at the other end on a typical crumbling, Day 5 track,
Yet another winning opportunity after Dhoni's run-out, it certainly looked like, India were about to jack,
But Laxman's stunning partnership with Ishant, the Aussies found touch to crack,
When Ishant was dismissed, it was as if the Australians were standing on down-an-out India's neck, But amidst great drama, India were finally home in a Test match whose quality was 'top of the rack'! Since 2001 Eden Gardens, into the batting account of VVS Laxman, the Australians are still trying unsuccessful to hack!

Laxman's Mohali Test heroics reminded me of another Person who marched to Jerusalem without looking back,
Yes, Jesus went to Jerusalem to be bashed up black and blue everywhere and particularly on his back,
So that you, a hell-heading sinner, to God your father, comeback,
All you were left with, was disappointment, disillusionment and depression after Satan's attack,
But by dying on the Cross, Jesus placed his legs on Satan's neck,
In repentance and faith come to Jesus without showing slack,
Chasing world's fleeting pleasures your soul's salvation chances, please don't jack!

SEPTEMBER 11 STILL SPEAKS.....

- by Duke Jeyaraj

New York. Big City. The City of Sky Scrappers. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Centres it's pride and joy. 110 stories high. 414 metres tall. September 11, 2001, said the calender. Two aircraft ram into these strapping structures. The buildings sway like a boat in a rough sea. They come down crumbling. For thousands it was all over. In a flash it all happens. Australian Ace Swimmer Ian Thorpe was almost there at the top of the observation tower of these buildings when the airliners banged in. He wasn't. Reason? He had gone back to take his camera, which he had forgotten, in his hotel room. 55 believers in the Korean Church in New York did not report for work on that Terrible Tuesday. Great Escape! Why does God give us such narrow escapes?

1. TO GIVE US TIME TO REPENT

Rewind two thousand years. The town – Jerusalem. In the country of the Israel. Another tower crashes. 18 people get killed as a result. The tower had a name – the tower of Siloam. Some escape by the skin of their teeth. Narrowly. There was no newspapers then. No The Times of India. No Hindustan Times . By word of mouth the news reaches this man. Who? Jesus. He told the crowd around him something which made their ears tingle: "Those 18 in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse sinners than all other Jerusalemites? No not at all. Unless you repent, you too will die!" (Luke 13: 3-5, Peterson Version).

Third World War clouds loomed large over the entire globe. Bush vowed to 'smoke the hidden enemy out'. The Arab and Muslim nations remain defiant. Did not Jesus predict that just before he would come back top the earth as a judge there will be 'wars and rumors of war' (Math 24:6,7)? Then why is the coming of the Lord delayed? Just to give us time to repent (II Pet 3:9). Prophet Amos likened Sodom to a full-burned stick. Israel had escaped God's fire judgment upon them for many hundreds of years – narrowly. They were like a half-burned stick. Amos in-effect thundered: "Before you Israel turn into a full burnt stick like Sodom, repent! Turn to the Lord!" ( 4:11 ) God gives us narrow escapes to give us time to repent!

This article is a warning from heaven's book – the Bible – for all of us. There will no escape if we ignore the warning from heaven and still stay stubborn without repenting and turning fully to Christ! (Heb 12:25). If we slight the call to repent, we slight the call to come to Christ for salvation. Reason? The foundational step to salvation is repentance. The Bible asks a solemn question: "What makes us think that we can escape if we indifferent to this great salvation that was announced by the Lord Jesus himself!" (Heb 2:3 NLT).

2. TO GIVE US TIME TO REPRODUCE

The Scriptures tell us that Noah escaped the flood waters – narrowly – as he and his family got into the boat (Gen 7:7). Why did God spare Noah? To make sure he multiplied biologically the human race after the big deluge. To give him an opportunity to continue to be 'a preacher of righteousness' (II Pet 2:5). You know what? God gives us close brushes with death to give us more time to reproduce spiritually, win souls, and witness to the lost. In season and out of season we have to be about the task of witnessing (II Tim4:2). Jesus warned us that we cannot do the kingdom work, after the 'night' has set in (Jn 9:4). The Psalmist asks, "Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?" (Psa 88:11). Certainly not! Let us therefore be reminded that we must make use of every chance we get to others about his Calvary's Love, when we stare at the face of the Grave and escape!

