Finding Purpose & Meaning In Life [should I say it is found when I experience 'whatever my eyes desired' (see this website's name) to borrow the lines from a Bible-author (Ecclesiastes 2:10)? Read this blog to discover the answer].

Author: dukewords

  • 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.

  • 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!

  • THERE'S A PONTING IN US SOMEWHERE LURKING

    – Duke Jeyaraj


    Pugnacious Australian Ricky Ponting is finally retiring,
    He will be remembered for his attacking batting,
    You may have never seen a better batsman, the short ball, pulling,
    The runs which accounted for his team’s win, like none other, he kept accumulating,

    Not to forget – the finest among his generation was his acrobatic fielding,
    On really big occasions when other Captains had their head spinning,
    And did foolish things like play reverse sweeps – think of Jayawardane and Gatting,
    That’s when Ricky Ponting found his most murderous timing,
    His score in the 2003 World Cup Finals – Indians won’t forget – was 140 batting,

    There’s another aspect of Ponting’s career about which we cannot avoid talking,
    That is that he did not mind ill-mannerly protesting,
    When the umpires made decisions that were baffling,
    He did not shy away from claiming,
    Catches that he had taken after the ball did the bumping,
    “The leader of a pack of wild dogs!” – that’s a title he once ended up from Roebuck receiving,
    In a particular press conference he did not mind reporters to be leaving,
    If it was his integrity that they were doubting,

    There’s a bit of Ponting inside us somewhere lurking,
    To take care of that, Jesus, God in flesh, under-went bleeding,
    He did that to save a brash generation, which to hell, was speeding,
    Come to him, right now, repenting and believing,
    You will discover a peace, that will be still be there when troubles raise to the height of the ceiling!

  • WHY WAS I BORN? THE ANSWER FROM “ENGLISH VINGLISH”, THE ANSWER FROM ENGLISH BIBLE!

    – Duke Jeyaraj

    In the 2012 movie, English Vinglish,  the lead is played by Sri Devi.  The Ripple Effects WordPress account has some superb details about this movie which I present to you: Sri Devi is a lively, capable woman, a  cook who runs her own catering business, her specialty the ladoos, sweet golden balls of dainty delights’. “She’s born to make ladoos,” her husband’s intended praise of her cooking skills only reflects the confining social reality in which she finds herself.
    If Sri Devi’s husband in the movie English Vinglish thought that she was born to make ladoos, what do you think you were born for? I recall a popular song in which the boy tells the girl he loves that he was born before her so that he could be present to receive her and cuddle her from the moment  she (the girl he loved) came out of her mother’s womb! Well, well, well! What are we born into the planet called earth? What is the purpose of our existence? The Bible teaches that each one of us was born to have a relationship with the living God, Yahweh.  God would walk in the garden of Eden where he created and placed man and woman in the cool of the day (Gen 3:8). That Scripture text gives a clear indication of God’s desire to have living relationship with every member of the human race. David Pawson says, “God had one son. He enjoyed that son – God in flesh, Jesus – whom he had rich fellowship very much. He wanted to have more sons and daughters to the same rich fellowship with. That’s why he created the human race.” Pawson comes to this conclusion after having read Hebrews 2:10 in his Bible which goes this way: “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.” Paul agrees with this truth presented by the writer to the Hebrews in Romans 8:29
    Sin comes between us and God and spoils sport in our relationship with him (see Isa. 59:2 in the Bible). The transgressions we commit drives a wedge between us and our Maker. But through faith on the finished work of the  Jesus done for us upon the cross of Calvary, we can once again fulfill the purposes for which God originally created us. These God-given purposes include living a holy life empowered by the Holy Spirit with the example of Jesus before us (1 Thes  4:3). These God-given purposes for humans also include a call for involvement  in the task of winning souls for it is God’s will that none should perish (2 Pet 3:9). So, God’s purpose for our lives is not about ladoo-making but about lust-defying (being holy!) and living in close fellowship with him. So, God’s purpose for our lives is not all about sweet-making but about soul-winning whereby we bring other, just-like-we-once-were, lost people back to a warm fellowship with him!
    In summary, God created us to be his “workmanship…prepared beforehand …predestined”  to do good works like Christ did so that we will be ultimately conformed to the image of Christ, our perfect elder brother, the Bible records (Eph 2:10; Rom 8:29).


