Monday, September 30, 2013

Bubbly Outside, Yet Empty Inside?

-Duke Jeyaraj



THE SEARCH

Aishwariya Rai talked about it – a vacuum in her heart. She told the press once, “You know as Miss World, I was suddenly exposed to so much that after that year was over, there was a vacuum!” (The Times of India, 20 October 1999). Lindsay Lohan, actress of the erotic thriller movie, The Canyons (2013), told Oprah Winfrey in an interview that she wanted to go even to prison to “find some peace” (in an interview aired on 18 August 2013).

Do those real stories which you just read strike a chord in your bosom? Have you felt the same vacuum in your heart?  Have to sought after serenity? Have you gone on a peace-chase? Think of the nights you hit the bed and stared into the ceiling and asked the question, “Is that all there is to life?” You walk with a spring in your step. You invariably flash a beaming smile. Your eyes sparkle. But deep down inside you are perhaps empty. Mankind – from Mahendra Singh Dhoni to Manpreet Goni – is on a search for meaning, for fulfillment in life. There is a universal feeling that “life means more”. Life surely means more than growing up, studying, finding a job, getting married, having kids, becoming a grandpa and dying. Man is constantly on the hunt to discover that ‘something that is more to life’. We are all searching for true peace. We are all searching for salvation. “A college dropout, Steve Jobs floated through India in search of spiritual guidance prior to founding Apple.” (www.dnaindia.com, 6 October 2011). If you are searching for the meaning and purpose in your life here is a promise for you from the God of the Bible: Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed (Jer. 29:11, The Bible, Message version)!

THE SURPRISE

In our quest to find what is missing in our life we try out different things: Drugs and discos; porn-watching  and perversion; shopping sprees; boozing binges; passionate petting of the private parts of the opposite gender;  working long hours, etc. But when these are tried they leave us emptier than when we started out. We can try to fill that vacuum with loads of wit or wisdom or work or women or wine.  Yet that vacuum will surprisingly and stubbornly stays, we have discovered, haven’t we?

Here below are extracts from one of most heart-crushing suicide notes you will ever get to read:

“I was scared of getting pregnant but I gave myself (to you) completely. The pain you have caused me everyday has destroyed every bit of me, destroyed my soul. The Goa trip was my birthday present but even after you cheated I still spent on you. I aborted our baby when it hurt me deeply. You promised me once we made it to one year we would get engaged. All you want in life is partying, your women and your selfish motives. I leave this place with nothing but broken dreams and empty promises....”

Reportedly, those are actual lines from the suicide note of Bollywood starlet Jiah Khan made public by her mother Rabiya. Jiah was an American-born actress who was raised in London. In this note, Jiah was apparently talking about her boyfriend, Suraj Pancholi, at whose home she reportedly stayed, in what was her last weekend of her life before she killed herself on a Monday night, minutes after receiving a 'break-up' bouquet. Jiah's Twitter bio suggested that she wanted to see life through her rose-colored glasses. Seeing life through her rose-colored glasses, she perhaps thought (as is revealed by suicide note) a sexual relationship with the man of her dreams and consequent marriage to the same person would give her life ultimate meaning, real purpose and lasting joy. But it did not. She was left feeling empty. She was left feeling shattered. She was so miserable that she committed suicide. On June 4, 2013, Bollywood was rudely woken up the news of her suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan during the previous night in her Juhu flat. She was just 25. She had acted in movies opposite to some big names in Bollywood – Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar. Temporary fame only whetted her appetite for more fame and when that did not come, Jiah took her life in disgust. “You don’t find in sin, what you entered sin to find!” Ask Jiah Khan! Ask yourself!

Bollywood Director, Mahesh Bhatt makes a great point we must consider here: “It’s true. Stars (not just them, each of us, we would admit) hide their pain and emptiness not only from the media and the world but also from themselves.” Then Mahesh goes on to talk about how the movie stars “act out their inner pain in a wide variety of ways, including wild living, drug-intake, angry brawls, etc.” His conclusion is telling: “But having seen and experienced the highs and lows of the show business oneself. I can say with certainty that drugs won’t help you to deal with the loneliness of stardom. Money won’t help you. Sex won’t help you. You take a drink or drug to quench the fire that blazes inside you. Instead the alcohol and drugs (and the rest of the stuff you do) only make the fire burn more insanely….” (The Hindustan Times, 13 May 2001).

You know what? The Bible, God’s Word put in human words, agrees with Mahesh Bhatt here. The Bible explains why we have such emptiness in our hearts in the first place. It is because we try to fill that emptiness without God, who alone can give us real and ultimate enjoyment (Eccl. 2:25, The Bible). “Life under the sun, will be meaningless and futile until we make a living relationship with the one above the sun – God!” (This is how Selwyn Hughes summarized the message of Ecclesiastes – one of the 66 books that the Bible is a library of). Only God can satisfy our search for true meaning in life. “Show us the Father (Father was the word Jesus used for God) and we will be satisfied.” That is how Philip, one of the disciples of Jesus expressed this truth (Jn. 14:8 The Bible, NLT Version). Pascal put it precisely: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in our heart and only God can fill it!” That God-shaped vacuum entered our souls because of sin, the Bible explains (Isa. 57:20,21, The Bible). “Emptiness is their only reward,” the Bible says, when it speaks about people who make sin their life-style (Job 15:17,31; The Bible, NLT Version).

