Praise the Lord.
It is Friday. Sunday is coming. Praise the Lord for the way He has created us and has redeemed us that we might live grateful lives of worship, witness, and ministry. Praise the Lord that we can serve Him in Freedom and Joy. We become energized by being spent in Kingdom. We get a thrill by being His servants.
I cannot imagine what it would be like to be paralyzed. Christian artist and author, Joni Earikson Tada, who is paralyzed from the neck down, tells of what it is like to have to have someone have to get you out of bed, brush your teeth, wipe you, bathe you, and feed you. She says that after 30 years of doing this, you would think she would be used to it by now, but she is not. Every morning she prays for God to help her through one more day. The feeling of being totally helpless and dependent on others would be enough to send most of us into deep depression. But imagine what it would be like before wheelchairs, motorized chairs, rehab, braces, hospitals, special devices, etc. That was the case with the man in John 6 — paralyzed with no benefits that we in the modern world have. He was lying beside a pool with other sick people. They were drawn to the pool by a superstitious tale that an angel would come and stir the waters of the pool, and the first one to get in would be healed. This myth promoted the false idea that God plays games with people, or that he treats them on a “first come, first served” basis. The notion was fostered by the fact that the pool was spring fed, and when the spring periodically flowed into the pool, the water in the pool was stirred. But this man could not get into the pool. He could do nothing on his own. All he could do was to lay there. He was totally at the mercy of other people. He would not eat unless someone brought him food. He could not drink unless someone brought him water. He did not move unless someone carried him. He was this way for thirty-eight years. He watched other people walk and go about with their normal lives, and he was tempted to despair and become bitter. But his condition was about to change. Jesus saw the man lying there and inquired about him. He learned that this man had been like this for a long time. Jesus turned to him and asked the most important question of his life: “Do you want to be well?” At first, the question seemed absurd. Why would he not want to be well? Why would he be lying next to this pool with its rumors of angels and healing if he did not want to get well? But what is interesting in the story is that the man never answered Jesus’ question. He only blamed others for not helping him. He complained that no one would put him into the pool, and that someone else always beat him to the punch. He was full of discouragement, and self-pity .But then Jesus asked the man to do something, and his healing was dependent upon whether he would do what Jesus asked. He said to the man, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Even if the man were not paralyzed, laying on a mat for thirty-eight years would have atrophied his muscles and made it impossible to get up and walk. But the man felt life surging through his formerly paralyzed body. He obeyed the word of Jesus and picked up his mat and walked. Whether he was thirty-eight years old and never walked, or he was older and had been paralyzed from an accident for thirty-eight years, we do not know. What we do know is that he was immediately cured when he responded to Jesus, saying, “Get up and walk.” What is amazing is what we do not find in the story. There is no indication of faith on the part of this man. He never asked to be healed, and furthermore, there is no expression of appreciation when he is healed. In other accounts of healing, people express their thanks to Jesus and even fall at his feet in worship. But there is not a word from this man, no word of gratitude, no worship. When Jesus healed the leper, the Bible says, “When he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him — and he was a Samaritan” (Luke 17:15-16). When the blind man was healed, it says, “Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God” (Luke 18:43). This account tells us that the healing took place on the Sabbath. It was against Jewish law to carry anything on the Sabbath, and the man was carrying his mat, so the legalistic religious leaders rebuked him for breaking the Sabbath. The man’s reaction was to blame Jesus. He said, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” Then they want to know who the man was: “Who is this fellow who told you to pick it up and walk?” And the Scripture says, “The man who was healed had no idea who it was, for Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.” What is really surprising is that the man made no attempt to follow Jesus or find out who he was. Wouldn’t your reaction be to find the man who healed you? Wouldn’t you want to know who could do something so wonderful for you? After 38 years of paralysis, wouldn’t you want to thank him? But instead it was Jesus who came back to him. He said to him, “See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” Jesus was concerned for the man’s spiritual condition as well as his physical condition. He made it a point to find him and speak to him about his spiritual need. In spite of all of this there were no words of gratitude. There was no gladness about how Jesus had helped him. The next words in the story were, “The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” This man who made no attempt to find Jesus went to find the Pharisees to tell on Jesus. He turned him in to the authorities, knowing what would happen. And then the Bible says, “So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him.”
