Paulson Post

The command to consecrate is found throughout the Old Testament and the Bible in general. The priests are to be consecrated, the place of worship and all its artefacts are to be consecrated. However, the command ‘consecrate yourself’ found in Joshua 3:5 carries a special significance. ‘Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”’ It is a consecration for a special purpose. The reason for this consecration is that tomorrow they are going to see great miracle that God is going to do for them. They are going to cross over to the land that was promised to their ancestors centuries ago. Moreover, they are going to cross over the turbulant waters of Jordan that is overflowing over its banks. The people whom Joshua addresses are the new generation of Exodus group who are born in the desert, except for Joshua and Caleb. Their parents who left with the hope of reaching the promised land perished in the wilderness unable to see the fu...

And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ (Matt 14:28-33, ESV). I have heard preachers say that there is only one person who ever walked over water and that is Jesus. That is an oversimplification and a misreading of the scripture. However, I read Matthew 14:22-33 again to find out that there are two people who really walked on water—Jesus and Peter! Most of us focus on Peter beginning to drown. However, the scripture passage clearly says that Peter walked over water and reached Jesus. He began to drown only after reac...

Every human heart longs for Moksha or salvation. Religions advise us the various means to achieve Moksha. However, the Bible teaches that Moksha is not something to be achieved but to be experienced. It is all centered on the life of Jesus Christ. The statement that ‘Christ died’ is based on historical facts. No one seems to disagree that there lived a person called Jesus Christ and he was crucified by the Romans at the behest of some Jewish leaders. Biblical revelation goes on to say that his death was in my place for the atonement of my sins. Or in other words, the Bible claims that ‘Jesus died for me.’ The Bible goes on to say that I don’t have to do anything for my own salvation except just believe this truth. Thus, the Bible nullifies every human effort to get salvation by their own effort be it praying at shrines, making pilgrimages, etc. It is a wonderful truth that God has saved the sinful humanity at the time of the death of Christ and to be born centuries af...

In one of his sermons CH Spurgeon talks about a person who wanted to paint a mural in the town-centre. He wanted to portray the typical scene in the life of his city. A must-be character in the mural was certainly the muncipal sweeper. At the request of the painter, the sweeper turned up in the studio ready to pose for the picture. However, he was sent back. He had turned up with a hair-cut, clean-shaven and in his best dress. That is not how the painter wanted him to be in the picture that depicts the life in the town. That is not the way he turns up every day for work in the street. Our life in the presence of God should be ‘just we are.’ If we do all the tidying up and hide our real self God cannot help us. Obeying the command ‘be holy as I am holy’ begins with an admission of our worthlessness and guilt. That admission is the first step in seeking divine intervention in our lives. Putting on a pretention is the most dangerous thing to do. When we catch up with fri...

Have you been to healing or miracle crusades? Or the mega church events when healing is the centrepiece? They claim lots of miracles happening. Most of what I have witnessed have been very silly to be called miracles. In one case, a woman who wears glasses came to the meeting leaving them at home by accident. However, she realised that during the meeting as the preacher was praying that she was able to see without glasses. However, she travelled to the meeting without glasses and found her place in the auditorium without glasses before she received the healing prayer. Though these may sound silly, I will still not discredit miracles and divine healing. A few counterfeits cannot disprove the genuine. However, there is another kind of miraculous power that these miracle workers exhibit. That is calling out the names of people and their problems. These come in various forms. In some cases, only the problem will be announced. Consider this example: "There is a person who has severe ...

He used to smile at me and I was prompt in returning that smile. Our relationship ended there. However, one day, I just watched him closely as he walked towards me. The trouser and shirt that he wore did not appear to be made for him. It seemed obvious that it was old clothes altered to fit his body. I noticed that sign of poverty and pondered over it. I never bothered to ask his name. I wanted to buy him some new clothes that fit him. But had my own apprehensions: will he accept it, will he consider it as too much patronising? What if my judgment of his financial situation was wrong? Will it be taken as an insult? I didn't bother to find out more about him and thus put it all these questions to rest. A few months later he just moved away and I never saw him again. A few months later I heard the story of a young man dying of cancer. I was told that his family is poor and they cannot afford the treatment. Some people started raising funds to help him. I also made my contribution t...

