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

  • When Hussey Made Onlookers Feel Dizzy…

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

    The Question was, “Who’d bring the mighty Aussies to their knee?”
    Powered by outstanding batting by the Akmal brothers, Pakistan said, “We will. Hee! Hee!”
    The 191 they made, batting first, in a knock-out T20 game should have seen most teams, through, you see!
    In making plans for Pakistan’s next game, the Final Vs England, Captain Afridi probably got busy!

    The Pakistan bowling was tight and on target – the Aussie batsmen could not just break free,
    Watson n Warner – the Aussie Axe-men were cheaply dismissed and the Pakistanis couldn’t hide their glee!
    In Over number 9 the Aussies were tottering at 62 for 4 – a threat did appear, then, to their Cup winning spree!
    When White and Smith were dimissed, Australia still needed 54 off 21 balls – their hopes were melting quick as Ghee!

    But when Michael Hussey slammed 14, 16 and 22 runs in Overs 18, 19 and 20 left everyone watching, dizzy!
    His 6,6,4,6 sequence in the 20th Over by Saeed Ajmal threw the Australians in a tizzy!

    In this Semifinal between Pakistan and Australia, the hero was named after the Michael, the archangel,
    In the ultimate match between Good and Evil, the Winner’s birth was announced by the angel, Gabriel,
    In the match between Pakistan and Australia – the hero’s brother’s first name was David!
    In the ultimate match between Good and Evil, the Winner was popularly called the Son of David!

    This gripping match reminded me of the One who was pinned on a tree,
    To shed His Blood though which salvation from sin could be offered free,
    Repenting from sin, if before Him, you would, in faith, bow your knee,
    You’ll be forever filled with joy unspeakable and a purpose for life, you never before did see!

  • Dhoni in Dharamshala Vs God’s Son in Golgotha

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • WHEN JYOTHI BASU RESEMBLED JESUS A LITTLE

    – DUKE JEYARAJ

    When Jyothi Basu resembled Jesus a little

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

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

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


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

  • JESUS WOULD HAVE PREACHED, "REMEMBER GATELY!"

    — Duke Jeyaraj
    Duke Jeyaraj’s thoughts on the sudden death of Stephen Gately of Boyzone fame

    His voice was “so sweet”. Very melodious. A voice you felt like hearing time and again. His singing was awesome. Simply suberb. But now, he gone. He’s dead. He was the voice of Boyzone’s best ballad, No Matter What, one of the first modern pop stars to come out before he was outed, and an enthusiastic live performer who’d grab his crotch as high notes approached, allowing the audience’s screams to drown out any vocal shortcomings. So wrote Peter Robinson for The Gaurdian. About who? About Boyzone’s Stephen Gately. He is dead. Suddenly dead. Suddenly dead, when he was holidaying in Spain with his homosexual civil partner in a gay club, Andrew Cowles. He was not even 35.

    He was the voice of Boyzone’s best ballad, No Matter What, one of the first modern pop stars.

    When I heard the news of his sudden death some somber thoughts crossed my mind. Some serious reflections flashed through my mind. May I share them with you?
    I recall having listened to his smash hit song, “Words”. The words for “Words” went this way: Talk in everlasting words and dedicate them all to me… And when I heard those words I recalled that is exactly what God had done for me. Confused? Stumped? Hang on. Let me explain: God talked in everlasting words and dedicated them to me. Jesus’ words were everlasting, weren’t they? Didn’t He say, “Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away?” Those eternal words He spoke were specially meant for me. They were meant for you. Have you taken them seriously? Stephen Gately didn’t. If he had, he would not have continued to be a homosexual. The Bible takes its stand against homosexsuality through an episode (Sodom and Gomorrah) as well as through edicts (for example, I Cor 6:9). It is to be noted that Stephen Gately suddently died when he was holidaying with his homosexual partner. It is quite possible that God sent judgement on him. I could be wrong. But I could be right as well. Read Amos 4:6-12. Verses 6-11 talk about the disasters God sent to the nation of Israel, to get His people’s attention. But they did not repent. But they did not listen up. So in Verse 12, he tells them that they should get ready to meet Him. You will meet with God the moment you die. In other words, in Amos 4:12, God was telling His unrepentant and stiff-necked people, to get ready to die!

    This is what God could have kept telling Stephen Gately: “Your parents gave you the name of the first martyr for the faith – Stephen. I gave you a voice that would ‘wow’ millions. Yet, you have turned against me, your Creator. You have been rebelled against my Word to become a homosexual and do other things displeasing to Me. Repent!” But Stephen Gately did not listen up. God was patient with him. Extremely patient. He gave him a long rope (He has been a homosexual for over 10 years, atleast). He gave his many chances. But you know what – God’s patience has a limit. Read Jeremiah 6:16 and Jeremiah 7:16. Between these two chapters He lost his patience with Israel – a nation that told him, “No – we will not follow your ancient paths”. That is why he stopped Prophet Jeremiah from praying for them. When they had become too stubborn, and there was no way they would repent (God knew this), why should a prophet of God waste his time, praying for them? God gave them up, because they gave God up, stubbornly (Romans 1:18-32).

    I gave you a voice that would ‘wow’ millions. Yet, you have turned against me, your Creator

    What you about you, buddy? God is being patient with you. Extremely patient. He does not want you to perish. He does not want live a life of hell and go to actual hell. But don’t take his patience for granted. That could prove to be very costly. As Stephen Gately probably found out the other day when he was holidaying with homosexual partner in Spain. You cannot mock God and get away with it. Your sin will found you out, my Bible declares (Num 32:23).

    Certain websites and newspapers also reported that Stephen Gately and his homosexual partner, Andy, were boozing away to glory in a gay bar they partied in, that fateful night. It was an “eight hour booze marathan”. They continued boozing even after they returned to their holiday home with a Bulgarian young man they met up at the bar at the wee hour of 4:30 am. Andy went to the bedroom to have sex with a Bulgarian young man at 5:30 am while Stephen collapsed on the sofa in the living room in a drunken stupor.

    Stephen Gately and his homosexual partner, Andy, were boozing away to glory in a gay bar they partied in, that fateful night.

    When Andy woke up he found Stephen in the prayer position. When he tried to wake him up, he discovered to his horror that his homosexual partner was dead. Police believed he died a natural death after he choked on his vomit. Prophet Jeremiah warned in the Bible that vomiting and collapsing never to rise again while getting drunk could be a God-sent judgement (Jer 25:27). Did Stephen cry out to God before he died saying, “Oh Lord Jesus, please forgive me! I have sinned against you by living a homosexual lifestyle. On top of it, I have gotten drunk today, which is again a horrific violation of Your Word!”? We only hope that he did. Only the day of Judgement would reveal if he did.

    Did Stephen cry out to God before he died saying, “Oh Lord Jesus, please forgive me!

    Come now to the Lord Jesus. He can transform you from being a Stephen Gately (a talented Christian only by name, living in open sin) into a biblical Stephen (a Spirit filled believer who was willing even to die for Christ)! Stephen Gately’s “husband” was unfaithful to him on that tragic night he died – it looks like. The friends you hang around with, committing sin after sin, may leave you high and dry, during the time of your crisis and pain. They could be far too busy to help you – busy enjoying sin’s pleasures themselves. But, let me tell you that there is a “friend who sticks closer than a brother,” about whom the Bible talks about (Prov 18:24). His name is Jesus. Come now to Him! You don’t have to wait till you are looking at death in the face to pray to Him. Yes, you don’t have to wait till the eleventh hour to pray the sinner’s prayer without being even able to even complete it only to land in ever-burning hell. You can pray that prayer right now and turn over your one life to Jesus to experience an earth-shattering joy and peace which money cannot buy, the world cannot give and the Devil cannot take away!

    You might say, “I am neither this Stephen or that Stephen. I am somewhere in between!” That is a very dangerous postition to be in, friend. Here is why: the words of Jesus found in Revelation 3:16 which goes this way, “So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

    Let’s run to Jesus, right now!

