Paulson Post

However long may be our fuse, we finally explode. The difference is only in the time it takes. Remember, on its way to the explosive crux the ignition keeps the fuse hot. That is the fretting all of us go through occasionally. The Psalmist, an old wise man (Psa 37:25) gently admonishes “do not fret!” (Psa 37:1). I am certain that he might have learned this valuable lesson from his long journey of life. The Hebrew verb translated as “fret” has the sense of “heating up” or “being hot.”   Though most translations translate it as “fret”, if given the opportunity I would translate it as “do not fume over.” The psalmist talks about the godly people becoming envious of the godless people who are faring well in their life. Though godly seems to have all that they need, and doing well, they fret over the comparatively better benefits that the ungodly have. So, the Psalmist elaborates the idea of “fretting” as “being envious” in the next line. The trigger that causes our fretting may n...

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us” (Heb 12:1, NLT). I am always inspired to go after a challenge when I realize others have gone before me. It need not be high-risk adventures like walking through a long, dark, narrow tunnel, bungee jumping in a remote location, or paragliding over a deep gorge. It could be any mundane aspects of life, where bold, confident action is involved. Christian life is an adventure. It is a journey to the invisible, eternity or our life with God that we never been to through unfamiliar territories. In this journey every step is stimulated by faith in Jesus Christ and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. But still, when tempted to give up hope and confidence comes from the realization that we are not alone but there are others who have already com...

Rain is a universal phenomenon. All over it rains, except maybe in deserts. The phenomenon of rain is a process of recycling water. Rain fills the waterbodies. Then, water in rivers, lakes, and oceans evaporates and it rains down again, repeating the cycle.   Despite how heavily it rains the total amount of water on earth remains always constant.  However, it rains differently in different places and seasons. It is almost time for monsoon in southern parts of India. During this season dark rain clouds travel from the southern tip of the country diagonally across past Myanmar. On its way it refreshes the land except the north-western fringes of the country. The down pour is heavy at the center of its path and lighter on the edges. Though an exaggeration, the people in the south-western tip of India (Kerala) where the monsoon begins its cross-country travel say each drop is one bucketful. It is so heavy and loaded. It lashes the ground so harsh sometimes uprooting small pl...

  Buddha discovered the mysteries of human suffering while meditating under a banyan tree. The falling apple triggered thoughts of gravity in Isaac Newton’s head. I got some trace of wisdom when I bought a packet of rajgira (seeds of Amaranth). Rajgira is the seed of the Amaranth plants. These tiny seeds are used for food as raw seeds or flour. It is also called the Indian Quinoa. The leaves and stem are also used as vegetables. They could be pink or green. My experience of the rajgira seeds in my porridge was horrible. It seems that the packet of seeds that I bought from Amazon had fine grains of sand. At every spoon, I bit something hard making me throw the whole bowl of porridge away. I was angry that I was duped. I had no idea about what I can do with two large packets of it that I was left with. Like Buddha, and Newton I started thinking deep. I took the packet of seeds and threw it on the wet ground. It rained the following two days as well. Then lo and behold on the ...

 Last week I spoke at the 100 th death anniversary of Volbrecht Nagel, a German missionary to the South Indian state of Kerala. Though he was in Kerala only for two decades, the songs he composed are still sung in the churches. They also have made into cinematic music. Some are translated into 21 plus Indian languages. He is still remembered, and his contributions are extolled by Muslim, Hindu, and Christian Orthodox academics though he was a Christian Brethren missionary. Also last week was the first anniversary of the death of a famous apologist of our time. During his lifetime, he faced many allegations against his character. A few months after his death, an investigation by his own organization revealed serious character flaws and sex scandals in his life. The organization that he founded published apologies to the victims of his un-Christian behavior on their website. Now, the organization that he founded has removed all references about him from their website, his books a...

The developments of this week in the centuries-old Israel-Palestine conflict have created a lot of clashes of opinions. Christians have taken sides, mostly on the Israeli side. The media is divided but mostly on the side of Israel. The reasons for the support for Israel are many. First sympathies. Historically, they had been a persecuted minority except in India and probably in the United States. Who can ignore the six million Jews who died in Hitler’s gas chambers? The sorrowful part of their history, along with the propaganda in favour of them, has created a lot of sympathy for them. In addition to the popular sympathy for Israel, some Christians also find that what happens in Israel is the fulfilment of Biblical prophecies. These Christians think that all Palestinians are Muslims, though a significant number of them are Christians. Many Christian Holy places are in Palestinian territory (including Bethlehem, Jericho, Hebron, etc.). Many Christians think that the Jewish nation ...