Here is this person that I have to deal with every time I visit my bank. He is always at the front desk. The reason for his position could be that he is disabled. He cannot do tasks other than greeting the visitors and helping them to fill out forms. As the result of a stroke, his left hand is paralysed and his speech is impaired. His left hand dangles from the edge of his shoulder. It is practically useless. When he wants to place it on the table he has to use his healthy right hand to lift it. It is so sad. I used to wonder what is the use of carrying that hand around when it cannot do anything. However, he will not amputate that hand for the simple reason that it is very much part of him. It defines who he is. Without that hand, he will be a single-handed person. Without that hand, his body will lose it symmetry and also beauty. Though useless, he doesn’t ignore it when wearing a shirt. He treats it as a good hand, at least good for a shirt on. It is limited but the right hand is...

The massive development that is happening all over my city results in snakes and other wild animals losing their natural habitats and food sources. So, they stray into private properties and gardens to survive. If you spot a snake in your garden, dial the number of the animal rescue department. They will come with their animal ambulance to take it to the snake sanatorium. If your neighbourhood has stray dogs all that you have to do is punch the number of this department. If your stars are favourable, they may turn up. But by the time the dog ambulance is at the gate of the 25 acre campus where I live, all stray dogs disappear! The van comes with the dogs already caught. It is a noisy scene. The captive dogs bark and howl without stop. Maybe they are warning their fellow-creatures to run for their lives. They are concerned that their misfortune should not fall on them too. The stray dogs pick up the signals new prisoners send out. But the scene in the snake ambulance is d...

I had been praying for a revival in the Seminary where I teach and the church I minister for a long time. It hasn’t come yet. I got this burden for revival from my teacher. She was a Canadian missionary who taught English at the Seminary where I did my first degree in theology. She stood up in a social gathering to make an announcement. The college was about to be shifted to a new campus about 600-kilometres away in a few months. She said that she is praying for a revival and praying that we will have it before we move to the new campus. It is almost 33 years since we moved to the new campus. Revival is yet to come! Is God ignoring prayers for revivals? For that to be true we need to conclude that God is against revivals. Certainly not! God always want his people to be spiritually alive and constantly revive themselves. Holy Spirit, the spirit of newness is always with us. This is simple logic. I won't' buy my son a car until he gets the driving licence. That is when he is re...

Our language of prayer has changed dramatically over the years. When people come to us with their problems we used to assure them that we will pray for them. Sometimes, we say ‘I will pray for you’ or sometimes we say, ‘you will be in my prayers.’ In reality, we often fail to keep the promise and forget to pray for them. Still, we keep saying that; it has become part of our formal language, like ‘thank you!’ We say that even when we really don’t mean it. It is like saying ‘good morning’ to our neighbour as we step out of the house in pouring rain on a clouded, bleak morning. So meaningless. However, many people have polished this language now to be more honest and be real. It is rather popular now to say that ‘you will be in my thoughts’ than ‘in my prayers.’ That helps us to bail ourselves out of the guilt of not praying. A promise of prayer is sometimes the best way to dismiss responsibility. Many times when we approach authorities and they say that they will pray about it, yo...

Jesus looked at the world around him in a way that is quite different from that of contemporary Christians. In India, Christians are constantly intimidated by the news of persecution of Christians in various parts of the country. Laws that hinder preaching the gospel are passed in many states, pastors are attacked, churches are destroyed, etc. These pieces of news do make us view our world that is hostile to the gospel and the kingdom of God. However, there is another way of looking at the same world. That is the view of Jesus. Don’t imagine that Jesus’ world was not hostile to him. He was ridiculed, physically attacked, finally killed. Though he had his share of enemies who from the very beginning was plotting to kill him, he looked at the same world as the world ready for the rule of God. Jesus told his disciples that the world is ready for a big harvest. ‘Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields...

The Second coming of Jesus Christ is not a popular topic these days. Even preachers in premillennial or dispensational etc, also do not seem to talk about it these days.There could be various reasons for this trend. First of all, it seems the satisfaction many Christians feel now in the present world situation. The topic of second coming had served to a large extent to cope with the pain and suffering of the present day. People could live with their sufferings now since better days are coming. Secondly, it has to do with the aversion to the details that the preaching always came with. It seems that people are fed up with the lack of consensus in the identification of the Anti-Christ, number 666, the number 144,000 and such fringe elements. The irrationality and subjectivity of such interpretations are increasingly questioned. Preaching on the second coming in the days gone by focussed on details  for which there are no strong biblical warrants. So, over the years it has become th...