The emptiness, the God-shaped vacuum entered our lives because of sin, the Bible explains. We are all sinners – from Gandhi to Godse, from Mother Teresa to Lady Diana - without exception. This is an assertion of the Bible (in Rom. 3:23). Hollywood interestingly titled a movie, Six Degrees of Separation. The Bible’s teaching is that sin has separated us from God who made us in his pattern (Isa. 59:2, The Bible). Hence this empty feeling in our soul came into existence. The Bible also warns that sin will make us its slave and ultimately take us to the lake of burning sulfur where worms would feast on its ever-conscious human residents  which Jesus called as Hell (Mk 9:48; Jn 8:34: Rev 21:8; The Bible). Hell was created by God for the Devil and his Angels, the Bible declares (Mt. 25:41, The Bible). It is the Devil who brings about an endless, restlessness and vacuum in our being as he is in that very state.  In the Bible, Jesus pointed out that he wanders around desperately looking for a place to rest (Mt. 12:43, The Bible). The restless Devil brings in restlessness and void in your heart and, if given room, he can push you to self-destructive habits like smoking, porn-watching, having sex outside of marriage, fits of rage, use of profanity, etc. (See Mk. 5:5 in The Bible).
 

THE SURRENDER
This statement of Charles Spurgeon is biblical and true: “Morality can keep you out of jail. But it takes the blood of Jesus to keep you out of hell!
 

The Bible also makes it clear that we cannot fill this emptiness in our hearts on our own (Isa. 57:12, The Bible). You can’t lift yourself with your bootlace, can you? Our good deeds are like a woman’s menstrual cloth in God’s sight, according to the Bible (Ezek 36:17). This statement of Charles Spurgeon is biblical and true: “Morality can keep you out of jail. But it takes the blood of Jesus to keep you out of hell!”  Max Lucado wrote, “Two kids in a mud puddle can’t clean each other. They need someone clean. Someone spotless. We need someone clean too. That’s why we need a Savior.” That brings us to the reason why Jesus – God cloaked in human flesh – came to planet earth two millennia back.

Let’s look at a Cricket story which will help us to understand why Jesus came into this world. Virat Kolhi had just got out as Dilshan took a brilliant return catch. Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were back in the pavilion, already. 161 runs were still needed by India. They had to score them in 170 balls. That was the equation. It was the 22nd over. India were in a tight situation in the World Cup final at packed Wankhade stadium, Mumbai, on 2nd April 2011. India was in the danger of losing the game. Then someone spoke up. "I will go in. Though it is not my turn to. Just give me a bat!" It was the Indian captain. It was Mahendra Singh Dhoni speaking.

The world is in trouble. You and I are heading to eternal, ever-burning hell, along with everyone else. "I will go in to save the world, Father! Just give me a body to clothe my eternal spirit. I will get into Mary's womb!" So said the ever-existing Jesus  in a possible planning meeting in the heavens dated eternity past.   Then, over 2000 years ago, Jesus executed what was decided in that meeting. He entered the womb of virgin Mary.  Thus happened the first ever Christmas (This paragraph is based on Heb. 10: 5-8 in the Bible air-brushed with creativity).

India became the first team to win the World Cup at home, thanks to Dhoni's  daring voluntary act. You and I have the only way of being saved from going to hell and finding purpose in life because of Jesus' sacrificial, voluntary act that resulted in the first Christmas.

Jesus came to give each one of us LIFE – LIFE TO THE FULL, the Bible teaches (Jn 10:10, The Bible). He came to plug that vacuum in the soul of every human heart and save every willing person from the disease that is far deadlier than cancer or AIDS – the disease called sin! He in-effect told a woman who had sex with at least 6 different men something like this: “The water of sex and men cannot fill the emptiness in your heart, lady.  But if you come to me in faith and drink the living water I give you, you will be satisfied. Just like you drink water every day, if you have a living, daily,  relationship  with me,  your life will be satisfied (John 4, The Bible). He says the same thing to you as well.  Without a relationship with Jesus, no matter what you do or what you have, your life will never be “full” – it will always be empty and void. Yes, Jesus came to plug that vacuum in the soul of every human and save every person from his sins! He alone is qualified to do so because he never ever sinned in all his life – something no one else has done in all of the world’s history – and therefore did not experience a vacuum in His heart. He wagged his bony finger at his worst enemies during that time – the religious heads of the Jewish religion – saying, “Which of you can truthfully convict me of sin?” They were mum (Jn. 8:46, The Bible, NLT version). You see, because Jesus never sinned, he never had this emptiness in his soul and therefore logically qualifies to be the only one who can plug the vacuum in every human heart and give it purpose and meaning.  He is the Living Water we must drink (believe in) in order to never thirst again (or experience the empty feeling in our soul).

