The Light of the world

Jesus said , " He was the burning and shining lamp, and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light " in John 5:35

'He' here refers to John , the Baptist . In the present world, we always linger in darkness both in mind and heart. There are thousand ways by which we are distracted in our spiritual life. First we need to surrender ourselves to God's will , as John did. He was chosen to announce the coming of the Messiah. He was the sound in the wilderness. He ate nothing but grass-hoppers and honey. He submitted himself to the will of God. No, I don't ask you to eat grass-hoppers and cloth like John(he wore animal skin). We need to draw inspiration from his life.

Jesus , the Light of the world declares John as the lamp. A candle whose source was God with the fuel of the Holy Spirit. There are three things before the light starts to shine upon us :

1. We need to grieve for our short-comings, weaknesses and sins to the Lord. We are nothing but dust made to glorify God. We should acknowledge our creator for what He is. When the first light enters us, it shows us the way we are -- nothing less nothing more. All the dark secrets within us, so far are made to shone in the light which comes from God. For the first time in our life, God gives us a chance to realise ourselves who we are and where do we stand from God?

2. The second light comes and provides solace at our times of trouble. When we are able to see our own sins, the light shows us Jesus , our saviour who has already carried all our sins on the cross. We enjoy a father-children relationship with our creator. We are made heirs in Christ. Oh, what a privilege? There's always a person waiting to take our sins, if we confess. He has already removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west. We need not condemn ourselves for our sins. What better can this get?

3. Once we have witnessed and cherished the first two lights, the third light is all about dis-integration of our self. We need to relieve ourselves from us. 'Me' and 'I' should change to 'You'(GOD). He is the source of everything. His hands made the heaven and the Earth. Once we have this wonderful feeling, we can let our light shine upon others.

This light will even expose other people's darkness and make them aware of their transgressions and sins.

This is an excerpt from a short message given by Pastor Joshua. The first time meeting with him happened at MIT Hostels. I was shocked to hear that he was visiting the hostels for the past 15 years! What a God-fearing man , he should be. Bless him Lord and Praise be to Lord forever. Amen


Jai Praveen.

Discouragement

Discouragement is dangerous , started my church Pastor.Get rid of it , else it will even poison who are near you and multiply like a virus.It can kill you spiritually as well as literally. When the Israelites reached the boundaries of the promised land, which is just forty days journey from Egypt, they camped outside Canaan and sent twelve spies to espionage the land that the Lord had promised to them. Ten of the spies brought news that Canaan had abundance of riches,water and fruits , but the land was full of giants and , added that they looked like grass-hoppers before them. But the other two spies said that although there were giants, it was possible to conquer the land since it was assured to them by the Lord himself. What happened then?

The whole of Israel grew discouraged hearing the words of the ten spies , who uttered words of discouragement. They all started weeping and God became angry, since they have refused to believe in the covenant that God had made. What did he do ? He made them wander in the deserts for forty years(!) and favoured their children(next generation) to enter into Canaan - that was their punishment.

When we take a closer look at this incident, we come to know that the people faced words of encouragement (from the two spies) as well as discouragement(from the ten spies). Its natural on the part of human beings to incline on the side of peer pressure. The ten spies compared themselves with the Giants and, the Giants appeared BIGGER whereas the other two spies compared the Giants with GOD and the situation appeared a lot SMALLER. Oh ! What a beauty!
They believed in God's word and assurance.

Whenever we feel dejected or drained out of hope , we may start to question God . Does he really remembers me ? ; -) Has he forgotten me? Where is He? You may be lonely , or even would have prayed all the time seeking God's intervention and help. Sometimes silence kills more compared to thunder and lightning.


When God instructed Noah to make an ark and get into it , before the flood , he gladly heard His voice and did as God commanded. The rains came and washed away all the place on Earth and filled the valleys, and reached the apex of mountains. He stayed inside the Ark for 150 days ! An astonishing fact was that God did not speak to him during those 150 days -- there is no recorded conversation in the Bible. He would have been inside feeling lonely and oppressed under terrible fear of whats going to happen next. He would have been jolted back and forth by the roaring waves and the rough waters. He would have felt horrible like you and me , seemed to be forsaken by God. But something more wonderful happened before the flood.