    Alexandra Topping wrote at the website, gaurdian.co.uk on 13 October 2009 thus: Stephen Gately had recently said he hoped his children’s fantasy novel, The Tree of Seasons, which he spent three years on, would be released for Christmas this year, adding that it would be his “dream” for it to be turned into a film.You see, Gately had many wonderful plans for his earthly future – plans that did not materialize because of his unexpected death. But, unfortunately, he did not plan things out for his eternal future. May be he could have thought, “I have lots of time to do that!” But, as you and I know buddy, he did not have lots of time to do that. He passed away so suddenly, swiftly and shockingly. Mrs. Lot, the woman who wanted to have one last look at sin in the then homosexual capital of the world, Sodom, too passed away so suddenly, switfly and shockingly. If Jesus preached today, He would say, “Remember, Stephen Gately!” I say that because He said then, “Remember, Lot’s wife!” (Luke 17:32). Mrs. Lot did not have lots of time to repent and prepare for eternity. Stephen Gately, too, did not have lots of time to repent and prepare for eternity. And, guess what, you and I, also, may not have lots of time to do that. So, let’s run to Jesus, right now! A living, daily, deep, relationship with Jesus will land you in heaven after death. And without it, you and I, would have to go to eternal literal hell on the other side of eternity after a horrible life of living hell on earth.

  • IS BEING GAY, OKAY?

    –Duke Jeyaraj

    So Homosexuality is cool, the courts have ruled. Being gay is okay, is what they assert. Lesbianism is legal now in India. Atleast in New Delhi. Hmmm.

    This is what the greatest book in the World, the Bible, has to say about one of the most burning issues / hotly debates of our time:

    CREATION
    When God created the World he could shown us that He was fine with homosexuality. He could have. But He did not. He could have created one set of Adam and Eve and put them under one tree and married them off. “You guys are a straight married couple – My blessings are upon you!” he could have said. He could have created one more couple, Adam1 and Adam2 and solemnized their wedding under yet another tree in the Garden of Eden. As someone smartly put it: God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve! God could have blessed saying, “My homosexual married couple – my choicest blessings are with you. He could have created couple No.3 – Eve1 and Eve2. He could have visited the tree under which they were copulating and uttered, “Be fruitful and multiply – my blessings are with you, you lesbian couple!” But He did not. You know why? Homosexuality never entered His mind as a valid way of living. So it is not an option for us His creatures, to consider. The Maker knows what is best for his makes, right?!! The very way God has designed the body of a male and the body of the female, it is quite obvious that a male was meant to have intercourse with a female only, isn’t?

    God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!

    COMMAND
    When God issues a set of commands to Moses he made sure He included a straightforward command about Homosexuality. He did not dodge the issue. He did not sweep it under the carpet. Instead, He told Moses to tell His People, Israel, “Do not sleep with a man as you sleep with a woman.” (Lev 18:22). God reserved a word for such behavior: abomination (ESV). Some homosexuals might call homosexuality “awesome”. But God calls it “awful”.

    CONDEMNATION
    Las Vegas is known for gambling. New York, for Sky-scrappers. Tirupathi, for laddoos. And the city of Sodom was known in the Bible times for rampant homosexuality. And what happened that city? God rained fire on them (Genesis 19). That was His way of firing the homosexuals. What fell on them that day was just a temporary fire, mind you. It just took away their physical life. An eternal fire that would torment their souls and bodies awaits the sold-out, stubborn homosexual offenders of Sodom, we read in the Bible book of Jude (Jude 7). God, I am afraid, will not be ready to congratulate you for your homosexual behavior. He is, make no mistake, getting ready to condemn you, my homosexual friend, for this outrageous behavior. If He did not do that, He would have to apologize to the city of Sodom. And that won’t happen. Shahid Afridi might block 12 balls without taking a single run, but that will not happen. God, the sinless One, never apologises to anyone. So before God’s fierce condemnation strikes you, my gay buddy, I am appealing to you in love, to repent from the sin of homosexuality! If we are still alive, despite our homosexuality and other sins, it is because of the great grace of God – a grace that is waiting for us to repent! And that grace can run out anytime.

    CHRIST
    Jesus, God in human flesh and bone, talked a lot about sex and marriage. He went back to the story of Creation found in the book of Genesis in the Bible to teach what God’s plan was for sex and marriage. “A man will leave his father’s house and be joined to his wife,” he taught (Mark 10:7). He did not teach, “A man will leave his father’s house and be joined to another man.” He did not teach, “A woman will leave her family and be joined with another woman.” He said that some folks have been born as eunuchs (Math 19:12). But never did He say, some people have been made homosexuals by God.

    When Jesus did on the Cross, our sins were laid upon Him, the Bible teaches. He bore ours sins on His body (I Pet 2:24). Our bodies should be punished for the sin of homosexuality. That punishment is death. Hear this for yourself from the Bible: If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them (Lev 20:13). We deserve punishment for our other sins, too, from the all-Holy and all-Just God who cannot and will not wink at sin. But Jesus says, “I love you. I will take your punishment.” He was bound, blind-folded, boxed, battered, bashed, bruised, bloodied, broken, for your sin and mine.

    He did not teach, “A man will leave his father’s house and be joined to another man.”

    COMMUNICATION
    When Paul communicated God’s truths with believers in Rome, he talked about this issue. In his very first chapter he talked about homosexuality as a condition you fall into, when you stubbornly fall away from God (Rom 1:26,27). Homosexuality was a punishment that God allows in your life, when he sees that you are hell-bent on rebelling from him. Later Paul in his communication with Timothy writes that homosexual behavior was one way you break the laws of God and become disobedient to Him (I Tim 1:8-11). While writing to the church at Ephesus, Paul acknowledges the only plan that God ever had for marriage was this: “… a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh” (Eph 5:31). No other permutations and combinations were permissible!

    CORINTH
    In one church Paul ministered to, there were former homosexuals (I Cor 6:9-11). After naming homosexual behavior as one of the sins in the sin list he made up, he writes, “Such were some of you”. Paul warns, if they returned to such behavior and persisted in it, they would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They would not go to heaven. I have goodnews for you. If it was possible for the people of Sodom to turn from their homosexual behavior, it is possible for you too. God does not want you to live in this sin and perish. He does not want your riddance. He wants your repentance.

    CLARIFICATION
    So people say they are born with a homosexual bent and so they have every right to be homosexuals. This is how their argument goes: Some are born lefthanders. Some others are born righthanders. Similiarly, some are born homosexuals while some others are born straight. God made us homosexuals and so we don’t want to be straight!Come on! When one makes the choice of being a left hander or a right hander, he or she is not making a moral choice. But when one makes a choice of homosexuality over a normal man-woman relationship, one does make a moral choice. And God has not created anyone with a homosexual bent. Some were created as eunuchs, yes. But as homosexuals – they weren’t. We chose a homosexual lifestyle using our inborn sinful instincts – instincts inherited from the first man, Adam. Just like Ethiopians naturally have dark skin, we too have naturally inbuilt instincts to sin. This is the teaching of the Bible (Jer 13:23). But, through Jesus, we can overcome those sinful instincts. When Jesus died for us on the Cross, our sins and sinful desires were nailed with Him, the Bible teaches (Gal 5:24). We could have many other natural desires and inborn bents that are surely sinful – the desire to have many sexual partners, the desire to murder, the desire to rape, the desire to have sex with animals, etc, etc. But those natural desires should be curtailed, curbed, cleaned and consecrated with the power of the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit. They should not be used as a justification for our sins. Some others say that David and Jonathan were homosexuals and that God was cool about their relationship. There is no biblical warrant to believe that if you have understood what the whole Bible says about this issue. The message of part of the Bible should not contradict the message of another part of the Bible – this is the cardinal rule of Bible interpretation. Yes, it was true that David’s love for Jonathan was a very deep love – a love deeper than the love he had for women (II Sam 1:26). The word the Septuagint, the most respected and the oldest available Greek translation of the Bible, uses here for the love David had for Jonathan is certainly not “eros” – the Bible word for sexual love.

