Harmless Petty Sins

A familiar fable tells of the hunter who lost his life to the leopard he himself had saved as a pet for his children when the leopard was just a cub. The moral of the story can be deduced easily from the title, Little Leopards Become Big Leopards; or else, sin is easier to deal with before it becomes a habitual practice that eventually defines our lives.(1) Though the story as it stands is a beautiful illustration of a profound truth, there is a deeper lesson regarding the nature of sin that is easily concealed by this line of thinking and which, I believe, lies at the very essence of the Christian call to Christ-likeness. The problem is that the parallel between little harmless leopard cubs and little harmless sins can be dangerously deceptive.

Whereas leopard cubs are indeed harmless, there is no stage of development at which sin can be said to be harmless, for individual acts of sin are merely the symptoms of the true condition of our hearts. It is not accidental that the call to Christian growth in the Scriptures repeatedly zeros-in on such seemingly benign “human shortcomings” as bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, and malicious behavior (Ephesians 4:31). In his watershed address, The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus placed a great deal of emphasis on lust, anger, and contempt—behaviors and attitudes that would probably not rank high on our lists of problems in need of urgent resolution. Armed with firm and sometimes unconscious categories of serious versus tolerable sins, we gloss over lists of vices in the Scriptures because they seem to be of little consequence to life as we experience it.

 But when we fail to grasp the subtleties of sin, we run the risk of rendering much of biblical wisdom irrelevant to our daily life and practice. While we appreciate the uniqueness and necessity of the sacrificial death of Jesus on our behalf, his specific teachings can at times appear to be farfetched and the emphasis misplaced. Does it not seem incredible that the God who made this world would visit it in its brokenness, dwell among us for over thirty years, and then leave behind the command that we must be nice to each other? Can the problems of the world really be solved by having people “turn the other cheek” and “get rid of anger and malice”?

 Unfortunately, those “little” sins are not only the mere symptoms of a much bigger problem; they are also effective means of alienating us from God and other human beings.  How many careers have been ruined only because of jealousy? How many people have been deprived of genuine help as a result of the seemingly side-comment of someone who secretly despised them? How many relationships have been destroyed by bitterness? How many churches have split up because of selfish ambitions couched in pietistic terms? How much evil has resulted from misinformation, a little coloring around the edges of truth? And have you noticed how much we can control other people just through our body language? From the political arena to the basic family unit, the worst enemy of human harmony is not spectacular wickedness but those seemingly harmless petty sins routinely assumed to be part of what it means to be human.

According to a NASA scientist, a two-degree miscalculation when launching a spacecraft to the moon would send the spacecraft 11,121 miles away from the moon: all one has to do is take time and distance into account.(2) How perceptive then was George MacDonald when he uttered these chilling words, “A man may sink by such slow degrees that, long after he is a devil, he may go on being a good churchman or a good dissenter, and thinking himself a good Christian”!(3) Similarly, C.S. Lewis warned that cards are a welcome substitute for murder if the former will set the believer on a path away from God. “Indeed,” he wrote, “the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”(4)

 Now the decisive path out of this quandary is not just a greater resolve to be obedient to God. Such a response is usually motivated by guilt, and the duration of our effort will be directly proportional to the amount of guilt we feel: we will be right back where we started from when the guilt is no longer as strong. The appropriate response must begin with a greater appreciation of the holiness of God and a clear vision of life in God. It is only along the path of Christ-likeness that the true nature of sin is revealed and its appeal blunted. Yes, brazen sinfulness is appallingly evil and destructive, but it only makes a louder growl in a forest populated by stealthier, deadly hunters masquerading as little leopards. It is no idle, perfunctory pastime to pray with King David:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
And lead me along the path of everlasting life (Psalm 139:23-24).


Thanks to J.M. Njoroge for this wonderful article. Njoroge is a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Random thoughts...

