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Nice joke on Forgiveness!
From: http://christianfunnypictures.com/
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Category Archives: The Bible
Who a Christian, from the Pope himself
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“You cannot be a Christian without living like a Christian,” has said Pope Francis. He makes particular reference to Refugees!
Do peruse:
http://usuncut.com/news/pope-francis-cannot-reject-refugees-call-christian/
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PS: The above link seems to have been taken down.
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Quote of the day – Zig Ziglar
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Just Wonderful!
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“F-E-A-Rhas two meanings:
‘Forget Everything And Run’ or
‘Face Everything And Rise.’
The choice is yours.”
― Zig Ziglar
The Baby Catepillar
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Inviting Us to Change!
The title definitely gives the message away, but the Presentation is Very Good! 🙂 Enjoy!
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There’s was once a baby caterpillar.
Who was afraid to grow up.
She wanted to stay a baby caterpillar forever.
The cocoon scared her.
She had a million excuses…
“It’s too dark…”
” I’m afraid of heights…”
So instead she just watched as each of her friends one by one changed into butterflies.
when the winter came she grew lonely.
All the butterflies flew to warm places.
Even the baby caterpillars out grew her,
Taking the challenge on proudly.
Why was it so hard for her to grow up?
One night after a really bad storm she was forced into the cocoon
When she finally awoke & broke free… (wah-la)
She had transformed into a beautiful butterfly!
As she soared amongst the clouds in the warmth of the sun she looked back at the little tree where she had spent most of her life..
Although it will be missed,
Her…
View original post 17 more words
The BIBLE, PARTIALITY, and Hard, Harsh, Hot and even UGLY Words
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My cousin is a Die-hard supporter of the ADMK, the current ruling party of Tamil Nadu. And the reason is, as he puts it, When he had been in difficulties, when no relatives were forthcoming to help him, members of the ruling party had helped him.
My Contention is that This is Exactly what the MAFIA does! Help You today, and Reap benefits, With Interest, in Tomorrow. In the case of ADMK, they have given; Computers to school students, mixies, grinders, fans, cycles, …even money or golden ornaments as help for jewels for marriage.
Above: Some of the ‘fans’ given ‘free’ by the ADMK government. They have been issued with the self advertising and Ubiquitous stickers of the face of the chief ministress. But, as You can see, even here ‘Cheapness’ reigns. The things land up in repair shops all too soon. And in such bulk too!
But the ruling party has Reaped the benefits in the form of NOT bothering about Good Roads, Sufficient Buses, and, Above All, Enough Water, etc. All the money allocated for these things are in the pockets of the ministers.
The picture, from the Internet, of course, needs No explanation.
They have further indulged in the Crime of Looting Sand from the Rivers and the Sea Shores. This is called Looting even by others as this has left No Sand Bed, particularly in the Rivers.
And all those who have ‘received’ those trinkets from the ADMK are happy to keep their mouths shut, at the cost of the Future of their own Children and Grandchildren.
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Meaning:
These people feel obliged and are grateful, which are all good things; but they Refuse to Criticise the administration even when and if this becomes necessary; when the govt does wrong. And that is Anti-Social, Cowardice and worse, a Crime against Humanity, well, against the Well being of their Own Children and Grand children anyway.
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What does the Bible say about this kind of behaviour? Do We support our children (or our parents/spouses) even when they have indulged in serious Crimes? In other words, give in to Partiality?
I do say that We have to Stand by Our Family members, in the form of providing necessary legal aid, and prison visits, and later on accepting them back, etc. But shielding them? Would that be Right?
There are Enough and More examples in the Bible where the Wrong doer Has to pay for his crimes.
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We are ALL the Children of God, but God will not hesitate to cruelly punish evil doers.
Think of Drug barons, Mafia bosses, Acid throwers and Multiple Rapists.
Just one example, that of ELI, who was a Priest, (these were held in very high esteem, even by the Lord). But his two suns were ‘Scoundrels,’ as the Bible Itself calls them. They were Desecrating the Offerings to the Lord, (1 Samuel 2:12-17), and were also lying with ‘the women who worked at the entrance to the Tent of the Lord’s Presence.’ (Ibid verse 22). So the Good Lord even decides to Finish them Off. (Verse 25).
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PAUL, who was, shall We say, a mere Apostle, Chides Peter, accepted as the earthly Leader of the church. “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him in Public,” writes Paul. (Galatians 2:11).
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“Ah, all that is Right and True, Yesudas,” I hear voices say, “but they did not use words like you do.”