3. TO ROLL-OUT HIS FULL PLAN FOR OUR LIFE

King David kissed death on the face when the spear from the green Saul just narrowly missed him (I Sam 19:10). God had a great plan for David which he revealed to him through the Prophet Samuel when he was shepherding his earthly father's sheep: he would shepherd his Heavenly Father's Lost sheep – Israel. Till then any spear of envy hurled by Saul could get pretty close to his chest but never close him! God gave David a great escape to fulfill the great plan he had for his Life – to be the king of Israel. Till then 'no weapon forged' against him would never ever prevail (Isa 54:17). God's plans for our lives are never thwarted (Job 42:2). No danger can destroy us, until and unless God has fulfilled his Plan in our life! Jesus winked at death three times before he went to the cross, right from the time villainous Herod tired to kill him as a babe. Certainly he could not die before his time has fully come and his plan was executed. God has a great plan for each of us (Jer 29:11). When God goes about orchestrating that plan of His for our life no devilish danger can snatch us away from the world, as long as we are faithful and yielded fully to him! What a reassurance! This is not to say believers can never die young! When a significant group escaped death on Terrible Tuesday, some believers lost their lives too. Peter had a miraculous escape from the jail while the still-young James was executed, though they both served the same God (Acts 12:2,9). Glamour and gloom, long life and short life is the result of the same godly faith ( Read Heb. 11 fully). None of us can ask God what He – the Divine Potter – is doing with our lives, though we can be totally assured that whatever he does is for our good and the glory of His Name (Dan 4:35; Isa 29:16).

There were quite a few who escaped certain death when the World Trade Center Towers toppled. But on the day of judgment, the Scriptures declare there will no escape for one group of people: those who played religious games in the church without a foundation on the Jesus the Rock and hoped that they would get a entry into heaven. Jesus asked the religious leaders of his time who played religion card to impress all and sundry without the love of God in their hearts, a stunningly straight question: "You snakes! You brood of vipers how will escape being condemned to hell!" (Math 23:33). No escape for pious pretenders on the day of judgment – one can be cocksure!

The horrendous World Trade Center buildings collapse can be seen a call to for each of us to get back to God. They are a bugle to get the believer back to the priorities of His Kingdom Work! The Building came down giving us a clarion bellow that our spiritual lives and standards should go further up!

Jesus, the Spanish Substitute in the World Cup Finals...

-Duke Jeyaraj traces Spain's win in the 2010 World Cup using poetry, with a message at the end.....

They began their World Cup Campaign by losing to Switzerland their very first game,

Rip-roaring back to claim the title, how handsomely, strongly and sensationally they came!

Messi, Kaka, Ronaldo, Rooney, Drogba - in their ranks was no such starry name!

But as a team they gracefully gelled and upped their game to a never-seen-before high plane!

Thanks to David Villa's precise finishing, Portugal and Paraguay they did doggedly tame,

Their blistering semifinal pace made even the lightning quick Germans, seem a touch lame!

"Tarzan" Puyol's header ensured that Octopus Paul did not have to hang his head in shame!

Into their first ever World Cup Final stormed the Spaniards - to win the title was their sole aim!

In the Final, there was a flurry of yellow cards flashed, as Spain and Holland played with no 'prem'!

If Robben did not rob the World Cup for Dutch from Spain, he had only himself to blame!

With four minutes to go for the penalty shootout Iniesta, drove the ball past Stekelenburg diving frame,

"One of the most deserving winners of the World Cup ever" - this title was Spain's acclaim!

In the 60th minute, the Spanish coach, sent in Jesus Navas - here was a substitute with a famous first name!

Within ten minutes, he almost combined with Villa to score and catapult Spain to World Cup winning fame!

Did you know that the Original Jesus was also a substitute who died on the Cross, to take your sin and shame?

When you give your life to Him, you will discover true joy which cannot be given by any diamond or dame!

WHY A MODEL WHO MAKES MILLIONS IS MISERABLE

-Duke Jeyaraj

Ex-Chelsea star Claude Makelele has said he was absolutely astonished by his cute, curly-haired girl friend/model Noemie Lenoir’s suicide attempt. The former Marks and Spencer model had been found lying unconscious in the woods outside the soccer star’s Paris home, following a cocktail of drugs and alcohol. The 37-year old footballer said he was “spending as much time as possible with Noemie as she recovers from her terrible ordeal.” Makelele has a five-year old son with Noemie. Miss Lenoir also fronts campaigns for l'Oréal, Gap, Next and Victoria's Secret. (Deccan Chronicle, 20 May 2010).