Genesis 7:1 (King James Version) says that God stayed in the ark with him !!!!

"Then the Lord said to Noah , 'COME INTO the ark , you and all your household because I have seen you righteous before Me in this generation'."

Whenever we are faced with a situation, do not see how big the situation is ? We may appear smaller compared to the situation. But imagine how big our LORD is ! What a mighty God we serve! He's always there to protect us. Sometimes he prevents a danger from happening to us. Sometimes he lets the danger happen to us and reveals his protection in an unimaginable way making us think and trust in Him more.

We may get into a situation of morbid fear where we lose our senses. We won't be able to come to a decision. Suicide and condemnation seems simple compared to living. But then , you may think that no prayer or words of comfort can win you solace. Discouragement can lead to such things. Whenever somebody says that they are discouraged, rebuke them and let them know what a mighty God we serve!!!

Jai Praveen.

Chrisitans and the end of days..

They will put you out of the synagogues ; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service

John 16:2

This was written during the time Jesus lived and I am astound by the relevance with which it addresses the present situation

The massacre of christians is increasing world-wide and to everyone's attention , I can see it happening in my own country. Are the Christians safe here? When a nun being gang-raped and paraded naked in the streets , with the police serving as accomplice, makes me put forward such a question. What has happened to our "democracy" and "image of secularism"?

The end-time prophecies are getting fulfilled every day and the Chrisitians are already preparing a banquet to celebrate the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Besides creating terror in the hearts of Christians in Orissa, Karnataka and parts of Tamilnadu, it has triggered Christian communities to pray fervently for the redemption of the lost flock in a never-before-way. To some of us, who are absorbed in a mechanical work-oriented life , it is just another story where people are killed and fighting in the name of God. We are all busy preparing for a life that will end shortly !

Where will I spend my eternity ?

II Corinthians 5 :1 says , "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens ."

Everyone who believes in Christ , that he died for all our sins has already a place reserved in Heaven to spend after eternity. The beauties and glory of Heaven is beyond words and human understanding.




Paul says that in one or other way , every one on this earth has sinned and falls short of the Glory of God. It may be a petty lie, murder, lust,greed and you name it.

Scripture says , " As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions(sins) from us ." What a loving God we have ? He has removed all our sins by the crucifixion of His son.

John 3:16 says , " For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life ."

This is a promise and covenant made by God with the mankind. He wants us to accept all our sins, and sin no more! He is not cruel to condemn us for eternity just because we refused to hear his voice! He gives us chances and opportunities to get closer to him. We may be absorbed by the worldly desires and pleasures ignoring the word of God, yet he will come to help you when you call on His name! Blessed be His name forever. The Bible is not just another book in the shelf preaching moral ethics and disciplines to run our earthly life. Its something more than that -- A PROMISE -- A HOPE -- which every Christian cherishes as he waits upon the Lord to come and put an end to all the tears and sins.

Revelation 21: 4 says , "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying.There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed way ."

Dear beloved in Christ , if you are reading this article , it means that God wanted to speak to you and reveal His purpose for you in your life. You may be lonely, oppressed, rejected, sick beyond cure and under demonic influence. Whatever it might be , ask the true God to reveal His ways for you. I pray to God that he may touch your life today and lead you to the eternal life giving waters. God bless you!


Jai Praveen.

Engineering and God

My friends have already started questioning me whether I have become a sage(or in its process) ? My humble answer is No, I have just started to realise my Creator. Sometimes my parents are also disturbed by the fact that I spend too much of time in religious activities, which in turn may disturb my daily chores and studies! Well this argument seems fair and just to a confused mind.