A few Sundays back I visited a large church in a major city of India. I have heard about this church and has been eagerly waiting to be there. As usual, there was ‘praise and worship’, then announcements in video format about the seminars, workshops and a whole lot of activities that the church organises. Then the senior pastor stood up to preach. Before preaching he gave another run-down of the announcements orally. The preaching was quite long. It was about the place of Israel in the Bible. He started with Abraham, through Egyptian bondage, Exodus all the way to Babylonian captivity and return. It continued further on to the Maccabean revolt, and all the events between the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 68 and then the end of British Mandate and the formation of Israel in 1948. I though he will end there but he went on Camp David agreement, the present situation including the murder of a Jewish girl by a Palestinian which took place a week before. Then the sermon ended with a ...

After sermon last Sunday, we had a brief time of worship and I faced the congregation again. This time, to show a video circulating in my WhatsApp group. The video is about a homeless man who survives on stolen dog food somewhere in the US. I then showed the picture of a 17-year-old and his 80-year-old great-grandmother who lives on the pavement outside our church. The picture was sent by one of our own young members. The boy works in a nearby coffee shop for food for himself and this old lady and lives under a blue plastic sheet on pavement. Much awaited monsoon rain has arrived in the city. Though it brings joy and relief to our hearts, it makes the life of many with leaking roofs and especially who live on the pavement miserable. After speaking about their miserable condition, my moistened eyes scanned the congregation. Mine was not the only pair of eyes that are wet, I was moved to find that many are wiping their eyes. Then, after a brief pause, I continued, 'Brothers and sis...

I am conditioned not to give alms to beggars in the streets or in the trains. The reasons are many. Most of these people are able-bodied, and they can work and earn their living. So, instead of giving alms to such beggars I try to support physically challenged people who earn a living through their efforts. I may buy things from them though I may not really need them. I believe everyone should work and make their living. There is another reason too. Giving to a beggar is a way of encouraging the wrong system of begging in the streets. I don't want to promote this practice, so I don't give. I also know that there is a lot of cheating in the whole system. Friends who work among street children have told me that most of them have working parents but children just like to beg. It is fun for them! Sometimes, parents encourage this as it brings in some extra income. I am also told that many young woman give birth for the purpose of having a baby to draw more compassion from benefacto...

I am conditioned not to give alms to beggers in the streets or in the trains. The reasons are many. Most of these people are able-bodied and they can work and earn their living. So, instead of giving alms to such beggers I try to support physically challenged people who earn a living through their efforts. I may buy things from them though I may not really need them. I believe everyone should work and make their living. There is another reason too. Giving to a begger is a way of encouraging the wrong system of begging in the streets. I don't want to promote this practice, so I don't give. I also know that there is a lot of cheating in the whole system. Friends who work among street children have told me that most of them have working parents but children just like to beg. It is fun for them! Sometimes, parents encourage this as it brings in some extra income. I am also told that many young woman give birth for the purpose of having a baby to draw more compassion from benefactor...

In Luke 17:7-10, Jesus told a very short parable of a master and his servant. It was a story that everyone who sat around him could easily connect. That is why he introduced it as, 'Will any one of you ... say?' The listeners might have nodded in agreement. The story is of a person who might have owned a small farm, some sheep and just one servant in charge of all these and his household. Jesus said that when this servant returns from work--may be it ploughing, or tending the sheep--the master will expect him to cook and serve him before he finds sometimes to eat and rest at night. No master will not allow him to take rest when he returns from work. Serving the master is topmost priority. The master will not thank him for the work he done. The servant doesn't expect him to thank him because he has done only what he is supposed to do. Jesus concluded this short story with an command: 'So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say...

The behaviour of the main character in the parable we find in Matthew 20:1–16 is certainly eccentric to a large extent. Though this parable is known popularly as the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard, I came accross at least one commentator who suggested that this is the Parable of the Eccentric Employer! I think he is right. On a surface level reading of the parable we find eccentric behaviour of the master of the vineyard. Normally owners of the vineyard will have an estimate of the work-force that they require and employ people accordingly. Why did this man employ everyone whom he could find. Normal daily work hours are from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm. He had employed some people at 6:00 am but still visits the labour market to employ more people every three hours for more times. To add to the argument of eccentricity he employs another batch of workers when there is only one more hour for the bell to go. Not only that, this people employed in the last hour are those left behind. No o...

Last week I read a newspaper report about a man who managed a conflict in his village. The high caste people drove his wife away when she went to draw water from the village well. So this man was determined that he wanted to make sure that this humiliation doesn't happen again. His wife should not be at the mercy of others just because she is from a lower caste. So, he went to the nearby town and bought all the equipment (pick-axe, shovel, etc) for digging a well. The following day on for 41 days he started digging in his  backyard. He had to work as a daily wage labourer to earn his living. So, he put in two hours before going to work and two hours after the work digging his well. Finally on the 41st day, to the amazement of his neighbours who laughed at his project and even his wife he struck water. He has his own well! That is how this guy avoided a conflict and kept his dignity.  Conflicts happen every day. It may be over houses, water taps, etc. What is important i...