 Aside from claiming many lives, the Covid-19 pandemic also affects the mind. People panic and dive deep into boredom. Cambridge dictionary defines panic as "a sudden, strong feeling of anxiety or fear that prevents reasonable thought and action and may spread to influence many people." Anxiety can be caused by real or imaginary perceptions of threat and harm. Panic is also a type of fear triggered by our perceptions. Perceptions that trigger panic may be present or absent. In addition, panic is especially undesirable because it prevents people from thinking or acting rationally. Panic impairs their ability to rationally think and act. Panic drives many people to explore tips about healthy living, avoiding, or managing Covid that are available all over the internet out of panic. There are many factors that cause panic during the pandemic. First, we are isolated by lockdowns, social distancing, fear of death, the loss of friends, etc. Suddenly, our support systems ha...

That was the most irrational suggestion; to buy a land in a country which at war when the enemy has advanced to the citadels of its capital. But that suggestion was from God. Prophet Jeremiah had been prophesying that his beloved country, Judah, is to fall at the hands of the Babylonians. His prophecy has come true. The Babylonian army has besieged Jerusalem. It has been a year now; the Babylonians had been waiting for the surrender of the people in Jerusalem. Other prominent cities are already fallen. Judah is already under the control of the Babylon for ten years now. But God told Jeremiah to buy a land in his village of Anathoth from his relative (Jeremiah 32). The whole country, including the village of Anathoth (just 5-6 km from Jerusalem) is about to be occupied by the Babylonians in a matter of days. Though Jeremiah protested, he had to surrender to the divine command, and he bought it. That was a risky deal—buying a land in a war-torn country, which is sure to fall to the enemy...

Every day it comes, and pecks at the glass panel of the window of my study. It is a Jungle Babbler, a very common bird in the Indian subcontinent. It dances flying up and down and fluttering its wings. Sometimes, three or four times a day it repeats this ritual. I thought it is trying to get  into  my room or fly through as it can see the other side. But why does it keep coming, can't it make out after three or four attempts that it can't fly through?   I told my Neighbor, whom I consider an expert on birds, about this winged visitor. She explained that the babbler is pecking at its own reflection, thinking that it is another bird. I thought of verifying her suggestion. The following day I kept the window half open, drawing one panel fully open. The babbler came as usual. Perched on the window,  looked into  my room through the open panel but did not enter the room or peck. But it moved to the side of the window where there is glass and started pecking on the gl...

The night is hot, the mercury could touch 42 Celsius or more in the coming days. However, I normally sit on the balcony in the morning and evening for my prayer and meditation where there is a generous supply of refreshing morning breeze. But by midday, I forget the cool breeze and complain about the heat, sweat, and humidity. Often forget that the evening breeze will be cool, and then comes the morning with an even cooler breeze to make up for the heat of the noon. We complain when life gets hotter but ignore the moments of cool breezes that we had and still have.

I believe most of us are very practical in our thinking. Practical thinking is assessing if something that we plan to do is doable. For example, Bungee jumping. The observation that so many people have done it, and they are doing it makes me think that I can do it also. So, I do it. That is practical thinking. However, though we often confuse practical thinking with pragmatic thinking they are different. In simpler terms the pragmatic decision also asks another question—though it is achievable, will it lead to some useful results? Bungee jumping is again the example. I can plunge into the ravine with one end a rope tied to my ankle and the other end firmly tied to a post, with all life-saving systems on stand-by. But what am I going to get out of it? In real terms, nothing useful is going to come out of it. So, though it is practical it is not pragmatic. But if I am descending to the ravine to save a person fallen into it, that Bungee jumping is not useless; the decision ...

  Sometimes we overstate our miseries. That is what Naomi did also. It is true that he had become a widow, and she lost her sons as well. She is too to old get married again and have a husband or children. She had two words to describe her misery. She says to the townspeople who had come to welcome her back to Bethlehem: “ I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” (Ruth 1:21 ). A victim of self-pity, she calls herself empty. However, she is not empty; she had Ruth with her. In addition to her company and care Ruth later fills Naomi’s life with joy, security and happiness. Naomi failed to see that life will flourish again with that young woman who has left her kindred to follow her. In her distress she over stated her misery. Another word that she used to describe her also shows how she overstated the pain of her life. When the women of her village called h...