These days, over the past two months, I have witnessed 3 deaths in my close circle. Two of my relatives and one neighbor. Death is an experience which comes to everyone. No one can escape its clutches. Young and old alike, everyone has to go through that path. When I went to comfort the family, I was reminded of a few verses from the 'The Book of Job' - 14th chapter

• Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble.
• He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
• Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
• But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
• If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.

 These verses have a few profound thoughts in them. On one glance, we cannot understand what it is written. But when we go through in detail, we get to know the indepth meaning of what is being written over there.
Firstly, we learn that everyone, no matter rich or poor, young or old, man or woman, everyone, is of a few days. Our stay in this earth is brief and we all have to leave this place one day.
When I go to such places, I am reminded of two words - Pilgrim and a Vagabond.
A pilgrim is one who knows where he is coming from and where he is destined to. He knows the exact place where he is going.
A vagabond is a person who does not know where he is coming from, nor does he bother about where he is going. He is aimless and just wanders aimlessly.

The Bible points out to people as pilgrims. We know we came from God and we have to reach Him, no matter what. Our stay is brief, in the Bible we find that the stay is compared to vapor, or like grass or like a flower, or shadow... there are many references to fleeting things. Our life is like that. Today we are here and tomorrow we are gone. It also says that our days are determined, the number of our months are determined too. It is deep to understand.
But the Bible has answers to all these questions and complex things. I firmly believe that we came from God and we reach God once we leave our journey here on earth.
God created Adam and Eve and they had fellowship with Him. Once they sinned, the fellowship broke and we departed from the presence of God. Only Jesus made way for us to come back to God again. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

These are some of my thoughts which are going through my mind. I am meditating on these thoughts and am asking God to throw more light into the verses of the Bible.
As death is a common factor to everyone, what happens to others?
What will their destination be?
What happens to babies?
Well, time has to answer these questions...

Meanwhile, I will rest on my faith that we came from God and we have to go back to God and this earth is a preparing place for us.

Great Expectations and Great Disappointments

After seeing this pamphlet, I wanted to buy some good books yesterday. With high hopes and a little money I went to check out the place. This time, wanting to be generous, I also called up my friends and told them about this and offered them to pick up and drop them.

We went to the 'Fest' by evening and to our surprise we saw no people there. Thinking it to be some 'tea time' we went inside. The books were neatly arranged, and the ambiance looked nice.
Wondering what to buy/see, we strolled around the area just checking the books and its prices.
First time I was shocked to see a Bible which costs 58000/- rupees. Another Bible of 40,000/- rupees. I checked it twice, thrice and many times to see what is so special in the book. It is a normal Bible with concordance and references. I was astonished at the price tags of the books. Minimum cost of any book was 500 rupees and most of the books were seconds.
Very disappointed at not buying any books, I felt guilty before my friends. Immediately, we went to another Bible book shop and purchased some normal Bibles and other generic books.

This is not a complaint or any of such sort, but it is my feeling that I place here.
Am really surprised to see books at such cost, no wonder people are not buying books anymore.
I have a small library at home with many books, and I love to share books with people. I ask them how long will they take to read a book, give them the book, and then ask them after some time. I also discuss with them about the progress of their reading and how they have understood it.
But this time, this book exhibition was a disappointment.

Better luck next time, I have 3 more racks to fill and many more books to read! Waiting to lay my hands on some of them in the near future.

Thoughts about Mother's day

Strange as it may seem, but this time I saw many posts in Facebook and Twitter, praising motherhood and everyone ranting and raving about how good mothers are and how they are angelic etc. It is true 100% that mothers are good and angelic, but this time, there's a sudden surge of emotions on the social media channels. Everyone wanted to share something about mothers. Some of them pasted pictures and some of them poems, some even went to the extent of pasting their childhood pictures with their mother. It is all good, in a sense that it gives joy and immense pleasure to think about life's journeys and also think about how sacrificial mothers are.
In fact, my mother never thought about herself and she sacrificed a lot for the children. But somehow, I felt that it was overdone this time on the social media channels. Questions I would like to ask: 'How do you take care of your parents? Do you really love them and cherish them? Do you spend time with them? Do you know what they need and what they want? Are we really concerned about them or are we just thinking them as burden?"