    When one makes the choice of being a left hander or a right hander, he or she is not making a moral choice. But when one makes a choice of homosexuality over a normal man-woman relationship, one does make a moral choice.

    So my friend, say “bye” to the sin of homosexuality and every other sin you may be in. “Sin is anything, Jesus would not do.” His Blood, shed for you on the Cross, will cleanse you. And you will be a new person. You will have a joy and peace which homosexuality can never give you. You will be filled with inexpressible and glorious joy – something no sin can give you.

    WANT TO SEE THE SAME MESSAGE?
    If you are person who loves to see things and not merely read about them, see find a youtubevideo, link of which is found below, featuring my talk on this hot topic of homosexuality titled IS BEING GAY OKAY? I say this for the Glory of God that this was one of the few talks of mine that has been interrupted by crowd applause. It was part of talk to a group of 500 modern youth in the New Life AG church, Hyderabad, titled, TAMING TOUGH TEMPTATIONS (also titled, What the Bible Teaches About Sex). The DVD of this message can be made available to you (along with two other messages of mine titled, TRUE ROMANTIC LOVE n COMMON YOUTH QUESTIONS answered in the same DVD), if you live in India for just Rs.100/- (Rs.200/- for overseas addresses). You could deposit the amount in Duke’s ICICI account Account Number: 024401000969 and sms your full address and pincode to me at 91 – 9441352433.

    So here is the Youtube link for “Is Being Gay Okay – Duke Jeyaraj”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLvrHCUT6AQ
    Click on the link above now to “see” the same message now!

    WANT TO HEAR THE SAME MESSAGE FROM YOUR CELLPHONE?
    You could also freely download an audio message of mine onto your cellphones on the same topic by clicking on http://www.duke.mypodcast.com. The message is titled, What the Bible Teaches About Sex.

  • TWENTY ONE REQUIRED OFF THE LAST OVER….

    A Duke Jeyaraj Poem on the last over of the Kolkota Knight Riders and Deccan Chargers in IPL – II on 16 May

    The score-board said, twenty one required off the last over,
    The Game between the Deccan Chargers and the Knight Riders was far from over,
    With only three men in the ring, Mashrafe’s first ball – was called a “No!”
    Rohit Sharma smashed it for a four – to hear the Chargers’ cheering, “Go Rohit! Go!”

    16 runs off 6 balls, was the new equation,
    In Hyderabadi homes like mine, the air was charged with so much tension!
    However, sleepy-eyed, silken-touch Rohit Sharma stayed cool as a cucumber,
    He suddenly exploded and tonked the 3rd ball – a juicy full toss – for a huge sixer!

    It was then the $600,000 worth Mortaza bowled a nervous wide,
    At that point, he (and his captain McCullum) wished they had some place to hide,
    With 7 off 3 balls, now required, Rohit hit the ball down the ground and set out for a run,
    Venugopal’s high velocity sprint converted that one into two – boy, for him, it was fun!

    5 needed off 2 balls – that was the challenging task now,
    When Rohit stylishly pierced the infield to clobber a four, the Chargers’ fans roared, “Wow!”
    1 off 1 ball – that is what the Chargers had to now get,
    This was surely a goose-bumps-giving, game, you won’t, in a hurry, forget,

    When Rohit Sharma sent the last ball over the square leg!
    It was celebration time for the Chargers – everyone was shaking a leg!
    While it’s true, it was Rohit who, for the Chargers, saved the Day!
    It is also true that it is Jesus, who is the Life, the Truth and the Way!

    It was celebration time for the Chargers – everyone was shaking a leg!

    Why bring Jesus into the final over of Twenty20 game, you may well ask,
    Here is why – While the Twenty20 excitement can fade behind our life mask,
    The excitement, the peace, the life purpose, that Jesus alone offers, does last,
    And I could not just wait to tell you this great news – so I made this poem up fast!

  • PATHAN BROTHERS AND PROVERBS’ VERSE

    –DUKE JEYARAJ

    Two brothers were in the middle. India was in a muddle. India was losing that game of Cricket. They needed an out of the world performance from the Pathan brothers – Yousuf and Irfan – to beat Sri Lanka in that one-off T20 game on February 10, 2009 at Colombo. It was first Yousuf’s turn to turn on the heat on the Lankan bowlers. He hoisted the Lankan bowlers for sixes after six. When he saw his brother go berserk Irfan wasn’t too far behind. He too started thrashing the Lankan bowlers with impunity. And in the last over, the Pathan brothers stole a nerve-wracking win for India in that electrifying T20 game. “Chasing a stiff target of 172, Irfan (33 not out) and Yusuf (22 not out) scored 59 runs from 25 balls in the tense final moments to steer India home in a pulsating flood-lit contest at the Premadasa Stadium”, reported one website.

    There was an unmistakable camaraderie that was evident between the two brothers when they put up this match-winning partnership in lightning quick-time. They hugged each other tight and celebrated!
    What I saw in that gripping game reminded me of a Bible verse found in the book of Proverbs: “There is a friend closer than a brother!” (Prov 18:24) Did you know that every book of the Bible talks about Jesus at least in shadow, if not in substance? The book of Proverbs is no different. The title of “a friend closer than a brother” best fits with Jesus.

    Let me explain: Though he was God Eternal, Jesus deliberately got close with humans during his earthly journey. In Lazarus, he had a buddy. He addressed him as friend (John 11:11). When Lazarus suddenly died, his sisters Martha and Mary were sobbing not knowing that Jesus would raise him from the dead. Jesus, when he reached the scene after four days also wept (John 11:35)! “Jesus wept” is the shortest Bible verse. But it is a long and loud statement that tells us how much Jesus loves us, humans. Isn’t that astounding? Jesus knew He would raise Lazarus up from the dead. Yet He wept. That day, Jesus’ handkerchief got wet, you bet! Jesus by that gesture showed that He was much closer to Lazarus than his sisters were. Here was a friend closer than his own sisters for Lazarus!
    How close is Jesus to you? Do you tell Him, “Jesus, don’t come too close to me. You won’t like the thick friends I keep, the books I read, the movies and TV shows I watch, the raunchy songs I listen to on my Ipod?”

    A daily, living, deep relationship with Jesus would give you unalloyed joy – something that no other thing or relationship can give you. Would you run into the one who wants to sweep you into His arms with arms open wide? Would you stick close to this “Friend who sticks closer than a brother” who, for you, on the cross, died?

  • YOU AND THIS YAHOO ENGINEER

    – Duke Jeyaraj

    Raghavan Devarajan with his wife and kids
    The newspaper headline was painful to read. It went this way: “Indian Techie kills five of his kin, turns gun on himself in US” (The Times of India, Hyderabad edition, 1 April 2009). Here are dreadful details of that gory story: He had it all – a dream job in the US. A job with a great company – Yahoo to be precise. A decent house in an upscale Santa Clara locality. A pretty wife. Two cute kids – an 11-year old boy and 4-year old girl. Financial trouble was far away despite the financial downturn. Yet Raghavan Devarajan, the 43 year old techie we are talking about was apparently missing something in his life – inner peace. He felt so empty on the inside that he felt compelled to empty bullets from his .45 semiautomatic handgun on his two school-going children and three relatives who stayed with him till they no longer were breathing. Yes – he killed them brutally. His wife, in her mid-thirties barely escaped with multiple gunshot wounds. He was found on the home’s top floor, dead from a self-inflicted wound. Police Lt. Phil Cooke, who inspected the crime scene specifically, said there was no reason to believe that this Yahoo engineer was in the danger of losing his job (http://www.news.yahoo.com/ accessed on 19 April 2009).
    You know what – there is a connection between you and this suicide-committing Yahoo engineer. Yes, there is a link. Yup, there are some striking similarities between you and this bloke. Hang on and I will explain that.

    What would you make of this sort of suicide – a suicide by a man who apparently lacked nothing in life? It is this: Man’s needs go beyond the physical world. You can have the best of food, clothing and shelter – yet you can be so empty and miserable. You have been there – haven’t you? When you are about to switch off your bedroom light and sleep off, some questions simply don’t switch off.