The Ram Gopal Verma movie The Attacks of 26/11 chillingly showed how Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police, Tukaram Gopal Omble, a family man and a father of four daughters, armed with just a baton took on the dreaded terrorist Ajmal Kasab in a Mumbai road on 26.11.2008. Kasab acted as if he was dead when the police fired into the hi-jacked silver color Skoda car he and his accomplice were riding on towards a checkpost.  Kasab’s accomplice died in the firing. When Omble daringly took the lead to open the Skoda car door, Kasab suddenly started to move menacingly. Omble acted quickly to catch hold of the barrel of Kasab’s AK47 rifle with both hands. Kasab, in retaliation, opened fire. A spray of bullets entered Omble’s stomach and intestines. Omble tightly held onto the barrel of Kasab’s AK 47 and would not simply let go of it till he breathed his last. This brave act forcefully prevented Kasab’s AK47 – a machine that he had mercilessly used to kill innocent people in the Mumbai CST Railway Station and the Cama Hospital just minutes before this event – from firing at anyone else. Omble died but he gave the police forces enough time to reach the terrorist and catch him alive. Kasab, part of a team of 10 terrorists who entered Mumbai that day, was the only terrorist to be captured alive (Story reconstructed using various news websites). Omble sacrificed his life for many Mumbaikars who did not even know him that day.

Omble’s sacrificial act somewhat typifies what Jesus did for us in an imperfect way. He died a cruel death for each one of us when we were still sinners and far away from him enjoying the temporary pleasures of sin, the Bible teaches (Heb. 11:25; Rom. 5:8, The Bible). The punishment that brings us peace was upon him when he hung on the Cross, the Bible declares (Isa 53:5, The Bible). Our backs should have been whipped as a punishment for the sins of our body – be that over-eating or masturbation coupled with porn-watching or any other unprintable sin.  But Jesus took that punishment upon his own back. Strong-armed Arnold Schwarzenegger-like Roman Soldiers whipped Jesus’ back 39 times with leather belts that had broken bone and nail pieces embedded on them. As a result his back was lacerated and looked like a plowed field in accordance to a Bible prophecy – just one of over 110 major prophecies that Jesus fulfilled during his earthly life (Micah 3:12, The Bible).  He loves us so very madly that he himself took upon his body, the punishment for our sins meant for our body (I Peter 2:24, The Bible). Because Jesus is 100% God who in turn is beyond the dimension of time he could die for all humans of all times. Because He is 100% human (even while he was 100% God) he could become the substitute for every human being. As the Bible puts it, “Jesus loved us and gave himself for us” (Gal. 2:20, The Bible). No one could have loved us the way Jesus did! No one loves us the way Jesus does. And what is more - Jesus came back to life, a feat that points to the fact that he is God and he is above everyone in the long line of self-proclaimed gods, so records the Bible (Rom. 1:4, The Bible). 

The only cure for ache in your heart is to leave your life of sin and believe in Jesus. It is to turn away from sin and turn to Jesus. This is what the Bible teaches.  When we will take a U-turn in our sin-filled life journey and get back to the ancient path called Jesus, we will find rest for our souls, the Bible asserts (Jeremiah 6:16, The Bible).  The Bible calls this as “repentance”.  Jesus preached repentance. He said, “Unless you repent you too will all perish!” (Luke 13:5, The Bible).  We might think we have lots of time to repent. Jesus talked about the wife of a man called Lot who did not have lots of time to repent in the Bible (Luke 17:32). She turned into a salt shaft and suddenly died when she wanted to take one last look at sin! It is never too early to come to Christ. But at any moment it can be too late because there is no salvation after death, the Bible reveals (in Heb. 9:27). Over 300 times the Bible declares in various ways and using different imagery that Jesus will return to planet Earth in a public, dramatic manner. French News Agency AFP Photographer, Oliver Morin, clicked a picture of Usain Bolt crossing the finish line in the 100 meters final at the Moscow World Athletic Championships 2013. In that picture, there was a bolt of lighting across the black sky as (Usain) Bolt crossed the finish line. When Jesus returns back to the earth, to judge all of the earth, the Bible declares that lightning will flash and light up the sky from one side to another (Luke 17:24, The Bible). And to think the Bible – God’s Word in human words – has never ever gone wrong in over 600 historical events it has predicted! To ignore the words of the Bible would be like shooting yourself on the foot! And after Jesus returns for the second time, it would be too late for anyone to repent from their sin, then and come to him. He who is willing to save you now, would not be willing to do that when he comes back the second time, the Bible teaches (Luke 17:28-32, The Bible). If we uncovered our sins to Jesus and confessed them to Him with a repentant heart, our sins will be covered when he comes back the second time to judge the world, thanks to His shed blood on the cross of Calvary, the Bible teaches (I Jn. 1:9, The Bible). But, on the other hand, if we cover-up our sins now and act as if we have not sinned, then, on the great day of judgment our sins will be made public before the whole world much to our shame, leading us to an eternal torment in hell. This is the teaching of the Bible (Prov. 28:13; Rom. 2:5; Rev. 21:7-8, The Bible).