Let me not get into preachy mode, but I want to tell everyone that we need to take care of our parents every day of our lives. When we were young, when we did not know anything about this world, it is they that brought us up. Now we shouldn't neglect them. I see a new trend coming up in metro cities and in two town tier cities - many old age homes are coming up and every old age home is full.
From where did all these old people come from. These are all parents - abandoned by the same people who have commented / updated on Facebook, Twitter and all the other channels about the love and emotions of parents.
My two cents - Honor thy father and mother. This is a command from the Lord and we need to follow it perfectly. Only when we start loving, honoring and taking care of our parents, we will have a bright future.

Events on Holy Saturday, just before Easter and after Good Friday

A wonderful sermon on Holy Saturday by dear sister Sashmita Samuel. She works as a lecturer in a BPharm college after completing her M.Pharm. She is quiet in the church, but when she gave the sermon on Saturday, it was profound and fulfilling.

Let me quickly give a brief account of what the sermon was all about.

As mentioned earlier, we had this 40 day lent season, where we used to gather everyday at the church in the evening and meditate on the word of God. We focused on meditating 1 and 2 Chronicles and we covered the entire first Chronicles book. Praise God for such initiatives. As we approached Easter, we started the holy week services. Right from Monday - Easter Sunday, we had 7 days of service.

• Monday - Jesus cursing the Fig tree because of its lack of fruit but false display of fullness
• Tuesday - Jesus casting off the business men and the money lenders from the temple and stating the Temple to be the house of Worship.
• Wednesday - Judas agreeing with the leaders and elders of the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver coins.
• Thursday - The last supper and the holy communion - also called as Maundy Thursday.
• Friday - Good Friday - the day Jesus was crucified.
• Saturday - Holy Saturday. We will read more about this day in the blog post.
• Sunday - The resurrection day, when Jesus defeated death and was resurrected.

In this week long meditations, everyday we all went to the Church and enjoyed the presence of the Lord. Good Friday we had a half-day service at the church. And on Saturday, which is called the Holy Saturday, we heard this message from the dear sister.

What is Holy Saturday? What happened on that day?
Let us fist look at three points:

1. There is a wide gap between our faith and its fulfillment. Jesus was crucified on that cross and was buried, and the apostles did not know what was going to happen.

2. The events that happened on this day acts as a bridge between what we believe and what we shall see one day at His appearing

3. This Saturday is also a day of waiting - waiting upon God and waiting upon the possibilities of a new beginning.

Let us go further into the topic and dwell on the happenings on Holy Saturday.

If we remember Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were so downcast, In Matt 27:61, it says "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb." They were sitting opposite the tomb, they did not believe Jesus words where He said how he will rise up on the 3rd day. The disciples also did not believe, so we see them on the same day, they ran to see the empty tomb, but they still did not believe. The ironic part in the entire episode is that the Chief Priests believed what

Jesus said when he was alive. In Matt 27:62-66, "62 Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, 63 and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ 64
“Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the
guard they set a seal on the stone."

What a shame, the enemy remembers the exact words of Jesus and they believed
it, but we do not remember, neither do we trust our Saviour's words. We need to be careful as to not to neglect His word, but to be cautious and always remember His words. If we believe, Saturday will be short, else, long.

Let us look at every year's message on this Saturday. Everybody in this place has shared the same message from the book of Ephesians Chatper 4: 8 - 11.  Every year, message, about Eph 4:8-10 (led captivity captive) the same theme
Therefore it says,
         “WHEN HE ASCENDED ON HIGH,
         HE LED CAPTIVE A HOST OF CAPTIVES,
         AND HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.”
9 (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.

Ok, for now we will also see what actually happened on Good Friday. We see that in Matt 27: 52, "and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life." How did this happen and we also read that Johseph of Arimathea came and took the body of Jesus and placed it in his own tomb. The next day the Chief Priests arranged heavy guards to guard the tomb.
If we look closely to what Jesus said on the cross, we realize that in the 2nd word, Jesus told the robber "today you will be with me in Paradise."