    I am talking about questions like, “Who am I? What is the purpose of my life? Where am I going? What is my destiny?”
    Jesus was spot on when He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God!” Jesus’ point was this: you need bread to satisfy physical hunger within and you need the Bible (which is God’s Word) to satisfy your spiritual hunger.

    Not possessions
    Jesus also stated, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Life does not become meaningful when you have the latest gadgets to captivate you, and a stout salary to feed you – that was Jesus’ assertion here. What makes life meaningful is a living relationship with the One who is Life. I am talking about Jesus here. What makes life purposeful is a living relationship with the One who gave His life for you. I am talking about Jesus here. Nothing else will fill your life with sense. Your possessions cannot give your life meaning. Ask Judas he would tell you. Judas, who? The Judas who was Jesus’ disciple. We read in the Bible about how this money-loving guy killed himself (Mathew 27).

    Not profession
    Your profession cannot fill your life with meaning. Ask Ahitophel he will tell you. Ahithophel who? The Ahithophel in the Bible. This counselor to the kings ended his life on his own when he found that he was a failure in his profession and his counsel was not listened to (II Samuel 17).

    Not position
    Your position cannot fill your life with meaning. Ask Saul he would tell you. Saul, who? The Saul in the Bible . This young man who ascended to the position of the first ever king of Israel only to fall on his sword to end his life (I Samuel 31).

    If you are looking in the direction of your profession, position and possessions to find meaning in life, you are looking in the wrong direction. Having found out that these do not give meaning to life, you too have asked yourself, “What is the point of living, then? I might as well die!” (You may not admit this before people, but deep down, you know, this is true).

    Jumping from the frying pan to the burning furnace
    But make no mistake – suicide is no solution to your life’s lack of purpose and meaning. It is like jumping from the frying pan to the burning furnace. The Bible teaches those who commit suicide will have to live forever in the lake of burning fire and sulfur called “Hell” through the example of Judas. He was doomed to hell, Jesus told us in no uncertain terms. And as a matter of fact, you cannot kill yourself. The real you – which is the soul – will go on living forever. What you do with Jesus will decide where your soul will live – eternal heaven or eternal hell.

    Embrace Life, Embrace Jesus
    Are you toying with the idea of suicide? Commit your life with the only one who ended His life on His own terms without having to resort to suicide – Jesus. He was the only one in this planet who bowed His head and then died – He knew exactly when He would die. After all, He is God in human flesh. And when you do that, all your suicidal tendencies would fly away. You will begin to truly enjoy life with Jesus who came to give you life to the full (John 10:10). Why should you wait even one nano-second to do that?!

  • WHAT MAKES LIFE MEANINGFUL?

    – DUKE JEYARAJ

    What gives life purpose? What makes life meaningful? What puts sense into the journey called life? Have you asked those questions? To find out the answer, I turned to the one who made life – God and His Written Word, the Bible.
    I bumped into a book of the Bible where the word, “meaningless” or “vanity” is used 29 times – the book of Ecclesiastes. I discovered many things that simply will not give purpose and meaning to life. Let me share them with you.
    1. WIT will not bring meaning and purpose in life!
    The writer of this book “tries” different things in his search for meaning in life (Eccl 2:1 NLT). First he tries “laughter”. Shall we make that “wit”?
    If only I can laugh my guts out! If only I can crack a joke and my world laughs with me! Then my life will have meaning, purpose and sense! That is what he thought. But he was disappointed (Eccl 2:2).

    Just like Jim Carey, the man who made a fortune with his funny face. He was not a happy man, his biographer writes. Tony Hancock, a great comedian out of the United Kingdom ended his life on his own. Yes, the Bible observes that even in laughter the heart may ache (Prov 14:13). Yes, we can be bubbly on the outside, yet empty on the inside! So the way of wit is not the way to meaning, this man discovered!

    Jim Carey, the man who made a fortune with his funny face, was not a happy man.

    2. WINE will not give meaning and purpose in life!
    The search for meaning in Ecclesiastes continues. He tried to “cheer” himself with wine (Eccl 2:3). Again, he was disappointed. Wine can make you forget life for a while. But it can never bring it meaning and purpose!

    Wine can make you forget life for a while. But it can never bring its meaning or purpose

    Fourteen- year old Aarushi Talwar was found murdered on May 16, 2008 in the room of her home in Noida, near New Delhi, India. Her throat was slit. Her face had stab wounds. How could someone get so cruel to commit a murder so cold and clinical as this? The answer is given by the investigation team – the murderer was influenced by alcohol.

    Famous England footballer, Paul Gascoigne’s addiction to alcohol led him to mental depression. At one point he attempted to end his life by wrist-slashing. He was reportedly too drunk to even speak to the press after this event.

    Paul Gascoigne’s addiction to alcohol led him to mental depression

    Alcohol consumption will rob your life away from you by causing immense damage to your liver, slowly but surely. At times, it can make you so senseless that you may even take another’s life or your own life under its influence. When this is the case, how can alcohol give life meaning and purpose?! It surely can’t. The search for meaning doesn’t end with wine – it has to continue….

    3. WORK will not give meaning and purpose in life!
    The writer of Ecclesiastes next talks about how he got busy with work in his search for life’s purpose (Eccl 2:4-6). He made houses, vineyards, gardens, parks, forests and pools yet that did not make his life, sensible or purposeful. Ahithophel made a career out of counseling kings. He was the counselor of King David, the great King of Israel (II Sam 15:12). When David’s handsome son, Absalom rebelled against him and occupied the throne, Ahithophel joined his team. He gave key counsels to Absalom too. In fact, his counsel was seen as the very counsel of God, the Bible records (II Sam 16:23). But when Absalom listened to the counsel of Hushai instead of his counsel, Ahithopel could not take it and he instead took his own life (II Sam 17:23). In II Samuel 16:23, he was at the peak of his profession. In II Samuel 17:23, he was in the pit of depression because of a professional failure, so much so, he ended his life!

    I found a tragic news piece on washingtonpost.com very similar to the story of Ahitophel. Let me narrate the real story about Natrajan Ramachandran, an investment advisor of Indian origin who worked in the United States:
    On a heart-stopping August Day in 1998, in his 5,000-square-foot, 20-room tract mansion in Herndon, the United States, he gathered his family in the master bedroom — his wife, Kalpara; their daughter, Reha, 11; and their son, Raj, 7 — and ended their lives and his with a 9mm Ruger rifle. Because of an obvious failure in his profession he behaved in this bizarre manner: he had had run up to $10 million in debts, some to casinos, and was under investigation for passing $2 million in worthless checks, the same website reported. Natrajan Ramachandran also killed himself.
    Both Ahithophel and Natrajan Ramachandran perhaps believed that their success in their work would give them meaning and purpose in life. But that did not happen. And they were so shattered that they killed themselves. It is true – work will not give purpose and meaning in life!

    4. WEALTH will not give meaning and purpose in LIFE!
    The search for life’s meaning continues in Ecclesiastes 2. We read how this writer “bought” slaves, herds and flocks like no one else in all of Israel (Ecc 2:7, 8). Who is this writer? In the first verse verse of this book, he introduces himself as the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Bible Scholars tell us he was King Solomon. He was richest ever king to rule Israel. The weight of the gold that he possessed in a single year was 666 talent (I Ki 10:14). One talent weighed 34 kgs, mind you! He had 200 large gold shields. His drinking vessels were made out of gold. He sat in an ivory throne (I Ki 10:14-22). Here was a king who had seen wealth like no other king. Yet, this is his startling confession: wealth could not give him meaning and purpose in life.

    If we were to resurrect Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver coins and ask him, “Judas, will money give meaning to life?” he would vigorously shake his head to say ‘no’. “If money made my life, why would I have ended my life after I made money? Purpose in life is found in the One I betrayed to make money – the One who told us, One’s life does not consist in the abundance of His possessions! (Luke 12:15)”

    Pat Rafter, mouthed these words, after he won a huge prize money, following a US Open win, “When you don’t have it, you want it. When you have it, you don’t want it!” By saying this he was admitting money does not give fulfillment to life.