Izzat so?
You might like to look up these verses.
And they are not just in the Old Testament. Paul uses similar language. ‘May these fellows lose their Manhood,’ was what he had said. Terrible enough for You?
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It is the DUTY of Religious leaders to Inculcate Values, and the Sense of Right and Wrong in People.
The pope, as the supreme (human) leader of the catholic church, HAS to set the Tone therein.
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Again, the meaning of this whole post too, is:
Let Us Not look at the ‘words.’ The Issues are what matter.
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Dirty words connected with Idolatry in the Bible
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Posted in Relevant Biblical verses. This is meant particularly to clarify certain words in other posts.
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Actually even these cannot be really be called dirty words. But some of Us might think so.
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“She Flaunted her Whoring, she stripped Naked; …she had been Infatuated by profligates Big-membered-as-Donkeys*, ejaculating as violently as Stallions.” (Ezekiel 23:20 Jerusalem Bible, passim).
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Notes:
*Big-membered as donkeys = Having Penises as Big as donkeys.
‘She’ represents the whole Nation/People of Israel (of that time).
‘Her’ Lusting Actually had been after Idolatry. “She Defiled herself with All the Idols.” (Ibid, Verse 7).
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The meaning of this whole post:
Let Us Not look at the ‘words.’ The Issues are what matter.
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ALL Religions say the Same about ‘THIS.’
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Religions are maligned, very much, saying that they divide People. Actually that is Not so. The proponents of Religions do the Dividing. …And, taking Only Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, they all Say the Same, that…
Goodness is Rewarded and evil is Punished.
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And this is the Experience of Sages of all Religions, for Centuries and Centuries.
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[ The above is the kind of picture found in many places in India, for instance in Shops, Buses, etc. Source in graphic. ]
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This post is particularly aimed at those, particularly in authority, who give No thought to their responsibilities.
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‘कृत्प्रनाश’
(Krit-Pranash, Above), is a Mahavaakya, one of the Great aphorisms of Hinduism, which even contribute to the Advaita. This one means that the Effects of what We have Done Remain, attached to Our Soul/Spirit/Self, Indestructible.
Similarly the one below,
‘अकृत्यभ्यूपगम’
(Akrityabhyoopagam), which means that We shall Not have to Suffer for what We have Not done.
Very Similar to the Biblical:
“The person who sins is the one who will Die,” (Ezekiel 18:4), and
“It is the one who sins who will die. A son is Not to suffer because of his father’s sins, nor a father because of the sins of his son.” (Ezekiel 18:20).
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Frankly, I am Not saying that All Religions are the Same, nor that they all teach the same things. Just for instance, from what I hear, it is not only recommended but also practised and carried out, that a Thief’s hand(s) be cut off, in Islam. The ‘Triple Talaaq‘ whereby a man can divorce his wife just by saying that word thrice is another instance. Not that I am ‘targeting’ Islam. These are just examples that spring to mind.
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WE ARE LIMITING OURSELVES TO THE TO THE IDEA THAT SIN IS PUNISHED.
Unable to give references in this regard from the Koran, I shall limit myself to showing that Islam has a very prominent Idea of ‘Jahannum‘ (Gehenna in Hebrew, Hell in English).
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AT THE SAME TIME,
It can Frequently be observed that a Wrong-doer Suffers Quite a Lot in this life itself.
- Their Appetite is Nonexistent. A certain politico with Crores and Crores is reputed to be able to Stomach just Curd Rice.
- Their Health is Shot to Pieces. Much of their ill earned money goes for medications and treatments.
- They cannot Sleep well.
- They have No Peace.
Oh, We think that they are Enjoying life. And that is the Facade they want to keep presenting. But those who know them, those close to them, those with whom they share(!), etc, know the Truth.
Image from the Internet.
Which is all to show that they Suffer Quite a Lot in this life too. And Yet they do not learn! Sheer Inertia and Habit!
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There is one More Sad thing.
The house and the household of the evil doer is a Cauldron on Misery. The Amount of Sickness in the members of the Family, the Fights in the family, the Feuds, etc, make them Pitiable.
And I am reminded of this verse of the Bible over this:
“…Like a Moth You Destroy what he loves.” Psalm 39:11, TEV.
God Destroys what the evil doer loves, which is the Greatest Punishment, after all.
And I repeat this: And Yet they do not learn! Sheer Inertia and Habit!
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That Goodness is Rewarded is Not Ignored. We do have the Concept of ‘स्वर्ग’ (Svarg of the Hindus), ‘जन्नत’ (Jannat of Islam) and Heaven.