We often go, “If only…” “If only, I had a well-known lover, I would be very happy!” “If only, I look so beautiful that top corporate companies would hire me as a model for their products by paying me millions of dollars, then, I would have made my life!” But how wrong we are! Ask Noemie Lenoir and she would tell you the same, if she opened her soul and talked with you, frankly. Despite having a well-known lover for a mate and pocketing millions of dollars through Mark and Specers advertisement deals, she felt so empty, that she attempted suicide. Why?

Will tell you why. I will tell you why from the Bible – God’s Word in human words. It is because she had no relationship with the true God in her life. When we see the face of the true God, we would be satisfied, so writes a writer in the Bible (Psa 17:15). Yes, only God, the one who made us, can truly and ultimately satisfy us – that is the message here. And God came near us in the person of Jesus. Jesus was God in flesh and bone. He preached that he came to give us “life to the full” – a fully satisfying life (John 10:10). He is the only drink that would fully satisfy your soul’s thirst, he claimed (You see this truth in John 4 in the Bible where Jesus encountered a sexually immoral Samaritan Woman who was living in with her boyfriend like Noemie and told her this very thing). Jesus died on the Cross to take on himself the punishment that brings peace to our dissatisfied, sin-filled lives (Isa 53:5). He rose again so that he could become the ‘friend who would stick closer a brother’ who would plug out all the vacuum in your heart with his warmth and affection (Prov 18:24). He will come again as the Judge of all the earth, one day, the Bible records. Those who reject him, stubbornly and finally, would have to go to eternal hell and be tormented there forever, on that terrible day. Those who believe on him and live for him would go to live with him, forever! This is the message of the Bible, in a nutshell. You may be sailing in the same boat as Noemie. You may have everything – a loving boyfriend, loving kids, a large house, a lovely car and lots of bank balance. Yet, you may feel so miserable and awful that you are thinking about ending it all, like Noemie. Please don’t. Come away and taste Jesus’ love – a love shown supremely for you on the Cross. And you would be truly satisfied, inside out! And life would become truly meaningful and delightful!

When Hussey Made Onlookers Feel Dizzy...

A Poem on the T20 World Cup Semi-final Between Pakistan and Australia on 13 May 2010 by Duke Jeyaraj

The Question was, "Who'd bring the mighty Aussies to their knee?"

Powered by outstanding batting by the Akmal brothers, Pakistan said, "We will. Hee! Hee!"

The 191 they made, batting first, in a knock-out T20 game should have seen most teams, through, you see!

In making plans for Pakistan's next game, the Final Vs England, Captain Afridi probably got busy!

The Pakistan bowling was tight and on target - the Aussie batsmen could not just break free,

Watson n Warner - the Aussie Axe-men were cheaply dismissed and the Pakistanis couldn't hide their glee!

In Over number 9 the Aussies were tottering at 62 for 4 - a threat did appear, then, to their Cup winning spree!

When White and Smith were dimissed, Australia still needed 54 off 21 balls - their hopes were melting quick as Ghee!

But when Michael Hussey slammed 14, 16 and 22 runs in Overs 18, 19 and 20 left everyone watching, dizzy!

His 6,6,4,6 sequence in the 20th Over by Saeed Ajmal threw the Australians in a tizzy!

In this Semifinal between Pakistan and Australia, the hero was named after the Michael, the archangel,

In the ultimate match between Good and Evil, the Winner's birth was announced by the angel, Gabriel,

In the match between Pakistan and Australia - the hero's brother's first name was David!

In the ultimate match between Good and Evil, the Winner was popularly called the Son of David!

This gripping match reminded me of the One who was pinned on a tree,

To shed His Blood though which salvation from sin could be offered free,

Repenting from sin, if before Him, you would, in faith, bow your knee,

You'll be forever filled with joy unspeakable and a purpose for life, you never before did see!

Dhoni in Dharamshala Vs God’s Son in Golgotha

Duke Jeyaraj on the last over between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kings XI Punjab in Dharmshala, 18 April 2010, easily the most exciting game in IPL-111

They were just an over away from possible elimination – despite having quality players to flaunt,

16 runs in the last over – that’s what Chennai Super Kings needed stay in the hunt,

Irfan Pathan ran into bowl with determination, Dhoni’s efforts to get those runs, to blunt,

The onlookers couldn’t move – be it a person young or old, or be it an uncle or an aunt,

After Dhoni crashed the first ball for four – 12 required off 5 balls was the fresh count,

Even though the next ball he could only miscue for just a two, Chennai’s semi-final chances none could discount,

The next two balls Dhoni smacked over the fence – Irfan Pathan’s ego to bruise and affront!