    Pat Rafter admitted that money does not give fullfillment to life

    5. WOMEN do not give meaning and purpose to life!
    Scroll down to Ecclesiastes 2 and you will bump into yet another thing King Solomon tried out to get meaning and purpose in life: women. He had female slaves, female singers and female sex-partners (called concubines) in plenty (Eccl 2:7,8). Yet these women could not bring fulfillment to his life.

    Women do not give meaning and purpose to life.

    After an infamous tryst with a young woman who was not his wife, Oliver Kahn, Germany’s legendary goalie told a very popular magazine in Germany, “I myself know how stupid and dumb this is!” Kahn, by saying that admitted, women and all the pleasures they could offer, could not help him find life’s purpose and meaning! So our search for life’s meaning can’t stop with women. It must continue.

    6.’WOWs!’ will not give meaning and purpose in Life!
    Solomon keeps travelling in his search for meaning and fulfillment in life. At each stop he met nothing but disappointment. His next stop in this seemingly insatiable journey is what I want to call as the stop of “Wows!” Solomon, in other words, wanted to find life’s meaning through the route of appreciation from people for his commendable achievements. He says, “So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem” (Eccl 2:9). In the “Wows!’ people would shower him with, he tried to find life’s purpose.
    Wows – Solomon received them galore. He got them by the truckloads. Solomon’s wisdom and wealth made the visiting Queen of Sheba go “Wow!” (I Kings 10:1-10). The Bible records, “Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt” (I Kings 4:30). His knowledge of biology was baffling; his insight into zoology was zapping (That’s how I understand I Ki 4:33).
    People did not mind long walks to hear Solomon talks (I Kings 4:34). In his book Shane Warne’s Century, Shane Warne says that he would pay to see Indian Opener Virender Sehwag bat. Sehwag’s batting made him go “Wow!” The Sportstar titled it special issue about Steve Waugh this way: Wow Waugh! People in Solomon’s time had to just say that when they saw Solomon: Wow!
    Eugene Peterson translates I Kings 4:29 this way: There was nothing beyond him (Solomon), nothing he couldn’t handle.
    But sadly the “Wows!” he won with effortless ease did not give Solomon his life’s purpose. Michael Schumacher after winning the World Championships in Formula One racing for the record seventh time said, “I’m empty and I’m exhausted!” A ‘wow’ performance could not give him life’s purpose or give him fulfillment.

    A ‘wow’ performance could not give Michael Schumacher his life’s purpose

    What about you? You thought “Once I have a Beyonce Knowles figure and once I hear a ‘Wow’from my male admirers, my life is made!” You do have Beyonce Knowles’s figure now. You have heard that ‘Wow!’ you were waiting for. But, guess what? Your life is still far from being made. You still are searching for meaning in life.

    7. THE WHOLE WORLD cannot give meaning and purpose in your life!
    After his great disappointment of trying out the first six Ws – wit, wisdom, wine, work, wealth, women and ‘wows’ – Solomon makes a summary statement. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure (Eccl 2:10). Notice the word “whatever” here. And that word is an all-sweeping, all-encompassing word he used to imply that he tried everything “under the sun” (a frequently appearing word in this Bible book) to find meaning and purpose in life. Whatever his eyes set sights on, whatever his heart felt could give meaning and purpose to life, and he tried that out. What was the end result: the same.

    Jesus said, “What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses his soul?”

    The whole world and all of its pleasures cannot give one’s life meaning. That is the message of this Bible book. The gambling which Las Vegas can offer, the girls which Paris can parade, the gold which Johannesburg can brag about cannot give your life meaning and purpose! The porn site about which your pals say, “You have not lived, until you have seen it, bloke!” cannot give your life meaning. Solomon kept nothing from his eyes (To put that in modern terms, “There was no porn site which Solomon did not surf…”). Yet, fulfillment of life was kept from him!

    When Jesus said, “What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses his soul?” (Math 16:26, NIV) this was what He was getting at: You can search the whole planet for meaning and purpose in life, but you will not find it!
    The destination of these wrong roads….
    Solomon openly confessed “everything is meaningless” at least six times in his book (Eccl 1:2,14; 2:17; 3:19; 11:8; 12:8). The seven routes he took to get meaning and purpose in life led to only disillusionment and disappointment.
    Not only that. Writing elsewhere in the Bible, Solomon says these routes he took led to danger as well. I am referring to his words in the Bible book of Proverbs. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death,” so writes Solomon (Prov 14:12). It is so important that he repeated it in Proverbs 16:25. When he was in the way of wit, the way of wine, the way of work, the way of wealth, the way of Wows, the way of Women, the way of the whole world, he felt he was on the right track. As he journeyed further, after the initial elation, he felt miserable because deep down he knew he doing wrong. And not just wrong, he knew he was heading straight into danger – death. Another version of the Bible translates the very same words of Solomon this way: There’s a way that looks harmless enough; look again—it leads straight to hell. The ultimate destination of life-purpose routes such as wine, women, work, “Wows!”, wit, etc is hell! Eugene Peterson, swapped the word, “hell” for the word, “death”, because we do have places in the Bible where hell punishment is figuratively called “second death” (in Rev 21:8 for example) though no one actually gets to die in hell!

    Why and How Jesus can give us purpose in life
    Hell?! In the Bible, God’s Words in Human words, no one spoke about this place more than the person who actually came to save us all from going there. His name is Jesus! Jesus compared hell to “a lake of fire” in which worms will forever feast on the eternally alive human body. He preached that He, God in Human Flesh, came to this world to give each one of us, life, and “life to the full” (John 10:10). Without a living relationship with Jesus, our life will never be fulfilled. Without a daily relationship with Jesus, our life will be a living hell, even as we head to the literal hell. This is the message of John 3:36 – a verse in the Bible. When we come to Jesus who claimed to be “The Bread of Life”, we will no longer be hungry – our hunger to find life’s meaning can be only quenched by Jesus (John 6:35)!
    The reason for this is very simple. Since Jesus had purpose and meaning to His life, He could offer the same to others. He explicitly says He came for the purpose of dying for the human race (John 12:27). Through His death, every human, could discover life’s purpose. Jesus not only had purpose for His own life – He gave purpose to the life of those who made Him Lord and Savior of their lives. A man called Paul, repented from his sins and trusted in Jesus as His only Lord, God and Savior. And this is what he testifies after having walked the road of life with Jesus: “I run with purpose in every step!” (I Cor 9:26, NLT). The same Jesus who filled Paul’s life with purpose all over can give your life purpose, meaning fulfillment as well, for He is impartial and unchanging. All you have to do is repent from sin like Paul and trust in Jesus alone for your salvation.

    The person who made life, can make it meaningful!
    This message is what even the guy we were talking about, King Solomon, all along was getting at. After having observed the whole world and what it had to offer, Solomon makes a very important statement. It is this: “God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? (Eccl 2:24-25). While he openly confessed “everything is meaningless” at least six times in his book, Solomon, offers some hope in some sections of his book (Eccl 1:2,14; 2:17; 3:19; 11:8; 12:8). His message is simple: the person who made life can make it meaningful! His message is direct: life ‘under the sun’ (a phrase he uses in his book 20 times) will be meaningless, until we have a living relationship with the one above the Sun – with God!

    To underline that he wrote, Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them” (Eccl 12:1). Here is what he is saying, “Remember and relate with God, who came to this Earth in the person of Jesus, if you want to make all the days of your life full of eternal pleasure and meaning!” (to put that verse in the context of the message of the whole Bible).

    Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth- (Eccl 12:1)

    So why are you waiting? Would you bow your head, right now, and ask the resurrected and returning Jesus to come into your repentant heart, to begin your eternity-long relationship with Him – a relationship that will fill every second of your life with purpose and meaning and fulfillment? Don’t delay this decision!