Michael Schumacher was racing against time to catch a flight after having bought a puppy. This seven-time Formula One World Champion car-racer was in a taxi on the way to the airport. At that time, he politely asked the driver to vacate from his seat and took over the driving from him. And he drove incredibly fast and overtook at some improbable places to reach the aerodrome near Coburg in time. He gave the excited and amazed driver named Tuncer Yilmaz a very generous tip of 100 Euros over the 60 Euro taxi charge (www.Telegraph.co.uk, 11 December 2007). Jesus asks you to trust him and turn over the driving seat of your life to him by faith. When he drives the car of your life, the journey would be incredible and the reward he will give you at the end of that journey would be immeasurable - life eternal in heaven. What is more, every moment of your journey with him will be meaningful and purposeful. Don’t wait even for a second to turn over the driving seat of your life to Jesus by faith.

You have to make a choice about Jesus. You can call Jesus the biggest liar who ever lived. Or you can call him a nut-loose – a lunatic. Or you can call him the Lord - the only Savior of your soul and invite him into your heart and life. But you have no way of getting around his claims to say, “Jesus was one of the good men who lived in the earth.” In fact if you call Jesus as one of the many good men or god men of this world you are in-effect calling him a liar. He did not give you the option of doing that in the first place. So he’s got be one of the three: a liar, a lunatic or the Lord he claimed to be (as C. S. Lewis put it). He can’t be a liar. He was sinless, the Bible records. He couldn’t be a lunatic. He did not giggle in glee like a madman when he was hammered on the Cross – did you notice? That leaves us with just one option: he is the only Way to Heaven; the only Way to fulfillment and purpose in life. He categorically stated in the Bible, “For unless you believe that I am who I say I am, you will die (which ultimately means to be cast in the lake of burning sulfur to be tormented forever) in your sins!” (Jn. 8:24, The Bible).

So, come to Christ, with a simple faith – even if we may never fully understand all about him – that he died and rose to take away the blankness in your bosom, right now without any delay!

By praying this prayer with all your heart you can invite Jesus into your heart and life and see the vacuum in your heart go:

Dear Jesus, I am a sinner. I acknowledge that the vacuum in my heart is because I have sinned against you. Please forgive me. I repent of my sin. Thank you for dying for me on that hill and rising up again. Cleanse me with your blood, which you shed for me! I promise to live for you – with you helping me out. So be it!”

If you have a question, please feel to email them at duke@aol.in. To read the Bible online go to www.esvbible.org

 

Friday, July 5, 2013

EDGE-OF-THE-SEAT EXCITEMENT AT EDGBASTON END-GAME

Duke Jeyaraj puts the Champions Trophy 2013 India-England Final in Edgbaston, England on 23 June 2013 in poetry
 

This Champions Trophy Final almost never took off because of the near non-stop rainfall,
In the end, it was it proved to be an edge-of-the-seat exciting game for all,
A gripping World Tournament Final it was, with any result possible until the very last ball.
Like he had done all through the tourney, Opener Dhawan the ball in his typical style, maul,
As India’s innings progressed, big-match hero, Dhoni’s duck did the Indian frenzied fans, appall,
Bopara’s mid-innings wicket-to-wicket wicket-taking bowling India’s run-progress, did stifle and stall,
But Kohli & Jadeda’s calculated hitting got India, in the given tough conditions, a total which was definitely not small,
India bowlers bowled a tight line, and it looked like England’s were to suffer their typical World Tourney Finals’ fall,
But battler Bopara and ‘monk’ Morgan counter-attacking hitting had India’s backs against the wall,
Raina’s three tight overs kept India in the hunt – this was turning out to be a match whose end was certain to enthrall,
When Dhoni asked his least-effective bowler of the day, Ishant, to bowl over No. 18, he, a fool, some wanted to call,
But it proved to be a Master stoke, and winner of that nerve-wracking Over No. 18 mini-battle was the man so tall,
Edgbaston crowd were at the edge of their seats, as Ashwin bowled with six needed off the last ball,
Tredwell’s heave did not connect, it was England’s turn, yet again, in a global ODI Final, to drink ‘wine mixed with gall’,
Jumping like an excited School Kid, Dhoni let out a scream that would have been heard even in the land of Gaul!
At the presentation, Dhoni remarked that he told his team, that it was not to God for intervention, they must look to call,
But instead, they had to make England, fight for every run, and give every ball, their all,
And the Indian team’s heeded to their captain’s words to jailbreak from their potentially boat-sinking squall!
The World T20, the World ODI, the Test No.1 and this Champions Trophy – long was the list of Dhoni’s title haul!



Dhoni’s advice to his team during the break may have worked a wonder,
But in the game of life, when we refuse the Ever-Present Help’s help, that would be a big blunder,
“How can my life be purposeful and meaningful?” – if that’s the question about which you deeply ponder,
Here is my answer - a living, daily, relationship with Jesus will give a lasting joy, which the Devil cannot plunder!
And fill your walk with purpose, peace-amidst-storm, in each step and an eternal home to bask in, yonder!


