Kerala Crisis- Are we any better?

The recent Kerala deluge has captured the headlines for quite some time. Times of India reports Kerala may have suffered loss of around Rs 35,000 crore. As people are struggling to resettle and find relief with the water receding, they are now facing a new challenge, the menace of serpents. Consecutive calamities are making things so difficult for the common people out there. NDTV estimates at least 310,000 people have been displaced and are taking shelter in more than 2,000 relief camps.

People around the globe are expressing the acts of kindness through cash and kind. On the other side we also find people judging and trying to mar the image of the people by making ruthless comments, one is the self-styled god man Swami Chakrapani Maharaj made a ludicrous statement linking Kerala flood relief and beef. He commented "It is sin to rescue beef eaters, those who don't kill animals should be helped" How sad and sickening to see the calamities are politicized for their benefits.

I want to draw your attention to an incident in the Bible recorded in the book of Luke, where Jesus cites an example for the understanding of the people (Luke:13:2-5) And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.". How does this verse speak to you? You and I are no better, it is just that we are expected to humble ourselves and stop thinking and making politically correct statements. It’s a time that we come to the feet of God and ask God for more mercy and extend all possible help to the suffering people in Kerala.

We even notice some Christian senior leaders just because they exist for a long time, they have a bigger people group, greater task, take the liberty to monopolize things and pass irresponsible remarks for their personal benefits. Politics is rampant everywhere, isn’t it? Warren W Wiersbe cites beautifully, “Our growing older doesn’t guarantee that we are automatically growing up. It’s tragic when people confuse age with maturity, because age records length of life, while maturity relates to depth of experience and character, no matter how old we are.” Mark what Jesus said in the passage, “..I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.". The people of Kerala never expected this deadly catastrophe will dismantle them completely. Let us take this into cognizance, You and I are no better, therefore let us use our resources to build and restore people lives. 

                                                     

Check this man comment in social media is so real. You cannot save your Church building too, when calamities hit severely, it’s the Church, the movement I mean should not be submerged in such catastrophe. All our grandeur can be washed away, only your good work and the gospel stands tall. Unless we want to show it without any dichotomy.  Let us learn to say “thank you” for the million things we are still enjoying and bless others especially the people in Kerala, India.

Check this short video:

Reference:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/state-may-have-suffered-loss-of-around-rs-35000-crore/articleshow/65535867.cms

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45300506

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/pm-modi-surveys-flood-battered-kerala-324-dead-310-000-displaced-10-facts-1902341

https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/hindu-mahasabha-website-hacked-beef-recipe-posted-after-leader-s-controversial-comment-on-kerala-floods-351781.html

Blessings.

“When the bad outweighs the good”

I want to start this write up by giving a snippet on Islam. ISLAM is the world’s second largest religion with a following of over one billion people called Muslims—one-fifth of humanity. The word “Islam” actually means “submission to God.” Therefore, “a Muslim is one who strives to submit to God".  Islam is fundamentally different from Christianity. Islam is a works-oriented religion, while Christian faith is based on salvation by grace through faith as a result of the shed blood of Christ. Muslims around the world do good deeds because the Quran teaches you must have more good works than bad to get into paradise. “Then those whose scales are heavy [with good deeds], they are the successful” (Qs 23:102). On Judgment Day, Allah will put their deeds on a scale. If the good deeds tip the scale, they will go to paradise. But if there are more bad deeds, they will go to hell.

 Let us now come back to the understanding of scriptures (Holy Bible) where it declares in Ephesians 1:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boasts” We cannot save us by our righteousness or merely by our good works because the Bible says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Thankfully it does not end there but gives us hope because of the Son given to us and who died on the cross of Calvary for the remission of our sins (Galatians 1:4).

What do you think is the problem if we borrow the understanding of trying to ensure good outweighing the bad? The Bible says in James 1:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” It is not the gross good or meagre evil that justifies you or condemns you, it’s the one disobedience itself which is capable to separate you from God. Once a theologian brilliantly quoted “Many believe that one needs to discipline himself to perform good deeds in order to master his faults and weakness. They don’t necessarily correlate except that the resources for sinning are channeled in doing good. Doing good doesn’t conquer faults which have to be handled at an entirely different level.”. We are transported from Compliance level to conscience level and He is big enough “..to cleanse our conscience from dead works..” (Hebrew 9:14) when we acknowledge and accept His forgiveness.