    As Solomon pointed out, let us do this in “the days of our youth”! As Solomon penned, let us do this before the door to life’s opportunities is closed (Eccl 12:4, NLT). As Solomon scripted, let us do it, before you near the grave, before the silver cord of life snaps – which technically is ‘any time’ in this world full of heart-stopping terror (Eccl 12:5,6 NLT)!

  • WHAT'S SO UNIQUE ABOUT JESUS?

    – DUKE JEYARAJ

    What’s so unique about Jesus that people in well-earning jobs throw them aside, to dedicate their entire life and all their waking time just to tell others about Him? What’s the big deal about Jesus that you get to hear about Him Christmas after Christmas? As a teenager, I once wrote a letter to a movie starlet. What did I write? “I love you and can’t live without you?” Nah. I wrote to her about a person who had made such a difference in my life – Jesus. Jesus? What’s so unique about him that I had to write to a movie actress about him? Hang on.

    All roads lead to Rome?
    Popular music troupe, Colonial Cousins sang a song that went on to become a big hit: Come back as Jesus, come back and save the world/We need a teacher and you are the only one/Come back as Rama and forgive us for what we have done/Come back as Allah, come back as anyone…Colonial cousins were only eloquently putting into music a popular philosophy called pluralism which you will bump into time and again. A pluralist would say, “All religions lead to the same destination; you have your religion and I’ll have mine; let’s not fight or argue over religion!” Whenever I have witnessed about Christ while traveling, 99% of my fellow passengers would bounce back at me with this stereotype response. Stumped by this response I started thinking hard and also reading on this controversial subject. You see, if Jesus wasn’t unique it did not matter who I followed. It did not count what way of life I chose. This article is the baby of my reflections on this crucial subject.

    DOES THE BIBLE REALLY SAY THAT JESUS IS UNIQUE?
    Absolutely! To a man who would go as the first ever missionary to a country worshipping 330 million deities (India), to Thomas, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Incredible! Thomas took Jesus at his word and came to India in A.D. 52, preaching Jesus as the only way to salvation and gave his life for this very message by dying as a martyr in Chennai.

    Peter denied Jesus before a servant girl saying, “Woman, I don’t even know him!” (Lk 22:57). Months later this very same Peter, after receiving baptism of the Holy Spirit said, “Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been given or will be given us by which we can be saved, only this one!” (Acts 4:12). Think! Previously he said that he hadn’t even heard “that name”. Now, he says, he knows no other name that will save humanity but the name of Jesus!

    The way of Jesus was sometimes also dubbed ‘the Way’ during the time of the early church (see Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23). That implies that all other ways are dead ends – paths that will neither lead to heaven nor will give real purpose and peace. Logically speaking, no one can really believe that”All ways lead to the same destination!” Wondering why? How will a person who makes the ‘all-religions-are-cool claim’ respond to Christ’s claim that He alone is the Way? He might then argue – “When Christ said that He was the only way, He was wrong!” But the moment he says that he no longer believes that “all” ways are equally valid when it comes to the salvation of the soul which is what he claims to actually believe! Pluralism – as you just saw – is logically inconsistent.

    What Jesus tells us is very similar to what a boy told a girl in a popular song: “Don’t love me for fun girl. Let me be the ONE, girl!” He demands that we serve him and preach him as the ONLY Savior. Did not the God of the Bible say, “I, even I, am the LORD and apart from me there is no Savior!” (Isa 43:11).

    Put your thinking caps as I present a few arguments for the uniqueness of Jesus, that sets him apart from the Buddas, Mahaviras, Mohammeds, Sai Babas and anybody else anyone would care to name!

    1. HIS SUPERNATURAL BIRTH
    The High Priest before whom Jesus stood after his arrest at Gethsemane garden shot a solemn question to Jesus: “I demand in the name of the living God that you tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God?” (Math 27:63). Here was a golden chance for Jesus to escape the crucifixion. All He had to do to escape death was to say that He was indeed born to Mary and a human father. But He stubbornly refused and broke His silence (notice that he did not answer the previous question of the High Priest) to say, “Yes, it is as you say!” (Math 27:64).

    Why did Jesus say that? Simple. That was the truth – while He was born to a biological mother He had no biological father. He was living since eternity (in the pass tense) before He decided that He was going to give up His divine glory to become a baby floating in the amniotic fluids of Mary who was a virgin on Christmas. You see – it is not an easy job at all for a mother to watch her son die, right before her own eyes, to know pretty well she can save him. But Mary preferred to watch Christ die. All she had to do to prevent her Son from the savage death awaiting him was to have gone and told the executors of Jesus: “Listen! Don’t believe my Son and his ridiculous claim that he is the Son of God and all that rubbish. He was born because of an immoral relationship I had with a person I do not wish to name. I am his mom and if anybody knows how he was born, it is I! Please release him, I beg you!” But Mary did not do that. Asking why? You are right – Mary pretty well knew that she became pregnant when the Holy Spirit came upon her when she hadn’t even allowed a man to even peep into her bed (so to speak)! And what was more – a medical doctor – records for us in the Bible, the most detailed record of the conception of Jesus (Lk 1:27-37).

    What is it about the virgin birth of Christ that sets him apart from the rest of pantheons of self-made gods? Simple. All other citizens of planet Earth had a beginning. But Jesus had none. He has been existing eternally – something that no other so-called ‘god’ or ‘guru’ can truthfully claim! In fact he claimed to have existed long before Abraham, someone who existed thousands of years before he did (Jn 8:58). Not only that, He claimed that famous prophet Isaiah – again a chap who lived hundreds of years before Jesus came into this planet as a baby – ‘saw Him and spoke about His glory’ (Jn 12:41)!

    Not only that. While we are unsure if the many of the founders of religions even existed. But that is not the case about Jesus. The supernatural birth account of Jesus pins him to both history (he was the one who divided the time line of the planet into two – A.D and B.C) and geography (he was born in Bethlehem, a small village near Jerusalem). We have more solid proof that Jesus historically lived than for Alexander. The two earliest biographers of Alexander, Arrian and Plutarch wrote more than 400 years after his death in 323 B.C. The first three Gospels – which tell us a historical narrative of the life and times of Jesus – were written within 30 years of Christ’s death!
    2. HIS STAGGERING FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY
    Jesus fulfilled no less than 110 prophecies made about Him in the Old Testament that was written hundreds of years before His birth.

    The Bible predicted that Jesus would be born of a woman (Gen 3:15). That was an easy one to fulfill. He was (Gal 4:4). Again the Bible predicted that Jesus would be born of a virgin woman (from among the millions of women who would come to exist in this planet) (Isa 7:14). Again it happened (Math 1:21). The Bible further narrowed its prophecy span to say that He would be born of virgin woman in the line of the Abraham, the father of the Jewish race – to simplify the prophecy (Gen. 12:1-3/22:18). Jesus was (Math 1:1; Gal 3:16). Then the Bible incredibly further narrowed its prediction spread to say that Jesus would be born to a virgin Jewish woman from one of the twelve tribes of the Jewish race – the tribe of Judah (Gen 49:10). He indeed was (Luke 3:23, 33). The Bible further foretold that the Messiah, Jesus would be born to a virgin Jewish woman from the family of David who belonged to the thousands of families of the tribe of Judah (II Sam 7: 12). Though it was asking for too much Jesus fulfilled that prophecy too (Math 1:1). And this is just to talk about his birth – leaving out the rest of his life on the earth in which he fulfilled at least 100 more prophecies.

    Daniel predicted the exact date Jesus would enter Jerusalem to be crucified – die for the sins of others (Dan (Dan 9:24). Stunning!

    Some have suggested that Jesus himself arranged His life so that he could fulfill prophecies made about him. Come on! Can anyone – the family, time and place of birth? Do you think Jesus whispered to the Roman soldiers who beat him black and blue, “Beat me softly guy – none of my bones must be broken as per the Old Testament prophecy which I have got to somehow fulfill” (Ex 12:46; Psa 34:20; Jn 19:36)? Ha Ha! Mathematicians have calculated that the probability of 16 predictions being fulfilled in one man is 1 in 10 to power of 45! If we stretched it to 48 predictions, the probability will swell to 1 in 10 to the power of 157! Set mathematics and the probability calculations aside. Let’s try to figure out what one is saying if he just brushed aside the fact Jesus fulfilled so many prophecies purely ‘by chance’. It would be tantamount to that Actor Shah Rukh could have batted for India, left-handed, and made a triple hundred to take India past to the near-impossible World Cup final target Australia set for India – 360 in March 2003!