It almost makes you wonder why Jesus would heal a man like this. There were many lying about the pool with various disabilities and diseases; why didn’t he heal any of them? This was not a place that normal, healthy people came near, out of fear of defiling themselves and disqualifying them for temple worship. But this was a place where Jesus purposely went. It is an amazing act of grace on the part of Jesus. It is interesting that the pool is named Bethesda: “House of Mercy.” He healed him, knowing what kind of person he was. He healed him in spite of the fact that he would get into trouble for this. In fact, the Bible says that the Pharisees tried all the harder to kill him (5:18). But this is not just the story of a single paralytic in Bible times, this is the story of all of us. We are the paralyzed one, dead in our trespasses and sins, paralyzed and in bondage by our own rebellion. Jesus has come to us and forgiven and healed us. And what is our reaction? Are we truly grateful? Do we seek Jesus out and follow him? Do we fall at his feet and worship? Do we live with grateful hearts? All of us have been healed. A simple cold could take us out if it were not for God healing us. Some of us have even had more serious illnesses from which we have recovered. God healed you. All of us have been affected by the disease of sin. All of us were helpless in our lost spiritual condition. But Jesus has come with unexpected and undeserved grace and favor, forgiving and healing us. The question is whether we will take responsibility for our lives and live for Christ in gratefulness, faithfulness and joy. I’ll tell you what I’m like. I get impatient waiting in line at a “fast food” restaurant, while people in other parts of the world have nothing to eat. I gripe about my common cold, while others are wrestling with life-threatening illnesses. I get frustrated with slow drivers, when others cannot walk. Andrew Carnegie, the multimillionaire, left $1 million to one of his relatives, who in return actually cursed Carnegie because he had left $365 million to public charities and had cut him off with just one measly million.The good news is that Jesus comes to us with mercy and grace and does not see as we are, but what we could be. He blesses us and is gracious toward us when we recognize his goodness — and when we do not. The Bible says, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:10-14).
May the Lord provoke us to be grateful and worshipful.
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW4oJ0jTHqg
Friday, October 17, 2008
India update 10-17-08
Fri, 17/10/2008 - 10:15am St Mary’s Higher Secondary School building gutted in Kuravilangad.
A portion of school building run by church near Kottayam, in Kerala was gutted in a fire on 16th October 2008.In the wee hours of October 16th, the main block of the school building was destroyed in the fire.
Church authorities alleged conspiracy behind the fire and sought a probe into the incident. District Collector P Venugopal and top police officials visited the spot. GCIC sources visited the School damaged by anti-Christian outfits. Sources confirmed that they found materials used to set ablaze the school building thrown all around. St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School has a long history and former President of India Mr. K R Narayanan is one of the celebrated alumni of this prestigious institution. This is one of the premier school which opened its portals for the dalit students in spite of the strong opposition from the upper caste Hindus.
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, South India
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Fri, 17/10/2008 - 6:29am 'Fire in church is a conspiracy' Bangalore Arch Bishop
BangaloreThe fire incident at St Antony's Church in Yedavanahalli on October 13 is a deliberate act but Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and police authorities are downplaying it, Archbishop of Bangalore Bernard Moras alleged on Thursday.
Addressing media at his residence here, Moras charged that even before the investigations are made, the CM had stated that the short circuit caused fire. But it was a conspiracy to create communal disharmony.
posted in: Current Issue, Religion, South India
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Fri, 17/10/2008 - 6:25am National Commission for Minorities full report on Orissa violence
REPORT ON THE VISIT OF THE VICE CHAIRPERSON,NCM TO ORISSA – 11TH TO 13TH SEPTEMBER, 2008
1. Following the outbreak of communal violence in Orissa after the assassination of Swami Laxamananda Saraswati, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) decided to depute a team to the State to study the situation at first hand. Accordingly, I visited Orissa from 11th to 13th September, 2008, covering in the course of my visit, the blocks of Tikabali, Udaigiri, Raikia etc. I also called on both the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Orissa and the Governor of Orissa to share my experiences with them. Finally, I had in depth discussions with a team of officials from the Government of Orissa headed by the Chief Secretary and including the Director General of Police, Home Secretary and others.
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, East India
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Fri, 17/10/2008 - 12:01am Maoists killed Lakshmanananda, say Orissa Police
Local armed groups were involved, they say; “Decision to kill him was taken about seven months ago”
BHUBANESWAR: The Crime Branch of Orissa police on Thursday confirmed that Maoists had killed Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati in Kandhamal district by involving some local armed groups.
posted in: Current Issue, , East India
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Thu, 16/10/2008 - 8:30pm Radical Hindus wants to remove Christian trace in Kandhamal in Orissa
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13497&size=A» 10/16/2008Sangh Parivar wants to remove every Christian trace in Orissaby Nirmala CarvalhoChristians are not allowed to pray even in government-run refugeecamps. The ground on which homes and churches once stood are takenover and "cleansed" of every trace of violence. Hindus tell raped nunto marry her rapist. The hue and cry is still on for Christians.