The parable of the “Good Samaritan” is a story that is found only in Luke. It is set within a conversation between Jesus and a scholar in Jewish law. That is why the ESV calls that character a “lawyer.” The lawyer’s question “what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25 ESV). In Judaism attaining “eternal life” is the utmost goal of spiritual life. This question need not be taken as one of the deep spiritual quests because Luke tells us that he was simply trying to “test” Jesus. However, Jesus did not answer the question directly but shot a question at him so that he had to answer it. The answer is simple, in order to inherit eternal life one has to practice the supreme command to love God and love ones’ neighbour. By the time of Jesus, the Rabbis had agreed that the summary of the Law is the conflation of two commands, one found in Deuteronomy 6:5 and the other one found in Leviticus 19:18. The first one has to do with loving God. The second one has to love one’s neighbour. ...

I wear bifocals. They are inconvenient in many ways. Being not very patient, I used to run up and down the stairs but I now I don’t. The stairs don’t appear to be the same as they are seen through the bifocals. Experience has taught me to slow down when I approach a step. I learnt that I should not judge reality with my own subjective vision. Whether it is bifocals or  not, it is important that the glasses are clean. Sometimes, I am so lazy I don’t care to clean my glasses for days at a stretch. Then I wash or wipe it only when the sight is so hazy. A clean pair of glasses is important for clear vision so is clarity in life for judging others. If someone looks not so clean it could be that my view of them is simply hazy. Whether we wear glasses or not, we don’t have control on our eyes. It is our mind that drives our eyes. Though what we see are accidental, what we gaze upon or doing a double-take is certainly the work of our mind. We can’t blame the glasses for what we chose to ...

T And he said to them, ‘Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, “Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything”? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. (Luke 11:5-8 ESV) The story happens in Palestine of the first century. People set out on their journeys early in the morning before the sun rose and rested at noon till late afternoon. Then they plan their afternoon journey in such a way that they could reach a village where they knew someone before is dark. The traveller in this story might have arrived at midnight because he had to walk past many villages where he knew none to reach this distant village where he...

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His life is a real life commentary of Proverbs 1:10-19. This passage warns young men to keep away from bad company, especially people who plot violence against others. The first two verses rather summarize the whole: "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; (Proverbs 1:10-11, ESV)." He was a handsome young man. His good looks and talents had taken him to act on TV serials though he didn't have a career as an actor. He had a good job as a sales manager in a reputed firm. Everything turned around when his friends decided to take revenge on another person. His friend was offended by this man and they all decided to support their friend who was insulted. Though they probably did not plan it that way their opponent died in the attack. Then there was arrest, imprisonment, trial, appeals.... The legal juggernaut started rolling but it kept rolling for long years. Fin...

What we live our lives for rather than how we lived must have supreme importance. Yes, this statement needs explanation. Many times the natural tendency is to focus on the standard of our lives than the very purpose for which we live. We worry too much about our dress, food and dwellings. That explains why we buy expensive clothes, like to dine in the best restaurants and keep modifying our houses and buy more gadgets. Dressing in a manner suitable for the job is sometimes forced on us by our employers. We don't think about the effect of food on our performance when we eat, we eat for pleasure mostly. The goal of life is not the standard of life itself. Quality of life should not be confused with the standard of life. They are diffferent. Quality of life is not decided by the standard of life. However, standard of life should serve the pupose and enhance the quality of life. I heard this story about Mother Teresa years ago. I am not able to verify the historical facts but even i...

As you walk past the aisles of Duty-Free shops in airports, the sales girls plead to try the new perfume that has just arrived in the shop. Sniff and decide they suggest. At the entrance of the grocery shop is a small counter where sales persons offer you a new type of tea free though in tiny cups. Taste and see if it is better than the teas that you have tasted so far. Most of the time our choices are not based on our primary experience but hearsay and experiences of others. For example, most of the time our decisions are based on what others suggest or what the brand ambassadors promote. Our decisions should not be based on hearsay but on experience. That applies to Christian faith as well. The psalmist who sang 'Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good' (Psalms 34:8) was recommending his faith in God. However, his invitation is not to follow his faith blindly but to experience God first before committing. There is some place for the logic 'It works for others so it must...