    By fulfilling prophecy at will Jesus was just proving that He could control the history and happenings before the time He entered the world as a human and after He did – a feat no one can even ever dream of doing!

    3. HIS SPOTLESS CHARACTER –
    Only a sinless person qualifies to save a sinner!
    Speaking to his worst enemies – the Jewish leaders of his time – Jesus challenged, “Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin?” (Jn. 8:46)? They were dumbfounded.

    Jesus had a cousin brother in John the Baptist. They were born just six months apart. I can imagine Jesus and John playing many kids games with each other. Hide and seek? You bet! This very same John who had literally seen Jesus grow up before his eyes testified to the absolute sinlessness of Jesus by refusing to baptize Jesus at first. “You need not be joining the sinners’ string, Jesus – no never! I never seen you commit a sin that you need to repent of,” he said in-effect (Math 3:6)? Will any childhood buddy of any great figure in history ever testify that he/she was sinless? Never! But Jesus’ childhood friend did just that!

    The man who was Jesus’ bosom friend could testify this of Jesus: “There is no sin in him and sin is not part of his program” (I Jn 3:5 MGE). Would any close pal of any top notch ‘guru’ testify the same about his friend?

    When we contrast the sinlessness of Jesus with sensuousness of other religious biggies His character becomes dazzling white! The Quran itself records that Prophet Mohammed praying for forgiveness of sins. But the very same book declared that Jesus was sinless (Surah 19:19). Rock group, Beatles found out that the Hindu guru they were going bonkers over – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi – was more interested in the bodies of one of the female singers than in spiritual stuff he was supposed to teach them! The communist ‘god’ Karl Marx died because of syphilis – a disease that he got because of his immoral life style.

    Man’s universal problem is sin. The Bible teaches, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins” (Eccl 7:20). Only a sinless person qualifies to save a sinner. Isn’t that plain cool logic? Max Lucado smartly put it: “Two kids in a mud puddle cannot clean each other. They need someone clean. Someone spotless. We need someone clean too. That is why we need a savior.” Not just “a savior”. But a sinless savior. Therefore only Jesus – and no one else – qualifies to bring salvation from sins to humans who are all sinners. In fact Jesus was named so because “He will save His people from their sins?” (Math 1:21). The world neatly divides into two groups: in one group are people who have never experienced a vacuum in their heart. Only Jesus is there in this group. Only Jesus and no one else. Because Jesus never sinned he never had any vacuum in his heart! In the other group there are the Aishwarya Rais and rest of her species – the entire Homo sapiens! Indian actress Aishwarya Rai talked about it – this emptiness phenomenon. She once said, “You know as Ms. World, I was exposed to so much that after the year was over there was a suddenly a vacuum!” And every human would talk about the empty feeling he or she had without exception, not just Ashwariya, if he were honest. Jesus explained the reason why He – though being God – took human flesh. It was so that “you” – whoever you may be – “may have life and have it to the full!” (Jn 10:10). Expressed in another way what He was communicating was this: apart from having a living daily relationship with him, all mortals would languish with a vacuum in their heart – an emptiness – which is caused by sin (Lam 1:18).

    4. HIS STUPEFYING MIRACLES AND WONDERS
    The ONLY sinless miracle-worker!

    Three funeral services Jesus attended had to be stopped midway. You may give Jesus a nickname: “Funeral Spoiler!” Why? In all the three cases he raised the dead (Mk 5:35; Luk 7:11-15; Jn 11:43-44). Jesus’ miracles beat time and space. When He changed water to wine, His miracles were beating time, for water does ferment as wine in a natural process that takes lots of time – many months. His miracles beat space. When He spoke a word of healing from one location an official’s son was instantly healed at another location (Jn 4:43-54)! What was more, even His opponent accepted the fact that He worked irrefutable miracles (Mt 28:11-15; Mk 5:40-42; Jn 11:47-48). Even the Koran conceded that Jesus did miracles. Several miracles and medically documented healings take place even today when people are prayed for in the name of Jesus!

    Why did Jesus go around working miracles? Easy. He did them so that people would believe that He was the way and came from the Father. He rapped the unbelieving Jews saying, “The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for Me but you do not believe” (Jn 10:25, 26). When the apostles preached Jesus, they kept re-hammering the same point: “Jesus the Nazarene, a man thoroughly accredited by God to you – the miracles and signs God did through Him are common knowledge” (Acts 2:22).

    Miracles, a person does, would count for nothing if it is not backed by a pure life that is lived in obedience to God’s will – Jesus himself taught this truth (Math 7:21-23). In other words, miracles don’t mean a thing, unless the person who does it is immaculate. True, there are many claims from modern gurus that they perform miracles. Though many of their claims have been shown to be duplicitous – one cannot deny some miracles may be genuine. But even those genuine miracles don’t substantiate any claim to divinity. Why would I say that? Only Jesus has got the one-of-a-kind combination of a pure life and powerful life, a never-been-seen joining of an innocent life and incredible life! You can be sure of this – Jesus is the ONLY sinless miracle-worker, there is or there will be!

    5. HIS SUBSTITUTIONARY DEATH
    By definition God is eternal. So God cannot die actually! But God can die – if He chooses to. Jesus chose to die. “No man can take away my life from me. I lay down my life voluntarily. For I have the right to lay it down when I want to and also the power to take it up again” (John 10:18). And that is what exactly happened at Calvary’s cross: Jesus willingly gave up His life. The nails did not hold Him on the cross but it was love, as someone said. No one died the way the way Jesus did: others would die and then bow down their head. But Jesus bowed His head and then died – He could pick and choose the exact moment He would give up his spirit without resorting to a suicide (Jn 19:30)!

    Jesus said that He was dying as a “ransom” for the sins of the world – a purpose for which no one has died or will die (Math 20:28). He explicitly said that the blood He would shed would bring “forgiveness of sins” – again a unique reason to die (Math 26:28). The rest of humanity – when it dies – does so for their sins. The wages of sin is death, we are told in the Scriptures (Rom 3:23). Put in another way, we all die because we are all sinners. But Christ wasn’t. He need not have died at all. But nevertheless He did – as a substitute for sin (Isa 53:5). A one-of-kind death! Because He was one hundred percent human – He could die as a valid substitute for the human race. And because He was one hundred percent God as well He could die for all people of all time. God is beyond time, you see! “A just-God Jesus could make us, but not understand us.”A just-man Jesus could love us, but never save us. But God cum equally man Jesus could understand, love and save us, if only we surrender our lives to Him alone!” – this is how someone put this whole thing irrefutably!

    6. HIS SURE-FIRE RESURRECTION!
    The Greatest F-E-A-T in the world!

    Jesus’ resurrection is the greatest proof that He is unique (I Cor 15:14, 17, 20/Rom 1:14). Jesus proved beyond a whiff of doubt that He stands alone in history as God – thanks to His resurrection. In fact, the resurrection was a necessary event in Jesus’ life. Do you know why?

    Having died at by own will, He chose the time to become alive as well – a feat that proves that He is God and there is none else. All other so-called Gods are all dead and gone. But not Jesus.