  • Historic National-level Youth Conference Coming Up In Hyderabad – Join In & Don't Miss!

    – Duke Jeyaraj

    One of the reasons Evan and I chose to live in Hyderabad and go about doing the itinerant ministry to youth from this particular city is the wonderful way God brought the ministry of Youth Alive into our lives. I was invited to speak in a Youth Alive Camp way back in 2002 for the first time by Rev. Younus Samuel and there was no turning back in what was a superb, God-ushered relationship between Youth Alive and G4 Mission, the ministry to modern youth I founded in 2006, from then on. For those of you who do not know, Youth Alive, is the youth ministry of the New Life AG Church, Hyderabad. Under the able leadership of the Senior Associate Pastor of the New Life AG Church who is also the National Youth Coordinator of the Assemblies of God of India’s National Youth Ministry, Rev. Valson Varghese, a National Conference for Youth is being organised this October. I am happy to let you know that I have been invited to be part of the team of speakers for this event, which I believe will be history-making. I urge you strongly to join this conference if you are a young person or send youth you know for this conference if you are leader to youth or a pastor or a parachurch organisation leader. They will be blessed. They will set on fire for the things of God in a remarkable way! When they return from this conference they will be a blessing to your fellowship/local church, I am sure.

    Few Details for this Conference:

    Dates: 23-25 October, 2012
    We’re inviting youth between 15 – 30 years old – Unmarried Single Youth ONLY to participate.
    Married people are not permitted unless they are serving as Youth Leaders / Directors or Chaperones.
    These leaders will oversee the Youth from their local Churches.
    The Registration fee is Rs. 500 (for 3 days) This includes food & lodging for outstation participants. (Actual cost is Rs 1100 per person) Travel needs to be borne by the participant or sponsored by the local Churches. 

    ONLINE REGISTERATION: GO ONLINE AT www.nymindia.com and register online. Or contact – 040-66385451 immediately. 
      
    3000 young people from all over India are expected for this conference.

    Young people from over 17 Indian states have already decided to come!

    Don’t miss out. Make immediate plans to come for this rocking, rare, event which will refresh and revive you!

  • What Sammy Said At The Presentation After West Indies Won the 2012 T20 World Cup….

    – Duke Jeyaraj’s poem on the West Indies-Sri Lanka T20 World Cup Final

    West Indies were limping at 32-2 after 10 overs, and 48-2 after 12 – the wily young Lankan spinners – Mendis and Dhananjaya  –  would not let them break free!
    With their eyes of faith, the Sri Lanka fans watching this game on their home ground, their country holding the T20 World Cup, could definitely see!
    That’s when Marlon Samuel’s played an innings that has been aptly called the ‘281 of T20’ and went on a sensational, murderous six-hitting spree!
    By smashing 26 off 15 balls Captain Darren Sammy said, “The responsibility of ensuring that the West Indies finish the innings well after Samuels got out would be squarely on me!”
    Sri Lanka were going about the chase okay, when they were 47-1 at the end of the 9th over with both their legends Jayawardene and Sanga still in the middle,
    That’s when some super bowling by Badree, Narain and Samuels, exposed the Sri Lankan middle order that proved ever so brittle,
    When fighting-back Kulasekara started to smash Ravi Rampaul, ice cool senior pro Chris Gayle who just scored 3 off 16 balls earlier in the day, was there to calm him in a speech given in a huddle,
    In their entire innings Sri Lanka collapsed to score less runs than the runs West Indies did in their last 10 overs (105) and their fans were ready to eject on them, in disgust, their spittle!
    While West Indies danced to celebrate after having won a World Cup after 33 long years, for Sri Lanka  in four straight World Finals, it was the case of regret and tears,
    And in the presentation ceremony, Captain Sammy talked about Jesus Christ who died on the Cross as the one, who amidst all the criticism he had faced, who calms all his fears!
    The thrill and satisfaction that one get when watching a good T20 game fades away quickly when life’s problems pricks as briers!
    That’s why you need to come in repentance and faith to the Jesus that Captain Sammy talked about – to experience even amidst long life calamities, lasting cheers!