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, East India
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Thu, 16/10/2008 - 7:52pm Hindu Rights Action Force banned in Malayasia
Malaysia bans Hindraf;Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia has banned the non- governmental rights group 'Hindraf' accusing it of exploiting racial issues and threatening national security
posted in: Current Issue, , Other Countries
read more newsman's blog add new comment
A portion of school building run by church near Kottayam, in Kerala was gutted in a fire on 16th October 2008.In the wee hours of October 16th, the main block of the school building was destroyed in the fire.
Church authorities alleged conspiracy behind the fire and sought a probe into the incident. District Collector P Venugopal and top police officials visited the spot. GCIC sources visited the School damaged by anti-Christian outfits. Sources confirmed that they found materials used to set ablaze the school building thrown all around. St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School has a long history and former President of India Mr. K R Narayanan is one of the celebrated alumni of this prestigious institution. This is one of the premier school which opened its portals for the dalit students in spite of the strong opposition from the upper caste Hindus.
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, South India
read more newsman's blog add new comment
Fri, 17/10/2008 - 6:29am 'Fire in church is a conspiracy' Bangalore Arch Bishop
BangaloreThe fire incident at St Antony's Church in Yedavanahalli on October 13 is a deliberate act but Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and police authorities are downplaying it, Archbishop of Bangalore Bernard Moras alleged on Thursday.
Addressing media at his residence here, Moras charged that even before the investigations are made, the CM had stated that the short circuit caused fire. But it was a conspiracy to create communal disharmony.
posted in: Current Issue, Religion, South India
read more newsman's blog add new comment
Fri, 17/10/2008 - 6:25am National Commission for Minorities full report on Orissa violence
REPORT ON THE VISIT OF THE VICE CHAIRPERSON,NCM TO ORISSA – 11TH TO 13TH SEPTEMBER, 2008
1. Following the outbreak of communal violence in Orissa after the assassination of Swami Laxamananda Saraswati, the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) decided to depute a team to the State to study the situation at first hand. Accordingly, I visited Orissa from 11th to 13th September, 2008, covering in the course of my visit, the blocks of Tikabali, Udaigiri, Raikia etc. I also called on both the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Orissa and the Governor of Orissa to share my experiences with them. Finally, I had in depth discussions with a team of officials from the Government of Orissa headed by the Chief Secretary and including the Director General of Police, Home Secretary and others.
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, East India
read more newsman's blog add new comment
Fri, 17/10/2008 - 12:01am Maoists killed Lakshmanananda, say Orissa Police
Local armed groups were involved, they say; “Decision to kill him was taken about seven months ago”
BHUBANESWAR: The Crime Branch of Orissa police on Thursday confirmed that Maoists had killed Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati in Kandhamal district by involving some local armed groups.
posted in: Current Issue, , East India
read more newsman's blog add new comment
Thu, 16/10/2008 - 8:30pm Radical Hindus wants to remove Christian trace in Kandhamal in Orissa
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13497&size=A» 10/16/2008Sangh Parivar wants to remove every Christian trace in Orissaby Nirmala CarvalhoChristians are not allowed to pray even in government-run refugeecamps. The ground on which homes and churches once stood are takenover and "cleansed" of every trace of violence. Hindus tell raped nunto marry her rapist. The hue and cry is still on for Christians.
posted in: Current Issue, Persecution, East India
read more newsman's blog add new comment
Thu, 16/10/2008 - 7:52pm Hindu Rights Action Force banned in Malayasia
Malaysia bans Hindraf;Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia has banned the non- governmental rights group 'Hindraf' accusing it of exploiting racial issues and threatening national security
posted in: Current Issue, , Other Countries
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Thursday, October 16, 2008
Brown's Daily Word & India update10-16-08
Good Morning,
This is the day the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it. I was on the way to the church yesterday evening for our mid-week service when Micah, who is with us for the week, said, "have a good time in the church, Grandpa". She and the whole family joined the church family for our mid-week meal at the church. It is great blessing to be part of the church family and to share in the blessings in Christ. It is a great blessing to bear one another's burdens.
We had a holy blast and thrill in worship and fellowship last Sunday. The Lord blesses us His presence every time we come before His presence in prayer, witness, worship and fellowship. The meal after the worship was abundant last Sunday. The Lord always multiplies loaves and fishes. One of the saints, who is 86 years old, baked 7 homemade pies. They were seasonal pies - when they're gone they're gone.
