Dr. M. A. Thomas: A Soldier of the Cross

To view videos from Dr. M. A. Thomas' Memorial Service, visit Hopegivers. I miss you, Appachan!

Heaven or Hell - The Afterlife (Life After Death)

Just finished reading Lisa Miller's article "Far From Heaven" on Newsweek. Quickly reviewing, I liked how she ended with a call to 'humble ourselves before all that we don't understand.' I didn't like how she did not go further into Jesus' answer to the Sadducees regarding life after death. (BTW, the article's got it wrong: the Sadducees were not asking about the man with seven wives; they were asking about the woman with seven husbands in succession). In the biblical passage, when the Sadducees (who did not believe in life after death) asked Jesus regarding whose wife the woman will be in the afterlife since she has been the wife of seven brothers in succession, Jesus answered, pointing out the ignorance of the Sadducees in knowing God's Word, "In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage." Jesus' answer sheds light on what Lisa Miller missed to include in her article -- the biblical view on heaven and hell.

The article includes various personal views of heaven: 'laying my head on my Grandma's lap', 'driving a yellow Cadillac in heaven', 'eating peppermint ice cream', 'enjoying the company of 72 virgins', etc. I wish the article would have contrasted those views to the view of the afterlife revealed in God's Word: Heaven is a real place where we spend eternity in God's presence, and hell is a real place where we are eternally separated from God's presence.

Therefore, the news that God has provided a way for us, through King Jesus' loving sacrifice, to be able to spend eternity with Him is indeed the Greatest News ever.

iRecommend: That's My King!

I saw this for the first time at the 2010 FBCJax Pastor's Conference. This video is not mine; I got it from Vimeo. This video is set to the famous sermon by Dr. S. M. Lockridge.

Martyr's Oath (as heard at Hopegivers Graduation)

I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus, with my hands to save and serve the mankind

I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus, with my feet to spread the gospel to the uttermost parts

I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus, with my lips by proclaiming the good  news to all who hear and by edifying the body of Christ

I take a stand to honor the Lord Jesus, with my mind as I meditate upon His word and promises to me

I give my earthly treasures and all that I possess to follow the way of the cross

I commit to love my family, orphans, widows, lepers, the wealthy, and the poor to the way of the Christ

I surrender my will and my life to His will and to His life

I commit to service of the Lord by being a good steward of my time

I surrender this body on earth for the perfect will of Jesus

And should my blood be spilled, may it bring forth a mighty harvest of souls

I pledge allegiance to the  Lamb

I will seek to honor His command

I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes

As a soldier of the cross, I stand with the apostle Paul in saying that “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain”

Lord Jesus, Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven

I love my India; I love my fellow citizens; I want to show them the love of Christ

Whether by life or death, I must glorify Jesus

. . . Love God and Love People - The Two Greatest Commands

there are two extremes to be avoided with regards to these commands. one could get completely focused on loving God and ignore people, or completely focused on loving people and ignore God.
the first extreme is due to our selfish nature. the focus here is not truly loving God, for true love for God leads us to love others too; rather, it is a love out of our selfish desire to feel more spiritual than others. the second extreme is due to a failure in understanding our priorities. love for God is the first command, and then is the command to love others.
first of all, the order is important: first, love for God, and then, love for humanity. but, the combination is also important: love for both God and humanity is necessary. in all these, love for self should not be neglected, but, it is also something we need not work at, as it is natural. love for God takes first place; love for others takes the next place; and love for self takes the last seat!

Love God and Love People - The Two Greatest Commands . . .

according to God, the Lawgiver, the two most important commands r these: first, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength; second, love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:28-31).
notice, it is not a suggestion, but a command. love is hard work. it does not come naturally to us. if loving God and loving others came naturally to us, then, there is no need of a command. naturally, we r inclined to love only ourselves.
loving others and especially, loving God goes against our fallen nature; hence, this makes loving God and loving others rather an impossible task. this huge task requires the need of something more than natural - a supernatural support. in other words, we need God's help to put Him and others before ourselves. however, just as God's help is crucially necessary, so is the need for our willingness to love.

Read more >> Options >>

Freedom of Choice

one of the greatest truths in Christian theology is that God has given all humans freedom to make choices. this is evident from even the first few verses in the Bible. God gave Adam and Eve freedom to choose from any of the trees for their food. of course, there was a certain limit. but, it was not like there was a boundary set against the tree of life. it was still open because God created humans with the freedom to choose.
well, He is the same God today, and humans still have the freedom of choice, and none can take away that right from us. however, choices have consequences. we sow what we reap. when Adam and Eve chose to go against God's warning, they fell short of His glory. their choice to disobey separated them from God, and they tried on their own to please Him so that they could get back to Him. but, it is not that easy. God took the initiative Himself and provided a way for humans to get back to Him, and that way is through His sacrifice on the cross. we have a choice to either take His provision, which is the only way, or try on our own to set it right, which is impossible.

By His Grace

i talked to my friend about this new blog, and he told me about how the verse from 1 Cor. 15 has been so often misquoted and wrongly used. some have used this verse to justify their lifestyle saying, 'I am what I am by the grace of God.'
hence, i would like to clarify that my intention in naming this blog 'By His Grace' is not to justify my actions/lifestyle. rather, my intention here is just to state the most important fact of my life that it is entirely by God's grace alone that i am spared the punishment that i deserve and that it is entirely by His grace alone that i am rewarded with a blessing that i do not deserve.