Paulson Post

The gospel narratives of the evangelist Mark are more vivid than that of others. He mentions that when the boat with Jesus and the disciples faced a severe storm, Jesus was at the stern and was asleep on a cushion at the stern (Mark 4:38). Stern is where it would be shakier and the wind hits more strongly. However, Jesus was fast asleep, not disturbed by the sound of the wind, the spray of water or the tossing of the boat! No wonder, the disciples shouted at Jesus when they finally succeeded in waking him: ' Do you not care that we are perishing? ' The truth is that if they perish, he would also perish with them. But he was still sleeping. Was he tired so much to sleep through a storm like that? Maybe but I don't think that it is the right answer. Jesus wakes up and very calmly orders the sea and the wind to calm down. 'And there was a great calm.' I am led to believe that Jesus was in control even when he was fast asleep on the stern. Or I think Jesus slept becau...

Growing up on the country-side in a farm, accidents were regular events in my life. Sometimes, it was a thorn that got stuck on my feet when I explored the farm barefoot, or a broken arm when I fell off the branches of a tree that I tried to climb up. The most difficult part of life is the process of healing. Sometimes, my older cousins acted as surgeons who removed the thorn with a needle. Sometimes I had to be rushed to the hospital to put the bones back together and a cast which lasted for weeks. Enduring the pain was part of the healing process. Without endurance, there is no healing and recovery. Suffering comes with two choices. Either get out of it through the shortest route or endure it until healing. One of my relatives chose the first. She hurt her finger when cutting vegetables. Everyone advised her to go to the doctor but she refused. She knew that the doctor will give her an anti-septic shot, tabs and probably stitch it up. Moreover, the injury did not appear to be big, t...

Are you a party pooper? Hold on! In order to clear the air, let me first talk about a party pooper that I found in the Bible. The story of 'the prodigal son' is popular among Christian preachers and Sunday School students (Luke 15). However, the focus usually is on the younger son who is labelled as the 'prodigal.' The two sons had two different approaches to life. The younger one preferred indulgence and instant gratification. He wanted to enjoy all that life has to offer in one sip! So, he couldn't wait for his father's death to get his share of wealth to spend it on the type of life that he has been longing to live. So, he forced his father to give him his share of the property. He lived the way he wanted until he found himself penniless. His poverty drove him to the extent of snatching fodder from the pigs to beat his hunger. However, he repented and returned to the father. The other one tagged along with his father's business never finding time t...

An air crash on June 23, 1980, stunned India. That day when doing aircraft acrobatics Sanjay Gandhi nosedived to his death. Sanjay Gandhi was the son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Historians say that Indira was mentoring him to be her successor as the President of Indian National Congress and the Prime Minister of India. That accident grounded her plans. It redirected the course of India's politics and history. Even, Indira's families of two sons ended up in two rival political camps. The truth is all that we plan around people have a 'use before' date. Bible affirms this truth that we have observed in history and personal lives many times. Psalm 146:3,4 says: ' Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. ' The mortal human being can fulfil his plans only while he is alive and is able. It is true that a visionary can pass on his dre...

One of the many paradoxes of the Bible is the role reversals. The king may become a servant or someone in a lowly position may be raised to a new level of authority. Luke 12:35-40 describes one such role reversals. This passage is undoubtedly about being ready for the masters' arrival. Just like the story of the ten maiden (Mattthew 25:1-13) this passage also talks about being ready with the lamps filled with oil. The servants should be watchful for the arrival of the bridegroom who may come unannounced to the party at an hour he chooses. He may keep the people waiting late into the night. However, the servants must be ready with their lamps, awake so that they can open the door at his first knock on the door. It is not just opening the door and showing him the way in with the lighted lamp that is involved here. The master should be convinced that they had been awake all night. The master expects them to be awake and ready for action throughout the night ( Luke 12:37). The maste...

Summer temperature reached 43.3-degree Celsius (109.9 degrees Fahrenheit) in Pune this summer. Though the average summer temperature doesn't go above 38 degree Celsius, I heard a lot of people complaining about the summer heat. They say the cold weather is better! All that you have to do is to wear many layers of clothes to keep you warm. My friends who have to spend almost six months of the year in below freezing temperature have a different opinion. Heat is a metaphor in the Bible. It is a metaphor of extreme suffering. The psalmist who underwent extreme suffering describes it as being wax melted by the heat. He complains, ' I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast' (Psalm 22:14 ESV). Another psalmist uses a similar metaphor to describe his self-inflicted pain. 'For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy up...

PC was an ambitious young man brimming with so  much godly enthusiasm when he travelled to Ethiopia in the early 1970s. He was accompanied by his wife. Though they had got married only a week ago, the purpose of their travel was not a honeymoon. Their purpose was to meet Emperor Haile Selassie. They were to meet the Emperor and get permission to bring the OM ship logos to Ethiopia. His Christian friends who knew the political situation in Ethiopia laughed at his idea. He had a  no political contacts, he knew no one in Ethiopia. However, to cut the story short, he did get an appointment with the emperor! The emperor allowed the ship to be docked at port Massawa which is now a thriving port of Eritrea. Not only that, the emperor opened the book exhibition cutting a ribbon! That was more than what PC and his wife had imagined. Thousands of pastors and lay leaders came to visit the ship, the bookstore on board and for the seminars that were held on the ship. As years went b...