One six landed 104 metres away from Dhoni's blade, having borne it's awesome power's full brunt!

The super cool Skipper then celebrated with a rare, never-seen-before self-mumble and upper cut stunt!

It was as if he knew even at that point that Chennai would go on to win the third edition of IPL, upfront!

The Chennai players swooped on him in a flash to salute the efforts of the man who never says, "I can't!"

“Dhoni scores 28 out of 29 runs required in the last 2 overs,” – that’s what the papers reported in big font!

What Dhoni achieved atop that stadium perched in the 5000-feet high Dharamshala’s mount,

Reminded me of Jesus who willingly received cuts on His body atop Mount Golgotha, to open up a fount,

A fount filled with sinless, precious blood that would take away the sins of all, who into it, would dismount!

WHEN JYOTHI BASU RESEMBLED JESUS A LITTLE

- DUKE JEYARAJ

When Jyothi Basu resembled Jesus a little

Jyothi Basu is gone. The man who held the record for being the longest serving Chief Minister of any Indian State (He was West Bengal Chief Minister for 23 years) is now dead. Dead, at the ripe age of 95. Several accolades are pouring in for him. Yes, he's getting praise even from his political enemies. The accolade that he received that touched me the most was this: he said to ‘no’ to the post of being India's Prime Minister in 1996 so that he could continue to remain as the disciplined soldier of his party - his party which did not want him to take up the invitation to form the Central Government! “Wow!” I went when I heard that. “This is rare!” I told myself. "It does not happen that often!" I remarked. Though Jyothi Basu is no patch on Jesus, the God whom I serve, I feel compelled to compare him with Jesus in this regard, at least.

"Why not have Jesus feed us this way, day after day!” Others joined in: “If we make him King, He would do this for us, day in and day out!”

There was a time when the crowds wanted to make Jesus the king by force. He had just fed a crowd of 5000 men (it may have been a crowd of about 20,000 people if the women and kids are included in the count) with five loaves and two fish which a young lad had given him. Each one of them ate to their heart’s content. Their stomachs pressed harder on their belts after had eaten. You could hear their burps. At that time, some of them went this way, “Why not have Jesus feed us this way, day after day!” Others joined in: “If we make him King, He would do this for us, day in and day out!” Still others said, “Surely he is the (Political) Messiah we have been waiting for!” What was Jesus’ response to all of this? Did He grab the opportunity? Did He go, “Finally, these humans realized that I am the King of Glory, who has come in human flesh and bone! At last, they did! Okay guys, when is my coronation ceremony? I am ready!” No. He gave them the slip and went to meet with the Person who knew the right time He would be made King of Kings and the Lord of Lords before whom ‘every knee would bow’ – His Heavenly Father. Yes, when Jesus was offered the kingship, he was not dreaming about ruling, but He escaped to do some praying – in the hills alone (John 6:14-15; Math 14:22-23). They wanted to give Him an elevated chair – the throne. But He preferred to climb the elevation of the hills where He could talk, one on one, with His Father. He knew, it was not His Father’s will that He should become the kind of King, the people wanted him to become, right way. He had to wait. He had to suffer first. He had to be bound, butchered, bloodied and bashed up and pinned up on the Cross for the sins of the planet before He could come back riding a white horse as the Ruler of the Planet. And He was ready for that. He was willing to go through that. Yes, He first chose to be lifted up and be pinned on the Cross with crude nails before He agreed to being lifted up and be placed in an high and lofty throne, with cries of ‘All Hail, King Jesus!’ belting the air!

But He preferred to climb the elevation of the hills where He could talk, one on one, with His Father.

What about you? Have you joined the rat race for position? Do you scheme and work your way to the top post using unfair means? Will you not learn from Jesus and Jyothi Basu in this regard? Position should follow you. You should never go in search for it. And sometimes, even when it comes in search of you, you must be willing to say ‘no’! Like Jesus did. Like Jyothi Basu did. If you did that, the Lord Jesus, who was lifted up on the Cross for your sake, will lift you up in ‘due’ time! And trust me, He will not be a second too late or a second too early!