I have confused my daily chores with my spiritual explorations, sometimes getting too absorbed in scriptures that I end up looking half-foolish with incomplete assignments, records and study-oriented activities.

I have questioned myself and wanted to know whether I was in the right path.Then I met my friend who also had similar difficulties.Thank God! I found one for company. While cherishing this new found similarity, I had my normal life running between college and my house(@ Radha nagar). I used to listen to some classes and dump others -- this is the place where I experienced my free will, at its extremes. Sometimes out of empathy(or sympathy :-)) for the living creature standing before me and trying to squeeze information into my dunter head, I force myself into a listening state(engg.students know how hard it is to stay focussed for more than two mins! - ask them). Sometimes I felt like it was my duty and passion to study.Its not Jai Praveen's instincts(good) or some mystical forces.I sorted it out , its partially because of the motivating words and lectures of wisdom which mocks at our Engineering standards(MIT).Thanks to those wonderful persons.

Now that I have introduced the first word of my topic "Engineering" , let me dive into my favourite word "God". I suddenly had this thought in my Optical Communication class(most part of my good brain works during Prof.Ganesh Madan's class).

I , earlier said that it was my nature to confuse Science with religion. Some end up boasting evolution and its (ultra-extra ordinary)orderly behaviour in the formation of Earth and the living beings.Sadly they simply ignore the concept of soul and even the Second Law of Thermodynamics(read it for yourself from Wiki).

Romans 1: 20 says, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and God head,so that they are without excuse."

This was written by Paul to address the non-believers who do not have any idea about God at all.

Ha Haaa! Here I got the point revealed. Looking at things around us, we can easily recognise/acknowledge the existence of God. We are studying for thousands of years,the Omniscient Creator's work , in different branches of studies ranging from Mathematics, Physics, Geography, Chemistry etc., This holds the key to bridge the relationship between Science and Religion.I am happy that my Master gave me the key very soon.

Notice: Subject to update without further notification :-)

Jai Praveen.

GRE and its consequences

I prayed a lot before taking the GRE second time.Unfortunately I did not prepare as well as I prayed ! God did not answer me.My higher studies dreams were a little shattered when I looked into my GRE score on the computer screen at Prometric.Neither could I swallow nor could I vomit.I decided to turn my face away from God for the next few days, the reason being --he failed to respond to my prayers.

When I was in this depressed state, I easily forgot what all I have prayed and asked him.Just then I realised that he had answered some of my prayers.I had previously prayed for a nice heart to accept will and never ever turn away from him.It so happened in the next two days.

After two days of persistent bad mood - somehow I slipped silently into my normal state.God again created the opportunity to speak to Bro.Regis. He made me understand how God gave me chances to get the REAL flavour of life.We cannot get everything we desire.He has a set of plans carefully drafted to fulfil his purpose through me.No one can change it or deny it.

He asked me to meditate on Proverbs 3:5,6,7

"5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart.Never rely on what you think you know.
6 Remember the Lord in everything you do and he will show you the right way. 7 Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you really are "

I remember a song which one of my school teacher(James Sir) taught me while I was in my twelfth standard.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart ,
and lean not unto they own understanding,
Acknowledge him in all his ways,
And he shall direct your path". This song is sung with a very fast pace and it proves how involuntary it should become of us to grab him, as soon as we lose our peace of mind.

He also asked me to read Matthew 6:33 : "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you ."

This instilled in me a sense of divine wisdom and I had a smile(like a child knowing its father) on my face while drafting this blog.

He advised to stop requesting worldly things and pray for the gifts of God!(quite tough to do but lets see what happens in the future).

He advised me not to go behind worldly pleasures.Our eyes must be set and focused on hearing God's word and acting according to his will.

I had a heavenly peace descending upon me after hearing his message via phone.Each time he speaks with me, I can feel the unseen creator speaking through him.It is as though like a wind which cannot be seen but can be felt.I feel in my spirit that I am in the right path with Jesus as my light in my dark days of trouble as well as my a Good shepherd by my side in my merry days.