Some of our men are going for the Prison ministry today, to one of the State Prisons in Pennsylvania. They will be there through Sunday. They get a great kick by serving the prisoners in the name of Jesus, who came to set the captives free. Pray for them as they minister throughout the week.
We are preparing for our monthly Men's prayer breakfast this Sunday at 7 am. Our friend Dr Todd Mansfield will be the speaker, and Jim Holmes and the team will be cooking up a storm. Those of you live in the vicinity, please join us. It will be a great blessing. We organize to beat the devil. Satan trembles when he hears the name of Jesus, the Risen one.
This week Tuesday I conducted a service of death and resurrection for a woman whom I had known for the last twenty years. She and her husband were married for 42 years. Her husband was in the hospital and she was the care-giver. While she was attending to her husband she experienced some severe abdominal pain. Through testing they found that she had a very aggressive form of cancer. I had gone to pray with her last Friday. She died last Sunday. It is a great blessing to share with people in times of great and massive grief. We offer the promises of Jesus.
As I write this devotion I am also thinking of those saints in Orissa, over a hundred of them, who have been martyred for the sake of Jesus.
The Bible is full of wonderful promises, but perhaps the most wonderful of all is this, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). There are many things we do not know about what heaven will be like, because it is beyond our ability to comprehend. But one thing we can be sure of is that it will fulfill our greatest longings, it will dazzle us with its beauty, it will obliterate our greatest problems with its power and splendor, it will be greater than anything we could imagine or dream, it will be a place where love and joy will reign unspoiled. God is busy preparing all of this for us. For this week we have been busy enjoying our grandchildren, Micah and Simeon. In preparation for their coming, we stocked up all kinds of good things. We made all kinds of preparations to make their time with us memorable and enjoyable. Why did we do all that? We did it because we love our grandchildren and want the best for them. The point is, if we make those kinds of preparations for our grandchildren’s visit, how much more does a God of love prepare for the time his children will come to his eternal home. The Bible says, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). Jesus said, “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3). Heaven is real. Heaven is not some ethereal existence where we will float about as spirits without bodies. The new Jerusalem is not floating in space, but it will come down to earth. The Bible contains this promise concerning the earth, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-21). Heaven will be for us a real place with real, meaningful and rewarding work for us to do. Heaven will be the fulfillment of what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Bible says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. . . . But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10,13). The old earth will pass away and God will create a new earth, which will be the home of righteousness.
Dallas Willard assures us that, “The life we now have as the persons we now are will continue in the universe in which we now exist.” It will not be a strange apparition, but the real world we have known, only new and better.
T. S. Elliot wrote: We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. If this fallen world in all of its brokenness can be so wonderful, what must heaven be like? Heaven will be right. It will be a place of righteousness, or right-ness. All the wrongs of the world will be made right. It will be a place where everything evil is absent, and everything good is present; everything sad will be gone, and only joy will exist; everything disappointing will disappear, and everything exciting will appear; everything depressing will be gone, and everything hopeful will come; everything violent and hateful will be gone, and everything born of love will be prevail; every unfaithfulness will be in the past, and steadfast loyalty will be present; everything detestable will be gone, and everything desirable will abide with us; every sickness will be gone, and complete wholeness will take over our lives; every struggle, frustration and failure will be over, and only success will be possible. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Every wrong done to you in this world will be made right. Every injustice will meet with justice. Every sorrow will be reversed, and joy will wash over you like a waterfall. The prophet Isaiah wrote: “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). He goes on to say, “They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 65:23-25). The corrupted, fallen part of the world will be gone, and God will restore the world to the way it was meant to be in the beginning — unspoiled by human sin. Everything false will disappear, and everything good and true will prevail. The Bible says, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). It is important to understand that Heaven will be relational. In 1991 Eric Clapton lost his five-year-old son, Conner, after he fell from the window of their forty-ninth floor Manhattan apartment. Clapton poured out his grief in song and wrote “Tears in Heaven.” In the song he asks the question: Would you know my name If I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same If I saw you in heaven?This is a question to which a lot of people would like an answer. The truth is, you will meet again those you have lost who have known Christ and lived for him if you belong to Christ. Our relationships will not be lost, they will be regained and renewed. We will experience these relationships at a level we have never known before. Deep, rewarding and fulfilling relationships will be the hallmark of heaven. On earth we let each other down and disappoint each other. Many times, without knowing it, we hurt each other and fail each other. But