When I was growing up, there was a boy in my neighbourhood who was much loved and pampered and given the best that his family could afford. The parents were extremely nice and everyone in the community liked them. The father was a government employee, and the family had all sorts of dreams for the boy. I used to think how lucky he was and was sure he would go far. The family, however, moved away and I lost touch with them. Many years later, I met the father, who now looked distraught and heartbroken. Apparently, the boy had fallen into bad company when he was in his teens. He had grown uncontrollable and rebellious, and dropped out of school. In a tragic twist to the story, a few years later the boy was arrested as the prime accused in the kidnapping and murder of a rich friend.

All that potential and all those opportunities misused; a life utterly wasted!

Remember, many start life’s journey well, but the key is to finish well. One wrong choice can set us on a path of destruction. And then, it is not easy to turn around.

Sunil Robert

You may recollect that it is two years since the massacres took place in Orissa, India.

Though the official figures do not add up, they do provide a picture of how little has been done in terms of justice (the picture is similar in terms of actual help to the victims):

Number of complaints lodged: 3232
Number of cases actually registered by the police: 831

Cases committed to so-called "fast track courts": 193
Number of cases actually being tried in court at present: 95

Number of cases which have been closed: 91

Number of persons convicted 176
Life imprisonment sentences 5

Persons arrested so far 794
Persons acquitted 653













Prabhu Guptara

The tech-savvy people of our world might feel deterred because there are no sounds and no nifty graphics in the Bible. But the truth is, there’s more high-tech power in God’s Word than in any cutting-edge communication tool our world will ever know.

It’s not uncommon for a pastor to be told, “When you said that in your message, it was just what I needed.” Somehow during the sermon, God spoke to the person’s heart with a message tailor-made for him or her. If you’ve ever read the Bible and sensed God speaking directly to you, you know what I’m talking about.

God has hard-wired you with His Spirit, who illumines your mind to understand His Word. Imagine getting a “text message” directly from the Creator of the universe telling you exactly what you need at exactly the right time.

No matter how high-tech this world gets, you’ll never experience a more powerful mode of communication! Rejoice in the reality that “we have received . . . the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Cor. 2:12).

His Prayer House

Stargazing Worshippers
If there is anything that shakes kings and empires, it is the thought of someone or something undermining and possibly even replacing it. In Matthew 2 we continue to see the amazing phenomenon that was Jesus’ birth, but we also see the first attempt by the establish ment to snuff it out.

The story begins quite sur pris ingly. Wise men from the east have come to see Jesus. They know this because they saw his star in the east; they now have come to wor ship this king.1 It took wise men from the east to come wor ship Jesus and offer him gifts.

Matthew 2:16-18
Herod and Jesus
While some have come to wor ship this new king named Jesus, Herod the cur rent rul ing king is per plexed by this new devel op ment. This man many called Herod the Great has an inter est ing his tory. He was a ruth less leader will ing even to kill his own fam ily yet ini ti ated the most ambi tious build ing plans in Judea dur ing the time of Roman rule. He was a pup pet of the Roman Empire but also tried his best to remain pop u lar amongst the Jew ish con stituency.2 The best way to describe the man was that he had an enor mous ego and was ready to do the unthink able to main tain his reign.

Upon hear ing of this new ‘king of the Jews’, who was of the line of Abra ham and David, Herod deter mines he can not allow him to live. The bru tal ity of what Herod does to the city of Beth le hem3 is shock ing and entirely deplorable; but it also reveals to us the pain and suf fer ing of the com mon peo ple under such a reign. Herod unleashes on an entire city a geno cide of the young boys. It seems that mak ing this king angry could unleash ter ror.4 While one king unleashed ter ror upon his cit i zens, another king was saved by a dream.

Matthew 2:13-15,19-23
The Sojourning Son
Joseph, by divine insight, had taken his fam ily to Egypt, where they remained until the death of Herod. Remem ber now that the Israelites were sojourn ers in Egypt for over 400 years, and that God sent Moses to bring them to the Promised Land.5 God is want ing his Son Jesus to walk a path of incar na tion, and in so doing he takes on the sor row and strug gle of his peo ple.6

In Christ’s expe ri ence we see the heart of God. In Jesus, God does not respond to evil and sin with retal i a tion or vengeance. Rather there is a sub mis sion and hid den ness in Christ that is entirely new and dif­fer ent. We see the work ings of a new king dom afoot. This refugee fam ily did even tu ally make it back to Judea, and through another dream, Joseph was able to even tu ally set tle in Nazareth.7 So here is Jesus not liv ing in the cen ters of power or influ ence of his day, but fully incar nat ing him self into the Jew ish reality.

He under stands, even at a young age, the story of his peo ple. His fam ily left home because the king has a kill-order on him; he has been a refugee in Egypt; and finally he moves to the blue-collar north ern city of Nazareth in Galilee. Jesus is prob a bly tak ing all of this in as both God and now human. The King of kings is liv ing like a ser vant, weav ing him self into the fab ric of the Jew ish experience.

1. If there is any doubt in your mind that God is in the midst of all Creation, and that he speaks to us through various means, let this story adjust your thinking. Creation itself was responding to the Incarnation of Christ. ↩
2. You can read more about Herod the Great at http://www.aish.com/jl/h/48942446.html ↩
3. Bethlehem is the birthplace of Jesus’ ancestor David. ↩
4. Imagine the pain and suffering of so many families in Bethlehem. I wonder what God thought of the ruthlessness of this egotistical maniacal ruler? I wonder if as he grew up, Jesus heard this horrific story of terror that was unleashed because his birth? ↩
5. Hosea prophesies this in Hosea 11:1 ↩
6. You would have to wonder if Joseph and Mary taught Jesus about the experiences of his Jewish people during their time in Egypt. ↩
7. It is foretold that Jesus would be a Nazarene in Jeremiah 31:15 ↩

Ashish Joy

LEGACY: Success & Fulfillment by Dr. Samuel R. Chand

JUMP START YOUR LEGACY VISION PLANNING . . .

My Backward Plan

The simple premise of backward planning is that we define our prime objective, or a big goal that will move us toward our prime objective and assign it a date. As Henry Kimsey-House said, “A goal without a date is a dream.”

Second, we need to figure out the next to last thing that needs to happen before our goal is met, and figure the time frame for that.

Then we ask, “What would need to happen before that?” “And before that?”

By (date) ______________ I will have achieved (Prime Objective) ______________.

Just prior to that (date)__________, I will need to have done__________.

And before that can happen (date) ________, I will need to have
Accomplished (milestone)________.

To enable the next step on (date) _______ I will need to have (milestone)____________ in place

By (date) _____________ I will have done (milestone)_______________.

By (date) _____________ I will have done (milestone)_____________.

Today (or tomorrow) I will (milestone)_______________.

“This is the beginning of a new day. You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good.

What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it.

When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind … let it be something good.”
–Anonymous

“People will summarize your life in one sentence. Pick it now. Pick it and live it.”
—Dr. John C. Maxwell

THE SENTENCE I WANT SAID AT MY EULOGY (so people don’t have to guess) IS: __________________________________________.

Now live it with an Intentional plan and watch it compound!

Mr. Bilson