You relish in what you invested. Allow me to comment this before I wind up this short write up. We are all building memories therefore build it good so that it will cherish you, inspire you, encourage you and build you while you are old. Most of the people regret later because of wrong moves and failed action. Also let us understand, our mind will keep drawing out what we have invested, therefore the goodness stored will refresh us and draw us closer to God, but if it is otherwise, then it is much likely that our memories will remind us and allure us for yet another fall. Ask God for His grace to be assured of his forgiveness and hold on to the goodness of the Lord.  May God Bless you.

Blessings,

David Raj

When your project isn't very successful!

“The river fell, river rose, and the winds blew, and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.”. Matthew 7:25

Organization, Churches and institution holding special projects for the underprivileged children, widows, senior citizens, schools for the marginal sector or it can be any social project sometimes achieve greater result creating positive impact in the community. But there are also cases where we see the project just exists for its own reason and does not make significant progress at all. I wish to enumerate the common causes for you to check and realign your projects if necessary for a greater impact. It is important the project should be well stabilized and be able to pass any test yet stay strong like the house whose foundation was on the rock.

At the outset it is crucial that a Project is closely aligned with Organization/Church goals for making it a success. “When setting up the project vision, mission, goals, and objectives, the leadership should start with the organization's vision, mission, goals, and objectives and ensure that all is aligned.”. The Organization/Church and Institution may have a vibrant team but if they are still lagging behind, then probably there is a dire need to check if it is an alignment issue or probably if it is something do with the causes mentioned below.

Lack of consistency in the project workflows: A successful project should be having consistent tools and processes in place and ensuring teams know and follow them. Having too rigid and volatile processes can also have a negative impact. It is therefore important to find the right balance between consistent processes and the flexibility necessary for your team to actually get the work done.

Having outdated processes and procedures: Ensure that the process is regularly checked to see if it matches the workflow and supports the objective of the Project. Also, it is important that the processes and procedures are well documented for reference.

Poor Accountability: This is one crucial area where things get messed up, it is important to set up accountability at different levels and not channeled through one person alone, especially if your institution is big enough. Sometimes vertical alignment is just not enough, it is essential for a project management program to also connect horizontally.

Poor Communication: Often communication breakdown can be a point of failure. Projects will come in from a variety of sources, and if internal and client expectations aren't clearly defined, it's a recipe for failure. Communications that are also ambiguous and goes based on the emotions alone can cater to breakdown.

Unclear objective: The project should have been created with specific, measurable goals and with clear set of objectives, if it is not the case then you will notice that people are trying to solve undefined problems.

Poor scope management: If you fail to articulate specifically what the project objectives are how do you know it’s a success? The impacts of poor scope management are far reaching and can result in cost overruns, delays, poor quality, and not meeting the customer needs.

Lack of visibility: Nearly 40% of surveyed companies report that a lack of visibility prevents projects from being completed on time. Are you able to see the progress and are you achieving the defined milestones?

May God help you in setting up right management system for a greater impact.

Blessings

Non Relevant- Intentional or Ignorance? Part-2

CHRISTIANITY IN CRISIS!

I wish to conclude on this topic and  humbly urge you to read through and be blessed. As Christians, be it a leader, or pastors or lay people we are completely responsible to bring relevance and coherence to Christianity and justify the message of the Cross. As we continue to understand the crisis let us find how Paul strives to bring relevance in his ministry.

Paul was relevant to all categories of people: Paul was in his defense before the king when king Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You’re out of your mind, Paul! Too much study is driving you mad.” Acts 26:24 CSB. Paul was continually reading the books and the parchment (word) and remained inspired, qualified and updated in the subject of the present. (2 Timothy 4:13). I want to narrate an incident about a pastor and head of a mission in my earlier organization who was selected to go to USA for representing his genuine mission work, for he was working in a high tensed area. He visited the American Embassy to face the interview for Visa. He was asked about the purpose of his visit to which he said, “He is honest before God and want to remain an effective witness to Jesus alone” He was further asked who he considers as his leader if there were any, to this again very boldly he exclaimed none other than Jesus. The visa was sadly rejected and he had to miss the opportunity. The pastor thought he should not read any books other than Bible, not to admire and be influenced by any, other than Jesus. 

D L Moody puts beautifully in his short quote “Some Christians are so heavenly minded, they are no earthly good.”. I understand some due to ignorance and limited to their understanding at a broader sense. Paul says in Romans 1:14 “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.”. Paul was compatible to all groups. He can relate and give a discourse with someone who is from an illiterate background and at the same time to a learned man, who come under the intelligent category. Today there are missionaries and pastors who are in rural set up may not be well acquainted in a broader subject if they have to encounter the other groups, they sadly become non-relevant. 