there, “we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The apostle John wrote, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Our fallen, imperfect nature will be healed and we will be capable of intimacy in relationships that we cannot even imagine here and now. Our relationship with God will be healed as well. No more will our love for God be compromised by a selfish love for ourselves and an enchantment with the things of the world. Our love for God and our relationship with him will be unspoiled. There will be nothing between us — no separation. Our sinful nature will be taken away, and we will no longer struggle with sin and temptation. Our relationship with God will be so intimate that the book of Revelation describes it as a bride coming to her husband — full of love and passion, with arms open wide. Justice does not always happen in this world. This is not heaven, and we should not expect it to be. The accounts are settled and our rewards are given in another place and another time. That is what heaven is all about. It is delayed gratification, but gratification nonetheless. C. S. Lewis in his great book The Problem of Pain, struggles with the problems caused by the pains of life. In writing, he says, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” I think he is right. Home is on its way, but it is not here yet. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is. And when it gets here he will make “everything new.” J esus said, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12). Every sacrifice you have made will be remembered. Every sorrow you have experienced will be dispelled with countless joys. Every rejection will be overcome by an explosion of love. Every work will be rewarded. Far from every mistake being brought out, every good thing you have done will be honored and recompensed. Paul wrote, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). How wonderful it will be to be in the presence of God where we will perfectly know him and know that we are perfectly known and loved. John writes in the book of Revelation, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (Revelation 21:3). We will have no greater reward or relationship than being with our wonderful God and seeing him face to face. We say, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for [us], who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5). In C. S. Lewis’ wonderful books The Chronicles of Narnia, the characters who have lived in Narnia have completed their time and work there. In a closing chapter entitled “Further Up and Further In,” Aslan, the lion who represents Christ, has come for them in order to take them home. They are headed away from Narnia and are about to enter Aslan’s land. But they are met with familiar scenes. One of the characters cries out: “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this.” “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).
In Christ,
Brown
Press Statement by Archbishop of Delhi, Dr. John Dayal and Dr. Valson Thampu
14th October, 2008
[Text of Statement by Most Rev. Vincent M Concessao, Archbishop of Delhi, Dr John Dayal, Secretary General, All India Christian Council and Dr Valson Thampu, Principal, St. Stephen’s College, Christian members of the National Integration Council after its meeting on 13th October 2008 in New Delhi] We are happy that the meeting of the National Integration Council was called at last after three years as India seemed engulfed in several instances of communal frenzy, terrorism and extremist violence., But we were sad to see that beyond platitudes and political polemics, Union and State governments gave little indication of the political will and administrative focus required to restore confidence in the people, especially the minorities.
We are particularly distressed to see that while the continuing anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal, Orissa, Karnataka was forcefully detailed by not just the Christian members but the leaders of the Left parties, senior Jurists and Civil Society and Human Rights activists, there was no assurance forthcoming as to when the more than 50,000 Internally Displaced persons, refugees in their homeland, can return home without being forced at gunpoint by the Bajrang Dal to become Hindus.
For us, peace would be when the last refugee is back in his home, secure in his faith, with a livelihood restored, his children’s future secured as it should be in a secular India. Hours before the NIC meeting began, arsonists had struck a Catholic church in rural Bangalore, and in Kandhamal a CRPF jawan was reportedly killed by a Sangh mob, and the mutilated body of a Christian farmer was recovered in the fields. When these were personally brought to the notice of the two chief ministers, they were dismissive of the reports.
No less a person than the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Mr Shafi Qureshi, a former Union Minister and Governor, had to say “the people are losing faith’ in institutions and political parties. The Chief Minister of Orissa admitted that at least 10,000 of them are still in government run refugee camps. Tens of thousands are in the forests or have migrated to towns\ outside Kandhamal, and even outside Orissa. The government has admitted forty dead, though we have details of 59 men and women mercilessly killed in the seven weeks of unabated mayhem.
The confrontation between Union Home Minister Mr. Shivraj Patil and Orissa Chief Minister Mr. Naveen Patnaik clearly showed the utter lack of coordination between the Union and State governments, the delays in sending police forces, the gross incompetence of the State officials in deploying central troops and helicopters. Though the government claims to have arrested 1,000 men, television every day shows scenes of violence and forcible conversions to Hinduism where no policeman seems to be present and the goons rule the landscape. The inability of the Government to provide security to relief teams to go into the interiors has added to the misery. We have demanded we be given adequate security to take relief to everyday affected village and to the people still hiding in the forests.
