May 2007
Lame duck believers
The President’s post is the highest and powerful in America . But during the elections in 2006, many of the powers of the president Mr. Bush were clipped His power went to democrats who started controlling him. The news papers portrayed him as a ‘lame duck president’
The Christian believers also living like this, even though God has given them power and authority to exercise them (Lk. 9:1-6). In the Bible, Jesus Christ spelled out two words related to the word ‘lame duck’.
1. Fig tree:
The fig tree has to produce fruit. It is the indication of its growth. If it is not producing fruit, then it is waste for the soil and also for the place occupied by it. It is better to throw it and use the place for some other purpose.(Ref Luke 13:6-7), Then He told this parable. A man had a fig tree, planted 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?’)
The Christians have to produce fruit by His power so that the world will recognize us. This will make others to come to Jesus Christ. Let us live up to the expectation of our Lord Savior Jesus Christ and exercise His power in our life to bear more fruits.
2. White Washed Tomb:
Jesus used the word “white washed tomb” to refer to the Pharisees. They are the people who never go or allow others to enter in to the kingdom of God . Their outside life is decorated but inner heart never matches with that. God hates the people with dual personalities.(Ref. Matt 23:27-28) “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. (V.28) In the same way, on the outside you appear to be as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.)
Jesus correctly pointed out that they have a name in the society but there is no inner life. They are just like a tomb which has name outside with no life inside.
In our lives, we are teaching, preaching, and training others to come to Christ. We have a name in the Christian circles. Do these activities match with our inner lives? Do our souls have life revived each day in His presence?. Let us evaluate our lives today in His presence and correct it.
J. Peter Daniel M.E., 76, Living Spring Avenue , Sanjeevipuram, Bagayam,
Vellore 632 – 002, Phone. 0416 2260066, 09443800395.
email: peterpearline@yahoo.co.in
http://glocalyouthvision.wordpress.com
Illustration
Thanks to GYV member
A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open.
He was late for office so he asked his wife to capthe bottle and keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter.
The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated by its color and drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband.
When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words.
QUESTIONS :
1. What were the five words ?
2. What is the implication of this story?
ANSWER :
The husband just said “I am with you Darling” The husband’s totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time
to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened.
No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.
If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And
you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.
MORAL OF THE STORY: This story is really worth reading. …..
Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to
blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we
know. By this way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.
Global News
Fall of an icon?
[ 3 Apr, 2007 2116hrs IST TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
Ninety-two per cent of the respondents in a TOI poll said Sachin should be dropped. Is it time to re-think, eh Little Master?
At one point, it was unimaginable that 92 per cent of poll respondents would say “yes” to the question, ‘Should Sachin be dropped?’ Anyone who publicly said that Sachin needs to quit, would need security guards.
Sadly, after India lost to Sri Lanka in a match that saw Dilhara Fernando bowling out Sachin, the Master Blaster’s house needed security. Will the Dilhara vs Sachin moment define the toppling of one of cricket’s most loved heroes? The BCCI meeting scheduled for April 7 will reveal that. Or will Sachin opt out himself ?
Those who said that he should be dropped, have their reasons. But wasn’t he their icon? “Sachin doesn’t dominate the field anymore,” says Tom Alter, who was the first person to interview Sachin Tendulkar on TV as a 15 year old kid.
“Before anybody else makes a decision on what will happen to Tendulkar, he himself has to have a good long look in the mirror. He should retire immediately,” went the infamous Ian Chappell observation. And sadly, for Sachin, there are many out there echoing Chappell.
Commentator Kirti Azad’s take on the issue is, “I think going by recent performances, it’s time Sachin thought about opting out.”
Even former firebrand batsman Navjyot Singh Sidhu has similar sentiments to share. “Sachin’s career is obviously in decline – it’s painful to see him scratching around,” says Sidhu.
But Sachin’s exit might mean a jolt to his current endorsements. At present, his obligations include a three-year marketing deal with a media management company, reportedly in the region of $40 million (Rs 180 crore), and a Rs 40 crore deal with a digital imaging company.
Jews more intelligent than others: Study
[ 12 Apr, 2007 0745hrs IST PTI ]
JERUSALEM : The average IQ score of the Jews is seven to fifteen points higher than other communities, a British social theorist has claimed.
Social theorist Charles Murray, in his study points to “the high rate of Nobel Laureates in the Jewish community and mentions that from the birth of monotheism to the medieval philosopher Maimonides, 17th-century rationalist Spinoza and the scientists, artists and intellectuals of the modern world, Jews have shown a rare affinity with scholarship”.
Since the second half of the 20th century, Jews have received 29 Nobel prizes, Murray wrote in ‘Commentary’, a neoconservative journal. “These figures are significant particularly as Jews constitute about two-tenths of one per cent of the world’s population,” the researcher said.
CIC imposes fine on doctor for info delay
[ 10 Apr, 2007 0911hrs IST PTI ]
NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has imposed a fine of Rs 13,000 on a doctor of a MCD hospital for delay in providing information on an RTI application.
Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah penalised Dr Madhu Jain, Public Information Officer (PIO) of Hindu Rao Hospital with the amount holding her liable for delay of 52 days in disclosing information sought by Navin Neeraj and Subroto Roy.
Neeraj and Roy, both doctors at the hospital, had filed a RTI application on December 30, 2005 seeking certain information over a file related to harassment cases reported by junior officers of the health department of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi .
Unsatisfied at the partial response, an appeal was filed before the CIC which in its order on February 2, asked for a written explanation from the Medical Superintendent of (MS) the hospital.
The Commission, relying on the explanation put forth by the MS, found Jain responsible for delay in providing the information and imposed the fine amount.
Dalit groom creates history:
Akshay tritya, considered the most auspicious day for weddings, will yet again see thousands of couples coming together this year. But one wedding in Madhya Pradesh will stand out. Though Sagar is only 30 kms from Baamnaur, it’s taken centuries for a dalit to cross over on a horse. Bridegroom Surendra Ahirwaar perhaps created a history of sorts, at least in the region when he became the first Dalit groom to sit on a horse and lead his wedding procession. Horses are reserved for the upper caste. This is an unwritten rule thats been followed for centuries in the Yadav dominated Baamnaur village without any opposition. So when Surender announced his intentions, the upper castes were far from pleased. Not surprisingly, the upper castes boycotted the wedding. And even the preparations had to be carried out under security. It was indeed one wedding that has given people something to talk about for years. (Rakesh Tewary, Rubina Khan Shapoo,
Cow urine used to ‘purify’ kids:
Teachers of a primary school in Bhandara district of Maharshtra sprinkled cow’s urine in the school premises and on students. They did this because the previous headmistress was a Dalit and they wanted to purify the school and the children of the lower castes. It was no educational trip to the police station for the school children – they were witnesses to the case of the violation of civil liberties committed when their new principal allegedly sprinkled cow urine or goumutra in their classroom and on them. The upper caste principal apparently did this to purify the school and its students because the woman she replaced was also a Dalit. The act and the reason have obviously angered the parents. But the school authorities refute the very allegation.
Though a case has been registered, the police have taken no action against the principal yet. (Piyush Pushpak, http://www.ibnlive.com/news/teachers-purify-kids-with-gaumutra/38918-3.html assessed on 21 April 2007)
Thanks to Rev.Dr. J.N. Manokaran http://www.glocalassociates.org/
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