  • The Ultimate Combination Champion is Jesus, not Barack Obama, Bill Clinton!

    – Duke Jeyaraj


    Former US President, Bill Clinton, was oozing with eloquence when he spoke thus of President Barack Obama in the Democratic National Convention, in Charlotte, NC, on 5 Sept 2012: “I Nominate A Man Who’s Cool On The Outside… But Burns For America On The Inside”… He was praising Barack Obama for possessing a rare combination of contrasting qualities. I want to say that no one had a greater measure of contrasting qualities than the Lord Jesus himself. I call Jesus, ‘the combination champion’. Not only was Jesus amazingly powerful (he had miracle-working power) but he was absolutely pure (there was no muck in him). Not only was Jesus 100% God (Titus 2:13), he was also 100% human (Acts 17:31). While Jesus was loving (a bruised reed, he would not break), he could lash out at people with words of judgement as well (he called the unrepentant Jewish religious leaders “a brood of snakes”, “white-washed tombs” who were headed for hell, and Herod as “that fox”). Jesus’ contrasting qualities far out-beats anyone you can care to name (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).


  • DO YOU DOFF YOUR HAT TO YOUR OPPONENT LIKE DJOKOVIC DID?

    – Duke Jeyaraj
    After Andy Murray became the first Britisher to win a Grand Slam in 76 years by beating him in the 2012 US Open Final, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic showered praise on his opponent: 
    “I had a great opponent today. He deserved to win this grand slam more than anybody, I’m sure, because over the years he’s been a top player. He’s been so close, lost four finals. Now he has won it, so I would like to congratulate him.
    “Happy that he won it.” (from Yahoo News).
    Djokovic’s verbal act of doffing his hat to his opponent was refreshing to read for we live in the world were envy is everywhere and feelings of jealously are not uncommon! The tricky thing about envy is that no one can tell if you are envious, for sure. Only God who knows everything and from whom nothing can be hidden would know. And you, the person who harbors envy, would know.
    Apostle Paul was like the Novak Djokovic we just read about. He could have chosen to be envious of young evangelist Apollos, who apparently was more eloquent than him (see Acts 18:24 and I Cor. 2:3). But he did not. Instead, Paul chose to “strongly” recommend the ministry of Apollos to the church in Corinth in his letter to them (I Cor 16:12). Wow! By doing this, Paul was just practicing what he wrote to the church at Philippi: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 ESV). Paul was simply following Jesus who appreciated the folk who loved to hate him, the Jewish leaders. Jesus appreciated the Jewish leaders for their discipline of searching of Scripture for long hours and for their discipline of giving to God one-tenth of items found even in their kitchens (see John 5:39; Math 23:23).
    What about you? Do you appreciate the bloke in your team who is better than you in the tasks you both have to execute in the company you work for? He collects more dollars than you, perhaps. She gets more customer appreciation, maybe. Do you go green with envy when you spot some more accomplished than you in a certain discipline – be it taking photographs, be it dressing up well, be it preaching a Bible message, be it speaking the English language, be it in cooking, be it in scoring exam grades, etc? Don’t! Learn from Djokovic. Learn from Paul. Appreciate the person who does things better than you!
    The only person who can truly transform your life from the cancer of envy is the one who died because of the envy of others – even the Lord Jesus Christ (Math 27:18 – Pilate understood that it was out of envy that the Jewish leaders wanted Jesus to die). Jesus died not just because of the envy of the Jews. He died as a punishment for our sins, the Bible declares (2 Cor. 5:21).  Come to him who shed his blood for you on the Cross. His blood will flush you of all sin – including the sin of envy, which he clearly named as sin in one of  his sin lists (see Mark 7:22). Jesus will give you the power to genuinely appreciate your opponents/teammates who are perhaps better than in you in certain matters!
    Don’t forget – being envious is injurious to your health! “Envy makes the bones rot!”, the Bible declares (Prov 14:30)! Before our bones rot, let us blot the sin of envy in our heart by asking Jesus to cleanse us from it!