We call upon political parties to urgently reach a consensus on curbing such senseless violence which is terrorizing minorities. We have also strongly opposed the profiling of all minorities, and demand urgent confidence building measures. On our part we have done all we can. We have met every Constitutional authority at the Centre and in the affected states, heads of political parties and have even moved the High Courts and the Supreme Court. We have had dialogues with religious heads, and with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party. We have reaffirmed the Church’s position against forcible and fraudulent conversions. And yet some government and political groups continue to harp on the same old matter which is a non-issue to the rest of the country, as a justification of the violence
For our own community, we have demanded an early restoration of Scheduled Caste rights for Dalit Christians, a Justice Sachhar-like commission also for assessing the development status of the Christian community, and adequate representation in police and administrative forces of all states, no erosion of minority education rights and lifting of current difficulties in some places to open new schools. We have also strongly demanded that government and society overview be maintained to see that institutions, especially in the primary level in rural areas, do not teach hate, and that hate crimes in their entirety are immediately proscribed.
Other urgent steps that have long been kept in cold storage are;
1. Stern action against the hate Crimes. Hate campaigns are the incubators of communal violence.
2. Enacting of the Communal Violence Bill ensuring that it takes care of the concerns of the Christian community and does not further arm communal administrations or further embolden impunity of communalized police elements.
3. Comprehensive relief and rehabilitation policies that wipe the tear from the eye of victims of communal violence and give them the opportunity of creating a new life.
4. Adequate representation to all minorities and underprivileged groups in the Police, Administrative and Judicial systems.
5. A thorough revamp of the education system, including a close watch on the recent rash of communally motivated village and rural schools set up by political groups, so that once again secularism, religious and cultural diversity and pluralism become the cornerstone of our nation-building.
6. Above all, the State – Parliament, Supreme Court, and Executive – must ensure that no one remains under the illusion, unfortunately very well founded at present that communal politics, hate and the demonization of religious minorities can bring them electoral dividends in an India of the Twenty-first Century.
This is the day the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it. I was on the way to the church yesterday evening for our mid-week service when Micah, who is with us for the week, said, "have a good time in the church, Grandpa". She and the whole family joined the church family for our mid-week meal at the church. It is great blessing to be part of the church family and to share in the blessings in Christ. It is a great blessing to bear one another's burdens.
We had a holy blast and thrill in worship and fellowship last Sunday. The Lord blesses us His presence every time we come before His presence in prayer, witness, worship and fellowship. The meal after the worship was abundant last Sunday. The Lord always multiplies loaves and fishes. One of the saints, who is 86 years old, baked 7 homemade pies. They were seasonal pies - when they're gone they're gone.
Some of our men are going for the Prison ministry today, to one of the State Prisons in Pennsylvania. They will be there through Sunday. They get a great kick by serving the prisoners in the name of Jesus, who came to set the captives free. Pray for them as they minister throughout the week.
We are preparing for our monthly Men's prayer breakfast this Sunday at 7 am. Our friend Dr Todd Mansfield will be the speaker, and Jim Holmes and the team will be cooking up a storm. Those of you live in the vicinity, please join us. It will be a great blessing. We organize to beat the devil. Satan trembles when he hears the name of Jesus, the Risen one.
This week Tuesday I conducted a service of death and resurrection for a woman whom I had known for the last twenty years. She and her husband were married for 42 years. Her husband was in the hospital and she was the care-giver. While she was attending to her husband she experienced some severe abdominal pain. Through testing they found that she had a very aggressive form of cancer. I had gone to pray with her last Friday. She died last Sunday. It is a great blessing to share with people in times of great and massive grief. We offer the promises of Jesus.
As I write this devotion I am also thinking of those saints in Orissa, over a hundred of them, who have been martyred for the sake of Jesus.
The Bible is full of wonderful promises, but perhaps the most wonderful of all is this, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). There are many things we do not know about what heaven will be like, because it is beyond our ability to comprehend. But one thing we can be sure of is that it will fulfill our greatest longings, it will dazzle us with its beauty, it will obliterate our greatest problems with its power and splendor, it will be greater than anything we could imagine or dream, it will be a place where love and joy will reign unspoiled. God is busy preparing all of this for us. For this week we have been busy enjoying our grandchildren, Micah and Simeon. In preparation for their coming, we stocked up all kinds of good things. We made all kinds of preparations to make their time with us memorable and enjoyable. Why did we do all that? We did it because we love our grandchildren and want the best for them. The point is, if we make those kinds of preparations for our grandchildren’s visit, how much more does a God of love prepare for the time his children will come to his eternal home. The Bible says, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11). Jesus said, “I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:2-3). Heaven is real. Heaven is not some ethereal existence where we will float about as spirits without bodies. The new Jerusalem is not floating in space, but it will come down to earth. The Bible contains this promise concerning the earth, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-21). Heaven will be for us a real place with real, meaningful and rewarding work for us to do. Heaven will be the fulfillment of what we pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Bible says, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. . . . But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10,13). The old earth will pass away and God will create a new earth, which will be the home of righteousness.