    “Not so fast,” some say. “Can you prove the resurrection of Jesus?” Here follows a brilliant chain of arguments for the resurrection of Jesus developed by Hank Hannegraaf. This chain of evidence is based on the acronym FEAT – isn’t the Jesus’ Resurrection, the greatest feat in the world? F stands for Fact. Yes, the resurrection of Jesus isn’t a story but a certainty! A smart American student named Josh vowed to disprove the resurrection of Jesus. He piled up 700-hours of library research on the subject. And after that research he concluded that Jesus was actually alive. And today McDowell – well that is second name! – travels around the world speaking to sharp students in the campuses of the world about the change in one’s life a resurrected Jesus can bring about! Yup – the resurrection is a solid fact! The next letter in the acronym FEAT is “E”. It stands for the Empty Tomb. All the Jewish leaders had to do to convincingly prove to the world that Jesus never rose from the dead was to showcase his dead body. But they couldn’t. The next letter in this chain of proofs for the resurrection is “A” – the Appearances of Jesus. On one occasion Jesus appeared to 500 people and repeatedly to His disciples. Some suggest that the disciples were hallucinating. You’ve got to be kidding. You can never hallucinate about an event you never expected to happen – you hallucinate about an event you long for to happen. The disciples were done with Jesus. They did not expect Him to rise from the dead at all (Luke 21:24). That is why some of them got back to their old way of life – fishing. But then, since they really saw Jesus! The final word of the acronym FEAT is “T” which stands for the Transformed lives of the disciples. From cowardly no-hopers to courageous non-stop witnesses they became! The message they kept pounding was that “Jesus is Alive! We are witnesses of this fact!” wherever they went. In fact, in the book of Acts alone, I counted 14 times when it is specifically recorded that the disciples were witnesses in particular of the “resurrection” of Jesus (Acts 2:24; 3:15 are just samples – you can find the rest of the references!). Eleven of the disciples of Jesus died a martyr’s death: they died for their message that Jesus was alive! “Can 11 people die for a lie knowing it is a lie?” asks Josh McDowell. Impossible we all agree!

    The Sportstar’s tribute to the Legendary Batsmen Don Bradman went this way: “In an era when 50-plus is still the true yard stick of greatness for batsmen, Bradmen’s average of 99.94 must give us an idea of where the Don stands – alone and apart from every other cricketer!” Jesus stands “alone and apart” from every human on earth in every sense of the word!
    Yes – just anyone can take the place of Jesus. That is right – just anyone. All that he/she has to do is this: die and be raise from the dead after three days! It is that simple! Jokes apart – the resurrection sets Jesus alone and apart from the rest of the gods-gang!

    7. HIS STUNNING CLAIMS
    No one in all of history has claimed to be and do the things Jesus did. What’s more – the points mentioned above qualify Jesus to make these stunning claims!
    Judge of all – Mandelas to Manishas
    Jesus demanded that all must follow Him (Math 4:18-22). While other leaders pointed to a way (Budda – Ahimsa or Non-Violence; Rajneesh – Sexual Freedom) Jesus claimed to be the way Himself (Jn 14:6). There is a big difference you see! While most others taught that salvations is earned by good behavior Jesus taught that salvation is earned by repentance and belief on Him and what He has already done on the Cross (Jn 3:14,15,16). He categorically taught that salvation – eternal life – can never be earned by following a set of rules – which is in direct contradiction to what other religious big heads have taught (Math 19:26). Jesus claimed that if anyone did not confess Him before other – that is, own up an allegiance to Him and Him alone – this meant that they could not be accepted by God (Math 10:32-33). Jesus made a claim that would make one drop his jaw in amazement – He said that he would judge every human being (that would mean that all from the Mandelas to the Manishas would have to give account to him) (Jn 5:27; Math 25:31-33). He presented a seemingly outrageous proposition to each member of the human race: to either come to Him in repentance and faith and accept him as Savior or face Him as a Judge. Jesus forgave sins – not just the sins people committed against Him in person, but also, every sin, every person may have committed against anyone – clearly something which God alone could do (Mk 2:5)! The Jewish onlookers without a whiff of doubt understood that Jesus was making him “equal to God” (Jn 5:18). Perhaps the most stunning claim ever made by Jesus was this: “For unless you believe that I am who I am, you will die in your sins” (Jn 8:24). In the very same chapter, in verse 54, Jesus claimed to be God (The word “I am” was the name for God in the Old Testament – Ex 3:14). The ultimate Bible meaning for the word “death” is to experience eternal conscious punishment in a lake of fire called Hell (Rev 21:7, 8). So what Jesus was saying in John 8:24 is quite shocking: if anyone did not believe that He was God – the unique God – they would land up in eternal hell to be tormented forever! Not only John records this. Even the other three Gospel writers record that Jesus made the astounding claim that believing in Him and not believing in Him would make the difference between eternal life in heaven and eternal languishing in hell (Mk 8:28; Lk 12:8-12; Mt 12:41; 25:46). Only Jesus has made such astounding assertions – no one else. And given us evidence to take those claims seriously. Budda never claimed to be God – did you know? Yes – some modern godmen have made some crazy claims but they haven’t given us enough proofs to take their claims seriously like Christ!

    Jesus did not mince with word when he stated, “I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them” (Jn 10:7, 8). In effect here Jesus calls all the leaders of other so-called faiths as “thieves and robbers”! Clear, strong words!

    Lunatic, Liar or Lord!
    Every human being has to answer this question which the Roman Governor of Jerusalem asked the frenzied crowd which was rooting for Jesus’ death: “What do I do with Jesus…?” (Mt 27:22). You know what – that is a question every person who has set foot in this planet must answer: “What do I do with Jesus?” Jesus made it clear that He can be accepted or rejected but none can remain neutral towards Him (Jn 12:30).

    As C.S. Lewis categorized it captivatingly you’ve got call Jesus by one of these three titles: Liar, Lunatic or The Only Lord! No one would have any qualms about calling Jesus a “good teacher of morals” but He has not given us that options. That as a matter of fact would amount to calling him a liar!

    Gardener, Ghost or God!
    Mary Magdalene saw Jesus and mistakenly thought of Him as a gardener (Jn 20:15). For many today, Jesus is just like a gardener. Just like there are many gardeners in the world, Jesus is yet another good guru – one more addition in a pantheon of gods! The disciples wrongly identified Jesus for a ghost once (Mt 14:27). For many even today Jesus is a ghost. They are scared to come to close to Him. They by their life attitude (if not by their actual words) tell Him, “Jesus do not come too close to me. You will not like the things I think about, the things I enjoy seeing and the things I secretly do!” But Thomas worshipped Jesus as God (Jn 20:28). When we go about witnessing the uniqueness of Jesus – during the Christmas time or any other time – we sure must present the uniqueness of Christ. “If you try and fail you may be disappointed. But if you don’t try at all you will be doomed!” someone said. That is particularly true when it comes to the matter of witnessing about Christ’s uniqueness. Without believing in the unique Christ people are “without hope” – doomed (Eph 2:12). But we must not leave it at that. We must graciously call for a response from the people we’ve talked to Christ about: either He is a gardener, ghost or God who alone will save them from their sins!

    Mohammed Ali in a live TV program after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on America said that the firemen, police and the rescue workers are the true heroes of New York. I agree with him so would any follower of Christ. Mohammed Ali went on: “A river, lake and stream are different words, but they all contain water; Christianity, Islam and Judaism are different words but they all contain truth!” I don’t agree with him. Neither would you if you have read this article with an open mind!

    What do I do now?
    What should you do right now if it was true that Jesus is really unique (as this article has powerfully pointed out). Two things. First you need to LEAVE. That is you need to leave your life of sin. Jesus preached, “Unless you repent, you too will perish (in everlasting hell)!” Second you need to BELIEVE. You need believe that Jesus, God in Human Flesh, died instead of you on the Cross, as the Bible says He did. “Yet to all those who received Him, to those who believed in His name He gave them the right to become the children of God,” we read in the Bible. When you do that – believe in Jesus with all your heart and confess your sins to Him – the sinless spotless blood of Jesus will forgive you of every sin and give you a peace which the world cannot give you ever!

    Why not then pray this prayer right away: “Dear Lord Jesus. I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I am LEAVING my terrible sins and BELIEVING in your as my Savior. Wash me with you blood and make me a new person completely. I will serve you with all my heart hereafter. So be it!”

    Do not forget the following things: Get yourself a copy of the Bible and read it daily. Talk to the Lord Jesus daily in prayer. Join a fellowship where the Bible is taught. Share with as many people as possible with your life and lip about the Lord Jesus.

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