Professor Ganesh Madan said..

As usual he entered the class with all his slides and motivating thoughts.He was disheartened by the lack of interest in the subject - one could easily guess it from his face.I will write those things that came from his mouth in first person, "If you can write that you do not require this course with a majority of students signing it, the course can be easily removed from your curriculum.It will do more good than you expect.I will be relieved and will have a lesser burden.But also remember, when you do the same for all the subjects you dislike, you will have nothing left and tangible to differentiate between your course and IT. I do not know for what reason you all took ECE.If it was by chance or some parental pressure, you can always reconsider your decision as you are all final years.I will give you all attendance and those who are interested alone can come to my class.Rest will be permitted to write the final exam, irrespective of their attendance. Government spends 5 lakhs to each and every student who graduates out of the college.Had you used your opportunity wisely , some other hard working student who has a real passion for Electronics(even with lesser cut-off ) would have benefited out of it.Please don't advise your juniors(in 12th) and relatives to take up ECE, just because it is considered a hot stream ! People will have to suffer, and ultimately deviate during the years.There is also no sincere effort from the student side to understand a complex subject.It takes some pain to understand the stuff behind the real picture." He finally had a meeting with the HCL guys and left the class.He promised to show us some animation and we are not sure whether we will get that opportunity.

Two people in our department openly and frankly to students expressing their deepest regrets to the present situation of the Electronics Students : Prof.Ganesh Madan and Prof.Kannan. They are extremely talented and MIT must make the most use of them.Sadly, the opposite thing happens! I will share Prof.Kannan's innovative talks to motivate us later in this blog.


Jai Praveen.

Black-out and its impact on my life!

While many troubled souls speak about the power cuts and the practical difficulties associated with it, I would love to write my thoughts about it with a different perspective – the good things which the scheduled power cuts have brought with it ; especially for those at homes during the black-outs .

Reader Attention: Don’t mistake me for a grisly character of misanthropist with an aura of cynicism – I may sound so easily, with the following simple & humble () reasonings.

During power cuts, we are mostly detached from the advancements of human technology , which has made our survival dependent on some energy resource. When a black-out occurs,we are carried away to a dark age , void of light and unwanted noise(caused by machines and 24*7 TV running in our house) – forget emergency lights for my Blog’s sake :) .

We are forced as well as given an opportunity to sit back and enjoy the nature and praise the Intelligent Creator(Jesus Christ, in my case) behind it. Since the power-cuts are scheduled for a day, we not only prepare our daily chores in advance, but also our mind mentally even in the case of whiling away our time.Physically speaking, we sweat a lot and that helps to maintain the proportion of toxic substances in our body. I think we now have enough reasons to say a “Big thanks” to our EB department who have STARTED WORKING with a great vision to make us strong both physically(use our eyes during the darkness) as well as mentally.

Looking at the dark side, the power-cuts are really a pain in the ass for small industries and students. Alas , to the poor planning and blaming of one authority over another.

I spend time reading books(non-academics, of course!) and staring at stars lying flat on our house terrace.I have not done it in years although I would die to do them! ‘EB’ has finally re-kindled the child in me.Wow ! what a feeling it is to take some time in my busy work schedule(includes watching movies, chit-chatting, sleeping ; courtesy:youth, college student) to sit(lie) down and stare at everything, other than computer screens, table cluttered with gadgets and what not!

Other things which I do includes playing FIFA in my new HP laptop gifted by Jesus through my Chithhapa -- giving freely , some drops of my blood to every little mosquito(only fellows with happy faces during the black-outs) buzzing around me .(Karuna parambarai!!).

I look forward gladly for a future, where I can sit idly without any disturbances and temptations to distract my mind and thoughts,still drafting my success story in some corner of the Earth devoid of current and light. Will it happen or is it another page in my book of fantasy? I have more to talk about living and fantasy(my idea of living as projected by my imagination).I will put them later when I fall in proper resonance with my mind again.

Jai Praveen.