Dallas Willard assures us that, “The life we now have as the persons we now are will continue in the universe in which we now exist.” It will not be a strange apparition, but the real world we have known, only new and better.
T. S. Elliot wrote: We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. If this fallen world in all of its brokenness can be so wonderful, what must heaven be like? Heaven will be right. It will be a place of righteousness, or right-ness. All the wrongs of the world will be made right. It will be a place where everything evil is absent, and everything good is present; everything sad will be gone, and only joy will exist; everything disappointing will disappear, and everything exciting will appear; everything depressing will be gone, and everything hopeful will come; everything violent and hateful will be gone, and everything born of love will be prevail; every unfaithfulness will be in the past, and steadfast loyalty will be present; everything detestable will be gone, and everything desirable will abide with us; every sickness will be gone, and complete wholeness will take over our lives; every struggle, frustration and failure will be over, and only success will be possible. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Every wrong done to you in this world will be made right. Every injustice will meet with justice. Every sorrow will be reversed, and joy will wash over you like a waterfall. The prophet Isaiah wrote: “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isaiah 65:17). He goes on to say, “They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox” (Isaiah 65:23-25). The corrupted, fallen part of the world will be gone, and God will restore the world to the way it was meant to be in the beginning — unspoiled by human sin. Everything false will disappear, and everything good and true will prevail. The Bible says, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). It is important to understand that Heaven will be relational. In 1991 Eric Clapton lost his five-year-old son, Conner, after he fell from the window of their forty-ninth floor Manhattan apartment. Clapton poured out his grief in song and wrote “Tears in Heaven.” In the song he asks the question: Would you know my name If I saw you in heaven? Would it be the same If I saw you in heaven?This is a question to which a lot of people would like an answer. The truth is, you will meet again those you have lost who have known Christ and lived for him if you belong to Christ. Our relationships will not be lost, they will be regained and renewed. We will experience these relationships at a level we have never known before. Deep, rewarding and fulfilling relationships will be the hallmark of heaven. On earth we let each other down and disappoint each other. Many times, without knowing it, we hurt each other and fail each other. But there, “we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). The apostle John wrote, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Our fallen, imperfect nature will be healed and we will be capable of intimacy in relationships that we cannot even imagine here and now. Our relationship with God will be healed as well. No more will our love for God be compromised by a selfish love for ourselves and an enchantment with the things of the world. Our love for God and our relationship with him will be unspoiled. There will be nothing between us — no separation. Our sinful nature will be taken away, and we will no longer struggle with sin and temptation. Our relationship with God will be so intimate that the book of Revelation describes it as a bride coming to her husband — full of love and passion, with arms open wide. Justice does not always happen in this world. This is not heaven, and we should not expect it to be. The accounts are settled and our rewards are given in another place and another time. That is what heaven is all about. It is delayed gratification, but gratification nonetheless. C. S. Lewis in his great book The Problem of Pain, struggles with the problems caused by the pains of life. In writing, he says, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” I think he is right. Home is on its way, but it is not here yet. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is. And when it gets here he will make “everything new.” J esus said, “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done” (Revelation 22:12). Every sacrifice you have made will be remembered. Every sorrow you have experienced will be dispelled with countless joys. Every rejection will be overcome by an explosion of love. Every work will be rewarded. Far from every mistake being brought out, every good thing you have done will be honored and recompensed. Paul wrote, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). How wonderful it will be to be in the presence of God where we will perfectly know him and know that we are perfectly known and loved. John writes in the book of Revelation, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (Revelation 21:3). We will have no greater reward or relationship than being with our wonderful God and seeing him face to face. We say, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade — kept in heaven for [us], who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5). In C. S. Lewis’ wonderful books The Chronicles of Narnia, the characters who have lived in Narnia have completed their time and work there. In a closing chapter entitled “Further Up and Further In,” Aslan, the lion who represents Christ, has come for them in order to take them home. They are headed away from Narnia and are about to enter Aslan’s land. But they are met with familiar scenes. One of the characters cries out: “I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this.” “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).