Tuesday, June 11, 2013

LIFE THROUGH JIAH KHAN’S ROSE-COLORED GLASSES & THE LIFE THE ‘ROSE OF SHARON’ WILL GIVE THE TRUE-JOY-SEEKING YOU!

- Duke Jeyaraj on what gives life, the ultimate meaning, real purpose and lasting joy starting with the Jiah Khan suicide story.



Here are extracts from a heart-crushing suicide note:

“I was scared of getting pregnant but I gave myself completely. The pain you have caused me everyday has destroyed every bit of me, destroyed my soul. I can’t eat or sleep or think or function. I am running away from everything. All I wanted was love. I did everything for you. I was working for us. But you were never my partner. My future is destroyed my happiness snatched away from me. You destroyed my life. The Goa trip was my birthday present but even after you cheated I still spent on you. I aborted our baby when it hurt me deeply. You promised me once we made it to one year we would get engaged. All you want in life is partying, your women and your selfish motives. All I wanted was you and my happiness you took both away from me.…”

Reportedly, those are actual lines from the suicide note of Bollywood starlet Jiah Khan made public by her mother Rabiya. Jiah was an American-born actress who was raised in London. In this note, Jiah was talking about her boyfriend, Suraj Pancholi, at whose home she reportedly stayed, in what was her last weekend of her life before she killed herself on Monday night. Jiah's Twitter bio suggested that she wanted to see life through her rose-colored glasses. Seeing life through her rose-colored glasses, she perhaps thought (as is revealed by suicide note) a sexual relationship with the man of her dreams and consequent marriage to the same person would give her life ultimate meaning, real purpose and lasting joy. But it did not. She was left feeling empty. She was left feeling shattered. She was so miserable that she committed suicide. On June 4, 2013, Bollywood was rudely woken up the news of her suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan during the previous night in her Juhu flat. The news of her suicide reached Bollywood director Ram Gopal Varma at 1:30 am on 4th June. She was just 25. She had acted in movies opposite to some big names in Bollywood – Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and Akshay Kumar. Temporary fame only whetted her appetite for more fame and when that did not come, Jiah took her life in disgust.
In the Bible, we get to meet a ‘male Jiah Khan.’ Bemused? Don’t be. I want to refer to Ahitophel, the counselor to kings of Israel as the ‘male Silk Jiah Khan’. Both folk reached the pinnacle of their professions in their times. Having reached the pinnacle of their careers, both suddenly faced failures. When Jiah starred opposite to Amitabh in 2007 in a movie, she was perhaps the brightest newcomer to Bollywood. While Jiah faced competition from other upcoming starlets, She was ignored. “Jiah was in Hyderabad the day before her death for an audition which didn't go well,” new websites reported. When she contacted, Director, Ram Gopal Verma, he told her that he was not able to fit her in any of the movies he was currently working on. Jiah felt like a failure in her profession, following these experiences. She ended her life. In the same way Ahitophel’s sad end came after he committed suicide, just like Jiah’s – the Bible reveals (2 Sam 17:23). Unable to face failures in their professional lives, both of them tragically ended their lives. What Jiah and Ahitophel did not perhaps realize when they committed suicide was that they couldn’t really kill themselves. The real persons inside this duo - their souls – continued to live long after their body became lifeless following their shocking suicides. Yes, each one of us has a soul inside of us which will go on to live forever and ever. This is what the Bible teaches. God has placed, eternity in our hearts – this is the teaching of the Bible (Eccl 3:11).

In the Bible, we meet yet another Jiah Khan – we can see the woman from Samaria that Jesus met at a well that way. Both were similar in their viewpoint that sexual relationship and men would give their lives meaning and purpose. The woman from Samaria perhaps thought to herself that if she drank the water called ‘love of a man’ she would find true satisfaction in her life. She was married to five different men, one after the other. Marriage number 1, perhaps failed and she sought solace in Marriage number 2. Then Marriage number 2, too failed. This went on till Marriage number 5. After each such sour relationship, she became frustrated and sincerely believed ‘another husband who was different’ would make her life ultimately happy. But she could not find that elusive happiness. She could not find in sin, what she entered sin to find. Sin did not satisfy her soul’s inner longings! When she met Jesus at the well, she was in her relationship number 6 – a relationship that involved living-in with a man, a relationship that involved, most certainly, sex outside the boundaries of marriage. What Jesus told her was in-effect this: “If you drink the water of sex, you will thirst again. If you drink the water I give you (in other words, if you have a living, daily relationship with me) then you will never thirst again!”

“Life under the sun was meaningless unless one has a relationship with the one above the Sun – even God!” – that was the message he tried to convey in this key Bible book (Eccl 2:25). Jiah, too, perhaps, discovered that the fleeting fame of the movie world and a sexual relationship with a Movie Star’s kid, ultimately left her only to whine, one fine day. These, instead of cheering her, irreversibly wove the option of suicide into her thoughts, and drove her deep into bottomless well of depression.

