Death is inevitable..

Dreams feel real while we're in them. It's only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange..

 So I woke up today, with the intention of skipping work and resting at home as I had a terrible cold. Spend most of my day trying to sleep but finally succeeded at around 1pm, only to be woke up by my brother to say 'Pastor Christopher was no more'. If you remember, I had mentioned him in my previous post. He was battling cancer and lost to it but not to his purpose in life. It was quite a shocking news for all of us. None of us expected it. It felt like it was all a bad dream and everything would be fine once someone woke me up from it. But nobody woke me up yet!

Pastor Christopher passed away about 2.30pm today. Soon enough we got the news all of us friends gathered to his place to comfort his wife and their 2 children. Losing a loved one is never easy, but there was a comfort we all experienced that is difficult to explain. Pastor Ravi Raj who had come to visit Christopher had to leave that evening. Hence I along with a friend drove him to the airport by around 6pm and picked up Christopher's son, Joel who was in Goa at about 8pm. We stayed at their place until it was past 11pm after feeding them dinner and consoling them. But there was something that his wife shared that was very comforting. She said, before he died he knew his time had arrived. And I have seen this quite often that when a believer (someone who believes in the Lord Jesus) dies he always sees the Angels who come to receive them and they exactly know the moment when their time is up. Pastor Christopher too did see the angels come to take him back home and that my friend I realized what is the 'blessed hope we have in Christ'.

il·lu·sion

Image Courtesy : Might Optical Illusions

il·lu·sion

[ih-loo-zhuhn]

–noun

1. something that deceives by producing a false or misleadingimpression of reality.

2. the state or condition of being deceived; misapprehension.

3. an instance of being deceived.

Being an IT Geek it sometimes irritates me when I find people are so ignorant about Technology and how are not easy to a change. A simple example would be, how about 80% of the world's population is still stuck onto windows when there are Open Source Operating Systems like Linux available for free of cost. Linux for most of the times was known as a Geek's Operating Systems, but of recent (since 2004) has developed and launched Desktop versions of it, which are more easy to operate than Windows Operating Systems. But yet many choose to purchase it for a price. So then I began to study the human behavior and this is what I found.

Our human brain likes anything that is appealing to the eyes. It could be colorful, smooth, shining, glittering, flashing... etc.. And that's what exactly Microsoft provided the world with.. here is a screenshot from the last decade - popular Windows XP Operating System.

Windows XP Professional

Image Courtesy: Open Book Project

And here is a Linux Screenshots from the last decade...

Mandrake Linux - Circa 1998

Image Courtesy - Maximum PC

If you look closely you will see that the Windows XP screenshot looks more appealing than the Mandrake Linux screenshot. But not many people understand the importance of an Open Source Program. Microsoft's windows is a closed source program, which means first of all its not free of cost, secondly you have no right to modify the software to suit your requirement. You have to be satisfied with what you have purchased. On the contrary with a Linux OS, you have the right to add/remove/modify anything in the OS to suit your requirement and its free of Cost, Cos the Linux community believes that every person has the right to access Technology, and they should not be charged a price to do so.

Now, as I was thinking bout it, I realized its not different in the spiritual realm. We all know a Christian walk is a walk through the narrow path, while the world provides us with quite a wider path with lot of choices. But it's pretty much the same as the above example of the Operating Systems. Our Christian walk might look quite boring and bland but that's the real free world we are living in. The broader path definitely looks greener but its full of bondages. We don't realize that we are under the bondage as we are blinded by the glitters of the world.

Image Courtesy - Robert Donsker Photograhy

Ain't it cool God listens...

Yesterday was the 'doubts & discussion' week at my Kid's bible study place. It's really fun, I have this bible study week with a few teenage boys and its been really nice as it helps me to understand them as I teach more about the bible. Usually the kids are very mischievous and in their own world, so it takes patience and their sense of humor to deal with them. But I have been enjoying every moment of it... Thanks to them they love me... :)

There is this one peculiar boy, Savio. He is very brilliant but hardly ever serious about the study. Yesterday he was in his usual funny mood and wasn't in a mood to have some serious study. So I asked the kids if they had any doubts and he replied they knew everything and didn't have any doubts. I was like, 'fair enough then we could spend some time praying' and asked Savio too initiate the prayer. Savio didn't really wanna do it. but we insisted him to and gave him 3 points to pray for - pray for the rains, for the swine flu and for more people to come to church. Well Savio did pray, though his each point were just a one line prayer. And right after he finished his prayer I told them, 'alrite boys lets get back to our discussion... so where were we?'

We had a crazy hearty laugh. We had put Savio in his place. But when we came back home it truly began to rain. And I texted Savio saying how God had honored his prayer and it was raining. He texted me all excited, "Ain't it cool God listens... :D "

Yeah I think its totally cool that He listens... and that's why He is our God... :)

Discomfort?

Noun: discomfort dis'kúmfurt
An uncomfortable feeling of mental painfulness or distress

So what is discomfort?

is it the feeling that your parents don't understand you?
is it when a dear friend despises you?
is it when you are hurt but you do not want to express it?
or still harder, when you do not know how to express it?
when everyone succeeds in life and your still trailing behind?
when everyone has someone to love but you don't?
when everyone has someone to hold but you don't?
when you are in pain but no one cares to ask you how you are doing?
when the world's too fast to give you a little attention?
when you try your best but still are termed useless?
when you long to talk to someone but they aren't available to talk to?
when you miss something/someone bad but you know you will never get it?

well I thought these were real discomforting moments, until I realized there was one other moment that beats them all. It is being holy and still getting flogged and having every muscle and flesh of your body ripped apart and then made to carry a cross in which you would be crucified and left to die... all of this for someone who doesn't love or care about you at all.

I sometimes wonder what made Him do that?

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

My Daddy Coolest!!!

I had messed up in my life and I was feeling ashamed of what had happened. To some it could be the most dreadful thing, to some it could be too little thing to be ashamed of. But only I could feel the guilt of my actions. And as I sat there all alone, feeling lost and hurt of what I have done. The world smiles at me. I don't know what to do but just smile back at them, pretend like everything was super cool with me. I didn't wanna show them I was weak and that I needed help. Just then I see someone walking towards me.

It was my father. He had come to check on me. He knew I had messed up and knew I was upset. He sees everything and knows everything. He always was with me through out my trials, waiting patiently to see how I would deal with it. I was scared when I saw Him. He came and sat besides me. I asked myself, 'Why is He here, I do not want Him here now? I am all messed up. Let Him come to me when I am all well and doing good.'

To my surprise, my dad put His arms around me and whispered into my ears, "You know son... I love you very much." I did not know how to react to that. I wasn't expecting to hear something like that. He continued, "I know what you go through. You may not understand what I go through when you hurt me, but I feel it every time you are hurt. Be it when you scrape your knee playing soccer, or the time your girlfriend dumped you, even when your loved ones despised you. You see, that's the reason why I am here. That's the reason why I send my son Jesus to die for you. I love you the same as much as I love Him. But I did not wanna lose you, Hence I had to pay the price for your sins. So from now on you are mine and I yours forever..."

And before I could even react to it, He just gave me the warmest hug I ever received. He just wrapped His loving arms around me. I realized it quite late, but its better than never... My Dad is the Coolest...