In Christ,
Brown
Press Statement by Archbishop of Delhi, Dr. John Dayal and Dr. Valson Thampu
14th October, 2008
[Text of Statement by Most Rev. Vincent M Concessao, Archbishop of Delhi, Dr John Dayal, Secretary General, All India Christian Council and Dr Valson Thampu, Principal, St. Stephen’s College, Christian members of the National Integration Council after its meeting on 13th October 2008 in New Delhi] We are happy that the meeting of the National Integration Council was called at last after three years as India seemed engulfed in several instances of communal frenzy, terrorism and extremist violence., But we were sad to see that beyond platitudes and political polemics, Union and State governments gave little indication of the political will and administrative focus required to restore confidence in the people, especially the minorities.
We are particularly distressed to see that while the continuing anti-Christian violence in Kandhamal, Orissa, Karnataka was forcefully detailed by not just the Christian members but the leaders of the Left parties, senior Jurists and Civil Society and Human Rights activists, there was no assurance forthcoming as to when the more than 50,000 Internally Displaced persons, refugees in their homeland, can return home without being forced at gunpoint by the Bajrang Dal to become Hindus.
For us, peace would be when the last refugee is back in his home, secure in his faith, with a livelihood restored, his children’s future secured as it should be in a secular India. Hours before the NIC meeting began, arsonists had struck a Catholic church in rural Bangalore, and in Kandhamal a CRPF jawan was reportedly killed by a Sangh mob, and the mutilated body of a Christian farmer was recovered in the fields. When these were personally brought to the notice of the two chief ministers, they were dismissive of the reports.
No less a person than the Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, Mr Shafi Qureshi, a former Union Minister and Governor, had to say “the people are losing faith’ in institutions and political parties. The Chief Minister of Orissa admitted that at least 10,000 of them are still in government run refugee camps. Tens of thousands are in the forests or have migrated to towns\ outside Kandhamal, and even outside Orissa. The government has admitted forty dead, though we have details of 59 men and women mercilessly killed in the seven weeks of unabated mayhem.
The confrontation between Union Home Minister Mr. Shivraj Patil and Orissa Chief Minister Mr. Naveen Patnaik clearly showed the utter lack of coordination between the Union and State governments, the delays in sending police forces, the gross incompetence of the State officials in deploying central troops and helicopters. Though the government claims to have arrested 1,000 men, television every day shows scenes of violence and forcible conversions to Hinduism where no policeman seems to be present and the goons rule the landscape. The inability of the Government to provide security to relief teams to go into the interiors has added to the misery. We have demanded we be given adequate security to take relief to everyday affected village and to the people still hiding in the forests.
We call upon political parties to urgently reach a consensus on curbing such senseless violence which is terrorizing minorities. We have also strongly opposed the profiling of all minorities, and demand urgent confidence building measures. On our part we have done all we can. We have met every Constitutional authority at the Centre and in the affected states, heads of political parties and have even moved the High Courts and the Supreme Court. We have had dialogues with religious heads, and with leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party. We have reaffirmed the Church’s position against forcible and fraudulent conversions. And yet some government and political groups continue to harp on the same old matter which is a non-issue to the rest of the country, as a justification of the violence
For our own community, we have demanded an early restoration of Scheduled Caste rights for Dalit Christians, a Justice Sachhar-like commission also for assessing the development status of the Christian community, and adequate representation in police and administrative forces of all states, no erosion of minority education rights and lifting of current difficulties in some places to open new schools. We have also strongly demanded that government and society overview be maintained to see that institutions, especially in the primary level in rural areas, do not teach hate, and that hate crimes in their entirety are immediately proscribed.
Other urgent steps that have long been kept in cold storage are;
1. Stern action against the hate Crimes. Hate campaigns are the incubators of communal violence.
2. Enacting of the Communal Violence Bill ensuring that it takes care of the concerns of the Christian community and does not further arm communal administrations or further embolden impunity of communalized police elements.
3. Comprehensive relief and rehabilitation policies that wipe the tear from the eye of victims of communal violence and give them the opportunity of creating a new life.
4. Adequate representation to all minorities and underprivileged groups in the Police, Administrative and Judicial systems.
5. A thorough revamp of the education system, including a close watch on the recent rash of communally motivated village and rural schools set up by political groups, so that once again secularism, religious and cultural diversity and pluralism become the cornerstone of our nation-building.
6. Above all, the State – Parliament, Supreme Court, and Executive – must ensure that no one remains under the illusion, unfortunately very well founded at present that communal politics, hate and the demonization of religious minorities can bring them electoral dividends in an India of the Twenty-first Century.
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