On the cross - the 2nd word was 'today you will be with me in paradise' - Luke 23:43 "Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." Now, the question is, where is Paradise and how come Jesus told the robber that he will be with him in Paradise on the same day.
If we search for the meaning of the word "Paradise", it says 'heart of the earth', 'place of silence and rest, and in Hebrew it is called 'Sheol' and in Greek it is called 'Hades'.

Let us go a bit deeper and understand the places:
There are 4 places under us:

1. The lowest place - It is a prison for the damned. It has eternal fire.
We will read more about this in II Peter 2:4 "For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; " and also in Matthew 11:23 "...And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades..."

2. The purified place - It is a place where sinners purified of sin remain.

3. The place where people who committed original sin stay - It is a place where the little children who don't know God stay

4. Finally, the bosom of holy fathers - It is place which is mentioned in the Bible in LUKE 16:23 -In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. The place where Abraham and the other patriarchs stay.

These 4 places are very important to understand.
Now a question arises, why Jesus had to go to these places....

1. In the epistle to the Hebrews 2:14,15 - it says " Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives." Jesus took the form of man and partook the same death, that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death...

2. In the parable of the landowner in the book of Matthew 21:33-35 - "Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who PLANTED A VINEYARD AND PUT A WALL AROUND IT AND DUG A WINE PRESS IN IT, AND BUILT A TOWER, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 34“When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35“The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third..." we read Jesus going through the same death, same burial and went to Hades


The next question we should naturally get is, what did Jesus do there?

First, he bound Lucifer, in John 14:30 Jesus says, "I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me,"
John 12:31 - "Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out."

Secondly, he preached the gospel. In I Peter 3:19, 20, we read that "in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, 20who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water." In the ASV, it is written "in which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison,"

Also in I Pet 4:6 - "For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God." Here it says, the gospel has been preached even to those who are dead...

Finally, those who do not obey, they will have to go through the 2nd death as it is written in  Revelation 20: 13, 14
Those who don't obey, then 2nd death - Rev 20: 13,14..."And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

Jesus' Authority - and how he gives us the same!

The second day in the holy week.

Leaders and the Jewish authorities questioning Jesus about his authority. We see that this portion is mentioned in almost 3 gospels:

• Matthew 21:23 - Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?
• Mark 11:28 - “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?”
• Luke 20:2 - “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

 In the above three instances, we find the same question – by what authority you do these things and who gave you this authority.

Let us now understand what the word ‘authority’ actually means: Authority" denotes permission. It denotes privilege, power, rule, control, influence. When someone has authority that means they're on top of other people. They have responsibility beyond the norm. They are able to determine things, to decide things, to render judgments, to wield certain rights and privileges.

1          Jesus had authority in everything.

Let us see some examples:

His teaching had authority: … for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." Matthew 7:29

His healing had authority: In Matthew 9:6 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins." So he said to the paralyzed man, "Get up, take your mat and go home."

His deliverance had authority: In Mark 1:27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him."

His statement had authority: In John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--

He has authority to lay down his life and to take it:  John 10:18 it says, "No man takes My life from Me, I lay it down of Myself, I have authority to lay it down, I have authority to take it again." He had authority for His own resurrection. He had authority to give His life, He had authority to raise it from the dead.

Authority to heal the sick.

Authority to raise the dead.

Authority to cast out demons.

Authority to forgive sin.

Authority to designate children of God.

Authority to give eternal life and authority to judge every person, tremendous authority.

In the original Greek language, the word ‘power’ is written as ‘Dunamis’ and the word ‘authority’ is written as 'Exousia'.

For example, we may not have power to stop a heavy vehicle that is rushing in the city, but when we are with the Traffic Police dept, we have the authority to stop the vehicle. Though we do not have power, authority is bestowed on us to do things which are beyond our capacity.

In a school, a watchman is given authority to stand near the gate and stop others from entering the premises. If we go against the watchman and enter, it is not the watchman that we are insulting, we are insulting the Principal of the school who gave watchman the authority.