Yes, you could chase all the pleasures in the world in a desperate effort to discover happiness and peace, like Jiah did. But the pleasures of the World will not offer true happiness and peace – you will soon discover that. Only a daily, deep, relationship with Jesus – the one who died on the Cross for each one of us – will give us true happiness, peace, meaning and purpose. The punishment that brings us true peace was upon Jesus while he hung on the Cross, the Bible declares (in Isaiah 53). Jiah Khan ended her life deeply disappointed with all what movies with big stars, a sexual relationship, etc., could have ever offered her. If you chase the very things she chased – sex, silver, soul-mates, stardom, etc - or those of that kind, you too will be disappointed. Come to Christ, the one who explicitly said that he came to give you life – life to the full (John 10:10)! And you will not be disappointed! And you will find true peace and lasting joy. A loving relationship with Jesus, the only God who revealed himself in the flesh during the first Christmas, would be “enough” to satisfy the inner longings of the human soul, the Bible reveals (John 14:5,6). What’s more, when you come to Jesus in true repentance, your sins – even if they uncountable and even if they are unprintable – will be purged clean through the blood he shed for us on the Cross. This is a promise of God in the Bible who never tells a lie (cf. Isa 1:18).

If we pursue a living relationship with Jesus in our lives, our soul will be joyous on this side of eternity while we are still on this earth. Not only that – we will join Jesus after death to live with him forever after our soul will be reunited with our resurrected bodies. On the other hand, If we rejected Jesus, our souls, along with its resurrected bodies, will go to a place of torment that Jesus often talked about called Hell (See Daniel 12:2). This is the teaching of the Bible. So, what would you decide to do? What choice would you make? Would you reject Christ, live a life of living hell and go to literal hell? Or, would you live in Christ, experience the peace and joy he alone can give, and go to heaven to enjoy him, forever? I hope your choice will be wise.

One of the shadow-names of Jesus in the Bible is “Rose of Sharon” (Song of Songs 2:1, The Bible). Jiah Khan hoped what she saw on the other side of her rose-colored glasses – a sexual-relationship culminating in life-long love and marriage, a successful movie career, etc., - would give her life ultimate purpose, real meaning and lasting joy. She was disappointed. She committed suicide. Come to the Rose of Sharon, even, the Lord Jesus. Just as a Rose flower's full fragrance is felt when it's crushed, Jesus showed his full extent of his unparalleled love for us, by allowing himself - God-in-flesh - to be crushed as a punishment for our sins on the cross two millennia ago - this is what the Bible narrates (see Isaiah 53:5 which says, "But he (Jesus) was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed"). This 'Rose of Sharon,' will not disappoint you. He will give purpose and meaning in life. Jesus put purpose in each step of his, confessed Paul, a Jesus-follower (I Cor. 9:26, NLT Version of the Bible). When you give your life wholly to Jesus, the Rose of Sharon, you too will have purpose in each step!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

DO A RCB AND FACE DISQUALIFICATION DESPITE THOSE SIXES?

-Duke Jeyaraj
 




"Does 6s matter? RCB with most sixes (103) in IPL6 could not qualify to the last four, while CSK conceding most 6s (80) tops the table!" writes Mohandas Menon, a smart cricket statistician. By hitting those sixes, several of those were totally unnecessary given the match situation, the RCB batsmen were playing to the 'gallery'. They were responding to the crowd's demand. The result of such foolishness is for us to see - a disappointing failure to qualify for the playoffs narrowly for two years in a row. We too can 'do a RCB'. Let me explain: we can do those things that are pleasing to the crowd and fail to walk in the "narrow", unpopular, way which Jesus talked about (Math 7:14). The end result of following the broad way, the popular way, is 'disqualification' from eternal heaven (I Cor 9:27). The consequences of this folly is an everlasting torment in hell-fire - a place Jesus talked about eight times.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

A BRUTAL BUILDING CRASH IN BANGLADESH & A SANDESH (GOOD NEWS)

- Duke Jeyaraj




Have a look at this heart-rending picture from the deadliest industrial disaster to hit the South Asian nation of Bangladesh when an eight-storey building (called Rana Plaza) which housed five garment factories (that employed 4000 people) collapsed. In this chilling frozen frame we see two victims of this disaster lying covered in debris together — blood hardened on the man's cheek like a permanent tear. Many photographers documented the April 24, 2013 tragedy, standing silent testimony to the high cost of cheap labor. As more bodies were recovered on Friday, 10 May 2013, the total number of people confirmed dead rose to 1,039, even though 2400 survivors were rescued, said Maj. Zihadul Islam, a fire service official. But Taslima Akhter, in particular, shot a heartbreaking image that put a face on the tragedy for countless viewers across the world — starting with Akhter himself. Workers continue to find bodies, many of them in decomposed state, difficult to recognize.

(From various websites)

Rewind two thousand years. The town – Jerusalem. In the country of 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 Times of India. No Hindustan Times. No Deccan Chronicle. By word of mouth the news reaches this man. Who? Jesus. God in flesh.