It is true that what is considered goodness, badness or evil varies quite a bit much! But let Us Ignore that for this discussion.
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To recap,
Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, all Say the Same, that…
Goodness is Rewarded and evil is Punished.
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3 Things, and a Thought
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- While browsing through Dear Belinda’s blog, came across this her article, namely: “$4 A Day Food Budget Challenge.” The reference to her post at the end of this one.
- Had come across a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship, and O-boy, is it Ultimate!) match, and the winner had said that he had been working at a “9 dollars an hour job,” and that he wanted to get out of it, meaning thereby, he found it too meagre.
- Having ‘Free’ data for 3 months, came across the Concert recording of a Preacher, and they were singing things like: ‘Come and take Your place upon Your Throne, Lord’ kind of things, those Not being the exact words. It is a video of more than an hour, and upon playing it, put it off after about 5 minutes or so.
So, 3 Facts. …And what is the Thought?
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This is how I eat. I make Chapattis for the morning and the night, and my lunch is brought to me by a family in the village. I need two Chapattis for each meal, (100 grams of flour), and that comes to about Rs. 5 including fuel. Of late have started to Use Only Tomatoes, when I am not using Lentils. …Trying to make the Cooking As Simple as Possible, You see! Haha. These ‘Curries’ cost me Rs. 5 for each meal. Thus, for Breakfast and Supper, total expense: Rs. 20. To make it Simpler, each Meal costs me about Rs. 10, about 20 U.S. cents.
There are Actually Millions in India, (and in the World, I am sure), who cannot even have that.
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I have ‘heard’ that things are very costly Abroad. But the two anecdotes above brought home to me the fact very Strongly Indeed. And I find it Both Surprising and Very Sad.
I am a Big, Fat Zero in Economics. Can’t understand how they price things. The price of Land, of Houses, Food, Anything and Everything seems to cost the Very Earth there!
Wanting to insert an image here, gave a search for: ‘Abandoned houses,’ …Ok, had added ‘in the U.S.’ Google gave me a whole web-page-full of them, and informed me that they were ‘homes.’ While many of them are quite Old, some are New, and Beautiful. I had heard of some Banking crisis over there. Since I do not understand Finance, had not gone much into it. But the very Last image caught my eye. Here it is:
Source: dailymail.co.uk
[ The Room is Small, the Furniture is Mildewed., but it is All Wooden furniture, and the TV is quite Big. In India, Only the Very Rich can afford Wooden things now. ]
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Given these situations, Abandoned houses on the one side and Homeless People on the other, the High Pricing, and …the Hunger,
We Should be Praying and Singing:
‘Lord, Give me the Courage to Live what I have learnt from the Bible,’
Rather than:
‘Lord, Come and take Your place upon Your Throne.’
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Reference to Belinda’s article:
https://largeroomnolight.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/4-a-day-food-budget-challenge/
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I must confess that I have many more things, and Certainly Important ones, to say on this. Have made a separate post of it, for which, please click here.
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Farewell my sweet Jasper…
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Am Re-blogging this particularly from A (Christian) Theological view point; as You will see from my comments to Sibella, which I am using as Intro for the re-sharing too.
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3 Words that Changed my Life!
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This is Again one of my Most Important posts.
I have to Thank ‘Madelyn Griffith-Haynie’ (reference at the end of this post) for getting me going on this article. In our conversations, she had written: ‘People are desperate for answers.’
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But What are the Questions? …I have not met Anybody who does not want Love, Happiness and Peace, and whatever they might say, finally, after all the running around and exhausting themselves, these three things are what they are searching for. So the question is: How to get Love, Happiness and Peace?
Image from the Internet.
Children are the Perfect example of these gifts. This Child Feels Loved, He is Showing his Love., Feels no threats or worries., and Is Happy!
I got a Healthy amount of Love, Happiness and Peace by the Practice of:
Love, Forgiveness and Trust.
These are the Three words that changed my life. And though these are common words, I learnt their depth from Christian Teachings. To do Justice to these Three words, I would need to talk for about 8 hours on each of them, which I have done many a time, to Great Satisfaction all around. But here, it shall be Very short.
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Love, Forgiveness and Trust are words to be Experienced and Practised. All of us already understand what is meant by them. So it is Not understanding We are after!
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LOVE
Love has to be seen from Two aspects.
- One is the Conviction that We are Loved, and
- Secondly, To Be Loving Persons.