Jesus got his authority from his father in heaven. 

He was in constant touch with his father, all his teachings, his sermons, his words were all from the father.  Let us understand it in more detail:

A few references are given here. First, let us see John 7:16 where Jesus said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me." In the book of John 12:49, He said, "For I have not spoken on My own [authority]; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak."

He also spoke in John 14:24 and said, "the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me." Jesus, shows us with these words that He Himself, God the Son, was acting under the authority of God the Father.

Jesus also says that authority is given to him in heaven and on earth. "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." Matthew 28:18. All authority is given unto Me. That is an amazing claim to privilege. That is an amazing claim to power, to permission, to right. And Jesus demonstrated that very well in His ministry.

In the book of Deuteronomy 18:18-19, when God told Moses, "I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be [that] whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require [it] of him." We see this prophecy fulfilled in the life of Jesus. We see that Jesus did not speak on his own, he always quoted his father and he led the people to the father.

Jesus is willing to share his authority with us

Jesus is very much willing to share his heavenly authority with us. We need to do certain things to understand and receive that authority.

First of all, we need to read the Bible every day and get acquainted with it. In the book of Ephesians chapter 3, verses 4 and 5 it is written that "when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets".

Next, we need to pray and have fellowship with him. In the book of John 15: 5 he says “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” We need to remain in him to get that divine authority.

In Luke 10:19, Jesus gives us authority over serpents and scorpions, and  - Jesus is giving us the authority over the power of the enemy, he also assures that nothing shall by any means harm us. How wonderful this promise is. Jesus, the son of God, the savior, the redeemer, our good shepherd is giving us a promise that he is giving us authority.

We need to prayerfully take that authority and start using it in this world. If we read the daily newspapers, we find crime, violence and corruption reaching the heights… what can you do, or what can I do. Yes, we can do our part. We need to pray, we need to take the authority that Jesus gives us and start acting on his behalf in this earth. We need to stand firmly for truth and we need to hold ground for our savior.

My thoughts in the season of Lent

We successfully completed meditating on the chapters in 1st and 2nd Chronicles in our church.

We started on Ash Wednesday, quite some time ago in the month of March and every day we gathered and met up in the evenings. Two hours of dedicated time for praise and worship, reading Bible, exposition and prayer. These two hours were the best hours of the day.

Initially there were only a few people who came, but as the days went by, many people joined the group. Last Saturday, the count was more than 80. No one forces any one to come/attend, it’s purely on their own convenience.

We started focusing on the books of 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles. On Ash Wednesday, we were introduced to the summary of these books, the author, the key themes and such information. 1^st Chronicles – chapter 28:9 is the key verse in that book, whereas 2 Chronicles 7:14 remains the key for the 2^nd book.

We meditated on these chapters every day. Many of our church members took turns to read the Word of God and come prepared so that we may be able to tell others. This exercise helped the person to speak well and to prepare well, as he/she has to teach to others.

Almost everyone from the church spoke, it was a wonderful feeling that each and every person called on the name of the Lord. After the message, people used to pray with earnestness and great desire.

In spite of busy schedules of people, many made it to the prayers in the evening.

Let me now try to focus on the two key themes in the two books – 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles.

1 Chronicles 28:9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

In this verse we read how David admonishes his son Solomon. He tell Solomon to Acknowledge the God of your father. How wonderful is to acknowledge God in our lives. There are a few important principles he is trying to tell us:

• Acknowledge the God of your father
• Serve him with whole hearted devotion
• Serve him with a willing mind
• The Lord searches every heart
• The Lord understand every desire and every thought
• We need to seek him and he will be found by us
• If we forsake him, He will reject us forever.

2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Even in the 2 Chronicles 7:14, we find that this is the key verse of the chapter. Let us divide:

• If my people
• Who are called by my name
• Humble themselves
• Pray and seek the face of the Lord
• Turn from their wicked ways
• I will hear from heaven
• I will forgive their sin
• I will heal their land