In Mathew 8:22 Jesus says, "Follow Me, and Let the Dead Bury their own Dead"
He was responding to a request from one follower who asked to be excused from this responsibility and go and bury his father (Mathew 8:21)
What Christ meant was,
Let those Dead to the Word of God attend to the worldly routine, while those alive to the word of God, and having understood it need to go about spreading the Good News to the rest.
Christ asked him to focus on his spiritual calling.
The question is
"Are we Alive and Willing to spread the word of God.
Are we alive and willing to live the word of God"
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I entered the venue and was searching a corner to be in quietude. Found a seat and was about to sip my favourite drink.
"Can I join you , Uncle."
I looked up to see who it was. There he stood. Tall, Dark and Handsome with a bewitching Smile, and I could Never say 'NO'.
Thus began a friendship, that travelled a journey through Time.
Every party we were invited to, sitting in a corner, sipping our favourite we talked about everything, weather included.
We never know where Life will take us, for it's just a ride on the wheel, when he mentioned how he blanked on the Highway. An immediate MRI was suggested, but he laughed it off saying, "Uncle, you worry too much"
We never know when Death will embrace us and wonder how it would feel. A journey down south, until it was time to say 'Goodbye'.
Goodbye my friend, I may never see you again. The drinks we shared through the years, will wipe away these tears.
Today, at his Anniversary, with a glass in hand, I sip our favourite and say....
Goodbye my friend.....Goodbye
The Glass filled with Milk was White until she dropped the mustard seed. Now there was a Black Dot in it.
A couple of years earlier he got active in the local church and was part of the team involved in projecting the Hymns & Prayers.
One evening he received a call from the unexpected. A request to share the Laptop for the evening celebrations at the church. He volunteered to drop by and hand it to her, with a request to return it as received.
He was there at the appointed hour, she nowhere in sight. Finally as he was to leave the premises, he met Drummer Boy. Explained it all, and handed it to him with a mention that it had to be placed in its compartment or handed back.
The next day was chaotic. The Laptop was missing. Finally he managed to get through to her. She was nonchalant. I left it there. She was reminded that it was to be placed either in the compartment or to him, whichever is easier. The day being a Sunday they needed it for the service, and all were wondering how he ventured to give it without permission.
She screamed, "Are you accusing me of theft." He never said that. He wanted her to know that being a responsible member of the church, he took liberty to hand it to her, without consent. She raised her pitch even higher, and screamed, "Wait till I tell this to my father. I will have him straighten you out." He was dumbfounded. Where did he ever say she stole it. He only said it was her responsibility to have it returned as received.
It’s another story that it was found at the church office. Nobody knows how it got there.
Yesterday, Thursday, he stood talking with others in the church compound and heard the high decibel pitch. Certain he had heard the tone earlier too. "Halleluiah, Halleluiah, Praise the Lord" she ranted. He turned around to see, it was her.
He knew within himself, there was a Black Dot in this gathering too.
Yohann Koder belonged to an elite family, who arrived from Baghdad a Hundred years earlier and settled in the small sea side town of Fort Cochin.
Along with his brothers they started and you might assume were pioneers in the ship chandelier business. A generation down the line, they were the recognized wealthy by the Administration.
Busy in counting his pennies, and ensuring his warehouses were always full, he
never had time for the niceties of this world. When a Death was announced in the neighbourhood, he sent for Das, his messenger, who promptly arrived at the funeral house, with Yohann's walking stick and hat in hand, to symbolize Yohann's presence.
Walking sticks are becoming a rarity these days. The kind our Grand Parents and those of their and earlier generations used when they went out, and on returning home, carefully placed in a chosen corner, or in their own special stands. Their users were not necessarily old or infirm. They just felt good having that appurtenance on them.
Initially it was understood, and later accepted by all that Yohann was busy, and could only be represented by his Hat and Walking Stick.
And then the day arrived, when Yohann breathed his last. His corpse was placed in the Town Hall for public viewing. His family gathered around him in shock, as the viewers began to arrive.
All who were associated with Yohann at some time in their lives, were represented, by their Das: all with a Walking Stick and Hat in hand.
"The Binding" is a story from the Hebrew Bible found in Genesis 22. In the biblical narrative, God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Moriah. Abraham begins to comply, when a messenger from God interrupts him. Abraham then sees a ram and sacrifices it instead.
The story of Abraham and Isaac is one of profound faith and obedience to God. When Abraham was many many years old, God promised him and his wife Rebekah, a son. Later God's promise came true when Rebekah bore their son Isaac!
As Issac grew to be a young boy, he was the dearest to Abraham, even to the extent of Abraham forgetting God. God tested Abraham by telling him to take his son and offer him as a sacrifice. Though filled with sadness and grief, Abraham obeyed God's words without hesitation and took Isaac to the mountain. Abraham had No choice, except obey the command.
At the moment that Abraham tied up Isaac, the angel of the Lord stopped him and said “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you love God, because you have not withheld from him your only son.”
God had provided a ram for Abraham and Isaac to sacrifice as an offering. Abraham built an alter and named the place Jehovah-jireh which means "The Lord provides".
The lesson to learn here is while God accepts us having earthly Possessions he does not want us to be Possessive of these Possessions.
Speaking in tongues is a phenomenon in which people speak in languages previously unknown to them.
The language maybe the choice of communication to the locals but not to the speaker.
The first occurrence of speaking in tongues occurred on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. The apostles went out and shared the gospel with the crowds, speaking to them in their own languages: “We hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” (Acts 2:11). The Greek word translated tongues literally means “languages.” Therefore, the gift of tongues is speaking in a language a person does not know in order to minister to someone who does speak that language. In 1 Corinthians chapters 12–14, Paul discusses miraculous gifts, saying, “Now, brothers, if I come to you and speak in tongues, what good will I be to you, unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or word of instruction?” (1 Corinthians 14:6). According to the apostle Paul, and in agreement with the tongues described in Acts, speaking in tongues is valuable to the one hearing God’s message in his or her own language, but it is useless to everyone else unless it is interpreted/translated.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
What we see today as speaking in tongues is mere Mockery of the Grace received from the Holy Spirit, when people pretend to be endowed and shout aloud gibberish, to have others believe they are the chosen ones and hence gifted.
It was the 21st of December 1986, a star was born and the Night shone Bright.
Today: 21st of December 2018. 32 years have passed us by, and as the hour approached dusk, she inquired why the lights were dim.
As the conversation continued, I was struck by the magnanimity of the situation staring at us. She could no longer have the same vision as before in her right eye, and we rushed her to the ophthalmologist.
Please excuse me, I'm not thinking clear. It might just be the stress I am feeling and I guess most likely I shouldn't be here. I'm such a mess I never really ever know what to say when all of my emotions get in the way. I'm just trying to get us on the same page, to let you understand what runs my imagination.
The Doctor confirmed my fears, as he kept asking her, "since when are you in this state". She did not know, and neither did I.
A quick scan of the retina, 'Macular Hole' he pronounced and suggested an immediate surgery to arrest her blindness. Immediate surgery she underwent on 5th January.
Today a month later her vision has not improved. The Doctors say it takes time. Sometimes it could be six months before she gets to see partially again. It's all in God's hands he says, and if you believe in God start praying.