How Loved do we Feel? We have to be even BRUTALLY HONEST when dealing with these questions. No Use in Fooling around. After all, when We answer these questions, We are answering to ourselves, Nobody else.
…Whatever the Situation, …There IS Love. It might be Very, Very Hidden. But it IS there. That is what takes me all those hours to show!
I have already shared How being Rejected, and Feeling Rejected, was my Bane. Having been able to overcome that, Today I place the level of my Being Loved, my level of Loving Others, my Peace and Happiness at 80%. (I like to go by numbers). Most people stand at 30%. I speak as a Guru.
People seem to think that Loving, as a Verb, is all about Loving Oneself. That is Dog Manure. Any and Every fool is loving himself. Christ said: “Love One Another as I have loved You.” (John 13:34). He did NOT say: ‘Love yourself more.’ So-called preachers and teachers had better pay goodly attention to this.
We All come back home Tired. That is How much We work for ourselves and ours. Just HOW much have we worked for Others? For the Good of Others, without any profit to ourselves? How much time, effort and money have we given and spent on this? …No Pain, No Gain, my Friends. Real Love entails Suffering.
Jesus Died for Us. Have We even Sweated for Others? Unknown persons?
If We have Loved (Others), Love Comes Back to Us. Otherwise, The ‘Desperate Search for Answers’ Continues.
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FORGIVENESS
Forgiveness is Absolutely Necessary if We are to have Peace. I have an 8,000+ word article, (as You know, it will be Very Readable!), which can and should be read at leisure. Particularly Those who are Searching for Peace will find this Satisfying. It is already uploaded; I have to go through it again, before publishing. And its title is: Forgiveness.
Here are the Salient points:
- Not having Forgiven, Lack of Forgiveness – in other words, leads to many Diseases, particularly pertaining to the Respiratory track and organs.
- We are Supposed to Forgive Only the Hurts caused by others. Forgiving Sin is God’s business, NOT ours.
- We Forgive others Whether they ask for it or not. We Forgive even those who have passed away.
- We Specifically Use the Words, ‘I Forgive You.’ (We will find out just How difficult this is!) And We are NOT supposed to tell it to them to their face.
- We have to Wish the person who has Hurt us, Every Well Wishes. If We do not wish the person Well, We have Not Forgiven.
- We Forgive for Anything and Everything. Rape, Murder… (Is there anything bigger than these?) And As many times as it might have happened. If it happens again, We Forgive Again.
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TRUST
My Bane, as I have said, had been Anger, and anger starts with Irritability. I had Plenty of this too.
Today,
- When I find the net ever-so-slow, though I have paid a goodly Rs. 948 for 28 days to Mr. Airtel for it, (We are informed that India ranks 123rd in the world in internet speed! Yuck), [ PS: This is Old stuff, from years back. ]
- When I find Squirrels and RATS running in what I can call my Attic, endangering my flimsy ceiling,
- When Monkeys jump about with glee and abandon On the Tiles, shaking their placement and making the roof leak,
Have I not enough reasons to be Irritable? But that I am Not! I must admit that I noticed this myself, with a Lot of Thankfulness and Satisfaction and Surprise!
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And I have reason to Worry, if not to be Anxious. I have 3 bank accounts, (one of them in the name of the Ashram), with a total savings of Rs. 8811.74. Even in an emergency, I can draw out only about Rs. 5,800, as a thousand has to be kept in the account as per their rules. And I have about a Thousand in my Cash Box, and 3 Thousand in Mad Money. [PS: Now I have closed down the Ashram account. ]
And I have, coming up, my Internet and Phone Recharges which will come to a Thousand, about 400 rupees for the electricity bill, And, about 2,000 rupees in promised help as expenses!
I subsist on Donations, and the Good Lord has seen Fit to bring it down to Rs. 3,700 this month.
YET I am at Peace. I Sleep Soundly, I am able to Enjoy my Food, and have No Sicknesses. This comes by Trust. I am Convinced, to the point where I would like to say ‘I KNOW,’ my Father would send me Whatever is necessary, where and when necessary.
Trust means Not Even Repeating what You have Asked the Lord.
Trust means Accepting, with the Firmest Determination, that
- (God) The Father Knows what He is doing,
- I am Safe in His Hands, and that
- He is doing What is Best for me.
So Trust is Needed in what makes us Irritable, and what causes us Worry.
It is a matter, as I said, of Realization, and Not mere understanding. This comes only with Dhyaan. For Children, of course, it is Instinctual!
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Happy Answers to You!
All pictures from the Internet.
The reference to Madelyn’s post:
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lovehappinessandpeace 