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, The Message).

Jesus was implying that death for all of us is inevitable.

In the previous set of verses (vs. 1-2) Jesus was told about how the Roman Political ruler over the Jews in the area of Galilee named Pilate killed a few of them as they were making a sacrifice and went on to mix the blood of the dead folks in the sacrifice they offered. In the present passage, 18 people had died in an building crash accident. The implication is this: all of us would have to die – whether by assassination or by accident.

Jesus’ point here was this: those who escaped that particular building crash weren’t more righteous than those who died during it. Jesus’ message was this: all the survivors had to check there was sin in their lives and then repent from it, if there was. Jesus’ warning was this: if there was no sincere penitence there would be sure punishment. The punishment that Jesus referred to here was the punishment of perishing. “Perish” was a Bible word for an everlasting life in ever-burning hell.

Jesus is patient towards you that he does not want you to perish (in hell) but instead you would choose to take a U-turn and come to Him without wasting anymore time – that’s Peter’s point (2 Peter 3:9). Rahab, a prostitute did not “perish” because she repented (she was ready to relocate from her brothel and go with the True God believing spies who came to visit her) and believed in the True God of the Bible (see Heb 11:31). Would you also repent from sin and believe in Jesus so that you will not ‘perish’ in eternal hell?

Immediately after Jesus wrapped a message of repentance around the building crash event/the killing of Galileans event he told a story: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9). What did Jesus try to convey here? It is this: “If we have escaped an assassination bid or an accident, it’s not because we are more righteous than those who have perished by it. It is because I, Jesus, have been gracious to you to give you another chance. Another chance to repent. Another chance to take a U-turn and come back to me, who died for you on the Cross. But if you stay stubbornly in sin, a day is surely coming when you will be ‘cut off’ – go to hell!”

Having escaped “certain death” would you run straight to His arms, saying ‘no’ to sin? Do it now!

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Kings XI Punjab's Ice Cool Prince David Miller's Dad & Your King of Kings Dad!

Duke Jeyaraj wraps the Good News around the RCB Vs KXIP game in Mohali on 6 May 2013





He perhaps played the greatest ever IPL innings - 'the 38-ball-101' David Miller,
He scored his last 74 runs off just 20 balls, hitting four after four and sixer after sixer,
Miller was batting on 41 when the RCB skipper, Virat Kohli, dropped an absolute sitter,
It was as if Kohli's hands were made out of butter and 'You have dropped the match, mate' Miller did perhaps silently mutter,
And to think just the previous ball, Kohli had given an heated advice to the Vinay Kumar, the bowler,
Post that dropped catch Miller, 41 not out then, blitzed 60 runs off 17 balls, RCB's hopes to shatter,
His cluster of boundaries had a terrorizing effect on RCB - there was a misfield even from De Villiers, the fielder,
As Miller lifted Gayle for a typical V area six, Kings XI won with couple of overs still available as a filler!
And you could hear a stadium full of Kings XI fans in Mohali and owner Priety Zinta in joy, holler!
Post the match, Miller talked about the batting tips given him by his father,
'When the ball is in the V, hit it over the tree and hit it out of the park when it's in the ark' - so advised the Miller, senior,
And on that magic night, obedient to his daddy was David, the brutally brilliant V-area ball-striker!

This reminded me of the loving invitation of the Bible's Luke 15 Heavenly Father,
'I want you, son, home - that you have been rebelling against me, all this while, it doesn't matter!'
'I want to give you a ring to wear and your face, I want to, with kisses, smother!'
'My perfect Son, Jesus Christ died in your place, and therefore comes this forgiveness offer!'
Would you be obedient to this Heaven Dad loving call, as David Miller was to his dad's charge, dear sister and brother?

Saturday, March 30, 2013

SANJAY DUTT AND THE GOODNEWS FROM GOOD FRIDAY

Duke Jeyaraj
 
Bollywood Actor Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to a five-year jail term for illegal possession of weapons in the 1993 Bombay bomb blast case. Having spent 18 months in jail he will have to spend three-and-half years in prison as per the court verdict released a few days ago. To this he responded fighting back the tears, “I have not applied for pardon. There are others who deserve pardon.” (The Hindu, March 29, 2013). Dutt is saying in-effect here: “I deserve this punishment!” That reminds me of what one of the thieves crucified alongside Jesus two thousand years back said. He said, “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man (Jesus) has done nothing wrong.” This thief was saying in-effect: “I deserve this punishment!” And he went on to tell Jesus, “Jesus remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” (Lk 23:41-42). This dying thief exhibited two things: a repentant spirit and a visionary faith. He was sorry for the life as a robber. Though Jesus did not look any different from them at that point in time, he had eyes of faith to see Jesus as King of Kings with a kingdom! Upon seeing these two qualities, Jesus promised him paradise (Lk 23:43). The lesson: we may have squandered our lives, we may be sinners of the worst sort, but if we truly repent and totally trust Christ and what he has done for us on the Cross, we too will go to heaven! What is more, life on this earth will be meaningful and purposeful!

