His visible return as King of Kings. Jesus Christ - there's no one like Him!
All Christian linguists, whether missionaries or
not, wanted Hindus to be delivered from idols, myths, superstitions, and social
evils such as the caste system. These myths and evils have corrupted Indian
character and enslaved our minds. To convert means to turn from sin and
falsehood and seek truth and righteousness. Language is the software that
enables us to think, learn, and communicate. The Bible says that when we come
to God, we must take with us offering of words – words of repentance for our
sin as well as praise for God’s goodness: “Take words with you and return to
the LORD. Say to him: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we
may offer the fruit of our lips [i.e. praise].’” (Hosea 14:2)
Hindu-Buddhist
traditions have emphasized meditation and silence. Christianity has been
interested in language because the Triune God has revealed Himself as personal:
He communicates. He made us in His image so that we may know and love him. Love
includes communication. Words are important because they express our hearts:
and our hearts need to seek truth, including truth about our own moral
corruption and our need of redemption and a spiritual rebirth..
However,
contrary to what the suppressors of history tell us, missionaries empowered our
mother-tongue because they wanted us to think. They wanted us to study
Brahmanical Scriptures along with secular and sacred literature that had turned
tiny islands such as England into mighty nations. These scholar-reformers developed our
mother-tongues because they knew that to “convert” does not mean to shift one’s
loyalty from one’s community or mother tongue to another.
Unlike our
corrupt elites, who are obsessed with power, Christian reformers were concerned
about helping us grow into a freedom with justice and morality. [1]
Ramakrishna
(1833-86), was a Bengali Hindu sage. Although theoretically a high-caste
Brahamin by birth, he came from a poor, low-caste village and had little or no
education. He did not know a word of Sanskrit and his knowledge of the Vedas,
Puranas, and Hindu Epics was obtained orally (in the Bengali language). In
spite of this, he managed to convey in his aphorisms the essence of the Hindu
religion. Ramakrishna also worshipped with Muslims and Christians, and
propounded a simple approach to religious tolerance: "Creeds and sects
matter nothing. Let every one perform with faith the devotions and practices of
his creed. Faith is the only clue to get to God."
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (RKP) had the Bible
read to him by one of his devotees. At the end of 1873 he started the practice
of Christianity, when his devotee Shambu Charan Mallik read the Bible to him.
Ramakrishna said that for several days he was filled with Christian thoughts
and no longer thought of going to the Kali temple. One day when Ramakrishna saw
the picture of Madonna and Child Jesus, he felt that the figures became alive
and had a vision in which Jesus merged with his body. In his own room amongst
other divine pictures was one of Christ, and he burnt incense before it morning
and evening. There was also a picture showing Jesus Christ saving St.Peter from
drowning in the water.
Shambhu may
have been the "trigger" for the Master's liaison with Christianity.
Liberal in his religious outlook, Shambhu used to read from the Bible to Sri
Ramakrishna in his parlour. The Master became fascinated with the life and
teachings of Jesus Christ. This sentiment invoked in him a desire to realize
God through the Christian path.
Surviving a
physical wilderness takes more than the skills to build a shelter, start a
fire, and purify water. It requires a certain psychology, a mindset, a will to
live that overcomes the fear and stress associated with crisis. In fact, some
people who possessed the skill still died when stranded in a physical
wilderness because they lacked the will. And others who lacked the skill but
had the will, found a way to survive.
Seeing in
advance how the Lord will work evil or hurt for our benefit is very difficult,
if not impossible. My limited human perspective doesn’t allow me to grasp His
greater plan. However, I can confirm the truth of this biblical promise because
the Father’s good handiwork appears all through my pain, hardship, and loss. I
have experienced Him turn mourning into gladness and have seen Him reap
bountiful blessings and benefits from my darkest hours.
As believers,
we must accept that God won’t always make sense to us. Isaiah teaches that His
ways and thoughts are higher than our own (Isa. 55:9). He sees the beautifully
completed big picture. We can rely on the fact that God is in control, no
matter how wildly off-kilter our world seems to spin.
Upon entering
a spiritual wilderness, our tendency is often to let our imagination run wild.
"Will I ever make it out?" "Why is this happening to me?"
"I don't feel ready for this." "Does God not realize what I'm
going through?" "Is He angry with me?" "Is He judging
me?" "Is He even real?" Though it's natural to ask questions like
these, obsessing over them depletes our resolve to believe God. And since these
questions relate to the very nature of God, their responses must be biblically
sound. That's why our study begins here. In the wilderness, perspective is
everything.
So if you
find yourself in a wilderness: don't panic. Take a deep breath. Take a moment
to remind yourself who God is, who you are in Christ, and what the Bible says
about His faithfulness during troubled times. Fear makes you susceptible to
lies from the enemy. He will lie about God's faithfulness and love for you. He'll
even lie about God's existence, or about how valuable you are to Him. Such lies
are meant to sap you of spiritual stamina. But that's just when the "will
to live" must rise the will to live in the Spirit while you pass
through desert regions.
For God's
children in the wilderness, the "will to live" does not merely refer
to a desire to survive. It refers rather to an earnest determination to believe
God. During spiritual drought, you must determine “ sometimes against all
circumstances, emotions, and even the advice of friends “ that God is real.
He is good. He is faithful, and you will make it through to the other side with
Him. Don't let the enemy or circumstances define who God is for you. Refuse to
allow yourself to believe anything but God's Word. Resolve as David did during
a spiritual desert: "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is
steadfast!" (Psa 57:7).
God tests His
children to know what is in their hearts. God's desire for each of His children
is to walk in relationship with Him, to uphold His righteousness and integrity.
It is a high calling that we will fail to achieve without complete dependence
on Him.
Travel the road of life through faith in Jesus
Christ. He is the One who brings light to our darkness, hope strong enough to
shatter our greatest fears, and peace deep enough to calm our anxious hearts. Billy
Graham said: 'The Bible is concerned only incidentally with the history of
Israel or a system of ethics. It's concerned primarily with the story of
redemption as it is in Jesus Christ. If you read the Scriptures and miss the
story of salvation, you have missed its message and meaning. There have been
those who have gone through the Bible and traced the story of Jesus: In Genesis
He is the seed of the woman. In Exodus He is the Passover Lamb. In Leviticus He
is the Atoning Sacrifice. In Numbers He is the Smitten Rock. In Deuteronomy He
is the Greatest Prophet. In Joshua He is the Captain of the Lord's Host. In
Judges He is the Deliverer. In Kings He is the Promised King. In Nehemiah He is
the Restorer of the Nation. In Esther He is the Advocate. In Job He is my
Redeemer. In Psalms He is my Shepherd. In Proverbs He is my Pattern. In
Ecclesiastes He is my Goal. In the Song of Solomon He is my Satisfier. In the
Books of the Prophets He is my Coming Prince of Peace. In the Gospels He is the
One who came to seek and to save us. In Acts He is our Risen Lord. In the
Epistles He is our Representative at the Father's right hand. In Revelation He
is our Returning Lord.'
In an age of
pop psychology and eclectic theology, the bedrock of our faith is still
Christ's virgin birth, His sinless life, His atoning death, His victorious
resurrection, His work of mediation and His visible return as King of Kings.
Christ - there's no one like Him!
References:
[1] Vishal
Mangalwadi, June 2012 ‘How Protestantism Built Modern India'
www.RevelationMovement.com
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