Paul was relevant in His message too: Paul message was rich and  sublime and persuasive too. When Paul presented his case before king Agrippa, the King replied, "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian." Acts 26:28 NASB and then further tried to release him being convinced (Acts 26:32). Is our message convincing, rich and sublime or it is merely ranting of words, jokes and subjects which are so common and repetitive. In many cases we have become people friendly message unfriendly. This was not the case with Paul. He was honest and truthful at every sense. We learn while he was in a sail with other prisoners, the winds were contrary and furious and people almost lost all hope. Paul immediately admonished them yet was honest when he said, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." Acts 27:10 NASB. C.S Lewis in his book Screwtape letters brilliantly writes about the conversation between the senior demon screwtape, instructing his nephew demon wormwood and it goes like this ". We do want … to make men treat Christianity as a means; preferably, of course, as a means to their own advancement.."

Today there are so many prosperity gospel preachers with false promises promising people that everything will be alright and send the people with false satisfaction. How do we caution people from such dangers? I strongly recommend that you read a beautiful book, an extensive study and research of famous preachers and mission leaders who abuse the name of God for their personal economy. The Book entitles “Christianity in Crisis 21^st century” by Hank Hanegraaff.  It is such an eye opener to how badly the poor Christians are being cheated day in and day out. You may get in touch with me in case you would want a soft copy. The news and scandal that we hear and read are not confined to other faiths alone. Christians are making headlines too. Rightly quoted in the Bible in Romans 2:24 "For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.". KJV

Can we make a commitment prayerfully to be relevant in our existence, in our subject and in the message of Christ and impact others? (1 Cor 9:27). 

Blessings

Non-Relevant! Intentional or Ignorance? -Part 1

CHRISTIANITY IN CRISIS!

How safe is Christianity in your country or in your city? Do you think we Christians really make sense to people who are living with us? Or just existing merely with its name adding very little or no value to us and to others? Christians have added their own definition to Christianity to suit their existence for a comfortable and safe living. If you closely follow the news from around the globe you would find that “Christianity immediately started becoming irrelevant when irrelevancy started becoming Christian.”. Every form of evil practices globally is getting legitimized and is cascading down from European countries believed to be Christian nation.

We are blessed with myriads of Christian authors, books, articles, blogs, speakers, tele-evangelist yet Christianity is in Crisis if you did not know. You and I can refuse to accept and rubbish it, but the facts would remain unaltered. Unless every Christian, Pastors and leaders fail to realize it and try to sincerely act on it, it is possible that we would be running quicksand very soon. “True Christianity is about finding our relevance in God—not God finding His relevance in us.”. Ravi Zacharias in his book ‘Has Christianity failed you’ quotes “Too many have so humanized God and deified man that we can scarcely tell the difference anymore." And in 'Christianity today' magazine way back Cal Thomas quoted, “The problem in our culture .. isn’t the pornographers, or drug dealers or criminals. It is the undisciplined, un-discipled, disobedient, and biblically ignorant Church of Jesus Christ”. Mind, if Christianity isn’t transforming the lives of the people, it isn’t relevant.

The Bible warns us especially the leaders who are at the forefront and yet remain non-relevant. Sadly, they will remain non-relevant till they face the judgement and God had to disappoint by saying these powerful words, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven,” He said. “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:21-23). There is a big chasm between the congregation and the Church leadership and Pastors. 

Sermons are heavily sounded in many churches yet so dry and meaningless that it does not move the heart of the people at all who attend the church. The messages are non-relevant and sadly most of the leaders and pastors live in isolation. Our Church structure and set up usually promotes verbal monologue, where Pastors mostly never get to know the reality as they are used to only speaking and preaching from the lectern and never get an honest feedback, unless the Pastors are keenly interested to know and quantify the impact and transformation of lives, I am not referring to Pseudo-transformation. The early missionaries work was so revolutionary, that people listening to them were convinced about their sins and went running to altars sobbing and repenting and giving their lives to Jesus, which is almost rare today unfortunately. Leonard Ravenhill quotes in his book ‘Why revival tarries’ “Too many dead preachers are preaching too many dead sermons to too many dead congregation”.

I encourage you to visit the site I am enclosing below where the research and study of Churches and mission work in India is elaborated by Aubrey Sequeira in his journal book 9Marks journal Fall 2015. We may not agree with everything that it cites, that's okay!  but if there is even one percent of truth in it, then we are responsible to seriously reconsider how we pose ourselves.

https://www.9marks.org/article/a-plea-for-gospel-sanity-in-missions/

In case you want to download for your relevant countries you may visit this website, and download the article which has great information to work towards.   https://www.9marks.org/journal/missions-adding-wisdom-to-zeal/ 

Blessings,
David Raj.