  • TALKING ABOUT THE 100 METERS DASH AND ANOTHER CLASH

    Duke Jeyaraj’s poem on the eve of the men’s 100 meters dash in London 2012 Olympics

    In every Olympics, the most watched race is the 100 meters dash,
    The tag of ‘fastest man on the earth’ belongs to the winner of this clash!
    In this Olympics, will the winner be World Record Holder Usain Bolt?
    Or will it be his country-mate Yohan Blake, the young colt?
    Some Americans would like to think, it’s going to be Tyson Gay!
    W

     hile the Sun still shines, former Olympic champ Justin Gatlin, would seek to make hay!
    Don’t forget, you also have, among the contenders, Jamaica’s Asafa Powell,
    The 100 metre dash will be truly absorbing contest, well, well, well!

    Did you know, history’s greatest EVER clash was between Jesus and the Devil
    When Jesus died and rose again, He won this clash and solved the problem of sin and evil
    When you repent and turn to Jesus, your life with true joy and real peace, He will fill!

  • THE EPIC RACE & GOD'S GRACE!

    Duke Jeyaraj’s Good News Presenting Poem on the London Olympics Men’s 100 Meters Dash Final which Usain Bolt won on 5 August 2012.
    It was on the London Olympics 2012 100 meters men’s final dash the world’s eyes did lock,

    To watch this one heart-stopping event, live, people from all over the world, to the Olympic stadium did flock,

    To catch this breathtaking sprint live on TV, folks like me in India, woke up with the kids, as early as two o’ clock,

    The cynosure of all eyes was ‘Lighting Bolt’ Usain Bolt – no athlete in recent times, like him the universe, did rock,

    After his pre-race theatrics for the crowds (that included Prince Harry and William) and the cameras, Bolt crouched on the starting block,

    At one point in the race, he was third last, and the question did arise if someone his Olympic title, from him would possibly knock,

    But he blazed forward as the finish neared – it was as if he alone ran while others’ legs were arrested in some sort of a padlock,

    A talented field of athletes including the current World Champion Blake, former world record holder Powell, 2007 World Champion Gay and the former Olympic Champion Gatlin, he effortlessly did sock,

    History’s three fastest 100 meter dash times were now his, as he crossed the finish line in a Olympic record of 9.64 seconds, his nagging critics to mock,

    His World Record of 9.58 seconds could have possibly been broken had he not, while he was about to cross the finish line, wasted precious nano seconds, trying to look at the stop-clock,

    Bolt’s phenomenal power sprint pulled all seven out of the eight finalists under the 10 second barrier, expect Asafa Powell, who slowed down in utter shock,

    In this epic race, Justin Gatlin, though he ran 0.06 seconds faster than his 2004 Gold Medal performance could only add a bronze to his Olympic medal-stock,

    After the race, Bolt struck trademark ‘To The World’ pose pointing both fingers in the air, after bowing prostrate to the ground, to perhaps do God-talk.


    Talking about God-talk, I am reminded of the race that Jesus, God in flesh, undertook to reach atop Golgotha hillock,

    To wash away your sin and mine, he would shed his sinless blood there after having received from cruel Roman soldiers, knock after knock,

    He did this all to give you a real happiness which you are still searching for after that secret fling with that pretty girl in that pink frock,

    Turn from sin and trust in Jesus, your life will be meaningful and purposeful and you won’t have to, like Socrates, drink poisonous hemlock!


    —
    Post Script – Poor Tyson Gay! He finished fourth despite clocking a sensational time of 9.80 seconds in the 100 meters final. In every Olympic 100 meters men final before Beijing 2008, this effort would have won him the Gold Medal. But this time – thanks to Gold Medal winner Usain Bolt’s power sprinting that pulled the seven out of the eight finalists into the sub 10 seconds mark – this guy called Gay did not even win a bronze medal despite a fabulous effort this Olympics and was reduced to tears.  This is a imperfect picture of how all of us, sinful us, have fallen short of the glory of a holy, holy, holy God despite our best efforts and how we can be saved only through placing our total trust in Christ!