Sunday, March 17, 2013

What Men Rob Women Of

- Duke Jeyaraj

What men, in general (though there are exceptions) rob women of I have put it in the form of an acronym ‘w-o-m-a-n’:

W-wages. World over, women do still get paid much less than men, even if both end up doing the same job.

O-rgasm. This point applies to married couples only, and those planning to get married. While men want to have a great time in the bed, they aren’t, generally speaking, considerate enough to ensure that their wives equally share in this enjoyment.

M-ansions. Certain parents show partiality when it comes to dividing their ‘mansions’ – properties. The boys get a better share, most often than not.

A-ttention. When a woman speaks, many men go, “There is nothing I am going to learn from this person for after all she is a woman!” and switch off their prejudiced minds.

N-ight Freedom. A woman cannot travel alone, eat out alone, or even take a walk, late at night without fearing for her safety in our time, most times than not. The reason: yes, there are men who still behave like beasts out there.

Only an encounter with Jesus, who entered the world born of a woman (Gal 4:4) can soundly convert men so that they will stop robbing women.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

READING THE LINES THAT SHAHRUKH WROTE COMPARING RELIGION TO HIS FATHER’S SPECTACLES WITH “THE SPECTACLES OF REASON!”

- Duke Jeyaraj



Shah Rukh Khan wrote the following words in a recent, widely-talked about essay published by the Outlook magazine group: “For I believe, our religion is an extremely personal choice, not a public proclamation of who we are. It's as person as the spectacles of my father who passed away some 20 years ago. Spectacles that I hold onto as my most prized and personal possession of his memories, teachings and of being a proud Pathan. I have never compared those with my friends, who have similar possessions of their parents or grandparents. I have never said my father's spectacles are better than your mother's saree. So why should we have this comparison in the matter of religion, which is as personal and prized a belief as the memories of your elders.”


Shah Rukh compares the religion he followed to his father’s spectacles, here. This comparison he makes needs to be read by wearing “the spectacles of reason.” In other words, we must put our thinking caps and analyze what Shah Rukh has stated about religion here! What Shah Rukh seems to say in the aforementioned essay is simple: the main reason he has stayed put in his religion without converting to another, is that, it was handed over to him by his forefathers. When the claims of Jesus Christ’s uniqueness in a world of many religions are presented to folks, they generally voice the very same point that Shah Rukh so eloquently talks about here, using different vocabulary to defend their conviction that it is not necessary to convert to Christ, turning aside from the faith of their forefathers. How should one respond to this?


Come to think of it - there are many things, which many of us follow which weren’t given to us by our fathers or forefathers, in the first place! There are number of things we have to ban in our lives if we use the not-so-sensible logic that goes, “We will not embrace anything that our fathers or forefathers did not embrace!” Cricket came to us from England – not from our forefathers. Yet, we play that game! The mobile phone was invented and used first by Martin Cooper of Motorola in the country of the United States, in the year 1973. None of our great-grand fathers ever used it. But we use it, nevertheless! An American college student invented Facebook. But it’s part and parcel of our daily existence, isn’t it, even though it never crossed our ancestor’s mind? Shah Rukh Khan has openly talked about his addiction to the smoking habit in several forums. But even smoking is not something that came from an Indian grand-father or great-father. To tell the truth, tobacco came from North America. Yet, many Indians, like Shah Rukh smoke! The I-10 Hyundai Car that Shah Rukh promoted via ads is a car made by a Korean company! We could go on and on in this debate! When we embrace some stuff that never came from our ancestors (say cricket, mobile phones, Facebook, etc) and why do we hesitate to embrace religious faith our ancestors, perhaps, never followed, if that religious faith was indeed true and unique? Why this double-standard? Why this hypocrisy?


Let us get to the bottom of what I am trying to say through all of this: if we are honest, we would admit that we do indeed practice things that our forefathers never practiced; if we are truthful, we would surely admit that we accept things that our fathers never accepted. So, the question we must ask when we choosing our religious persuasion is not, “How can I embrace a religion which my father or grandfather never embraced?” Instead, we must ask the question, “Is the religion that I blindly follow because my father follows(ed) it, true?”


And Jesus, the only God-in-flesh, claimed to be “the” truth and that there was no other way to God the Father, except through Him (see John 14:16 in The Bible). In other words, Jesus indicated through this claim, that any claim of anyone else contradicting this His claim, was fully false. And Jesus gave proof of this claim through his pure life (even his worst enemies could not find a single fault with him) and powerful life (he worked outstanding miracles which even his enemies acknowledged). What’s more, he died on a cruel Cross, as a substitute for the sins of people of all religions, races and time, the Bible teaches (see Hebrews 9:12 in The Bible). Whoever we may be, whatever religion we may belong to, we must all repent from our sins, wrong beliefs concerning God, and put our total faith on Jesus who is going to judge all of the world on the final day, to experience salvation, true life, real joy and lasting peace – the Bible teaches (Acts 17:29-31). And there is simply no other way!