Skydiving to Meet God

Skydiving is a popular sport. Skydivers do it to experience the thrill of a free fall for various reasons like stress busting, adventure, resilience to adversity and to value our lives.
But there is one common factor which encourages people to go in for it: the parachute.
The parachute ensures your safety, opening up at just the right time.
Coming to the main point, skydiving to meet God? Is that even a thing?
Do you remember the first time you turned to God? I mean really turn to Him and let Him into your life? Beyond traditional worship and mouthing of prayers? One believer who captures the moment in words writes -
"Honestly speaking, the first time I did experience God was when I was in deep, deep trouble. There seemed to be no hope from any quarter. That's when prayer came out from the deepest recesses of the heart and mind. That's when I really and truly experienced the power of God; not through a solution (which did come in due course) but through a sense of peace and deep relief. After that there was no going back. I then knew beyond doubt that He is a friend I can count on. He is my safety net now and forever".
The question is: most of us have had this experience, why then do we fear adversity? And if we have not, then i think one has missed an experience of a lifetime. That does not mean we have to look forward to it, but that we do not run away from it and seek solace in worldly things.
Does not every adversity mean an opportunity to experience God? To experience Him in our human struggle? To watch Him at work firsthand. To experience the supernatural!
It was just such an experience that made Carl Boberg, a member of the Swedish Parliament in 1886 exclaim 'How Great Thou Art' and compose a poem, now a world-famous Hymn, because he experienced Gods glory through His creation. The famous singer, #GloriaEstefan, had a personal experience when she had a life and career threatening accident and a brush with the divine that she’ll never forget. Later she said. “I would visually see the prayers entering my body and going to my spine. I would imagine nerves reconnecting and doing all these things....". She channeled her encounter in her next album, "Into the Light". Its single, “Coming Out of the Dark,” recounted her experience.
Sometimes God allows adversity to strike us to get our undivided attention. Adversity provides us an opportunity to get to know and experience our creator firsthand. Let us not fear it because God is right there, listening and ready to deliver us. That's some real comfort right there!
God is the parachute when we freefall from the skies, opening up at just the right time.

Empathy

 

Empathy is a translation of the German term "Einfühlung", meaning “to feel as one with.” It implies sharing the load, or “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes,” in order to understand that person’s perspective.

Empathy is entering into another person's world and feeling with that person, rather than feeling sorry for him or her. It is the very basis of human relationships and helps us to feel valued, loved, and cared for. Being connected to others is good for our mental wellbeing.

There are enough articles and material about the benefits of empathy at work and in personal relationships. But there is another aspect of empathy that we may not have thought about: empathy and the 10 commandments.

The Ten Commandments (decalogue=10 words) are ten principles for living in harmony with God and with other human beings. The first four deal with our relationship with God. The final six deal with our relationships with other people. It is in the last five that empathy comes as a critical enabler. Empathy in fact will help us keep those 5 commands.

For example, all of the law that was written in the Old Testament is fulfilled in " love your neighbor as yourself". That is not possible unless one has empathy. 

This is exactly what the apostle Paul was encouraging us to do when he wrote, “Bear one another's burdens” (Galatians 6:2). Thus, consider "empathy" a qualification to be able to fulfil the law. 

Is empathy important to follow Christ? Definitely! Can empathy be consciously developed? Absolutely! Here are some tips:

1. First and most important, don't confuse "empathy" with "sympathy".  Sympathy is a feeling of pity while empathy is compassion & understanding we give another. This is a very common trap we all fall into. 

2. Practice mindfulness. Don't hurt people under the garb of "telling it like it is". Understand the situation. 
3. Listen to others with your full attention. Understand their perspective from their situation. 
4. Question your biases and what you 'think' you know. Remember, you will never know all unless you consciously find out otherwise what you know is what you think you know, but that isn't always what's real, so do not make assumptions.

5. Don't pass judgements; understand the other persons situation. 

Pastor Rajiv's Mid-Week Message

 

It's All About Faith!

If Jesus, His resurrection and God are not true, then Christianity is the biggest con in the world! 

Imagine 4 billion people being fooled into thinking that a "man" was resurrected!
Charles Colson, who was part of the Watergate scandal and later converted to Christianity, said this about the resurrection:
“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Everyone was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world- and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
That was his rationale and his faith based on his experience. Like him, 4 billion people too have faith based on their own logic and experience. But you see, whichever way you look at it, it all boils down to faith. And what does faith lead to? Why is it essential?
1. Faith leads to a belief in God
How can we believe in a God we cannot see, cannot hear and cannot touch or feel. Why? Because of Faith. We have our own logic and experience that there is a power beyond, which creates, controls and protects and whose attributes we have experienced. Why does the sun not fall down? Why is the earth dependent on the sun? How is it that people are healed through prayer? Is it coincidence? In the professional physics community, they typically begin to accept a result as beyond chance or coincidence when the probability of it occurring by random chance falls below about 1 in 10,000. Healing prayer is much much above that, ruling out coincidences.
2. Faith leads to hope
How do we even know that there is a second death? That this death is not final. And if it be so, there is nothing to hope for. Yet, we believe that there is a second death, which means this physical death is temporary, and that I can be saved from that final death as a consequence of sin, which we call salvation, offered by Jesus Christ. We believe because we believe in JC and have faith that what he said is the truth. A d that faith is built strong through our experiences of Him as we live this life.
While hope is futuristic, faith is historical. Yet hope is based on faith.
3. Faith leads to love
Why should we not commit adultery? Why should we not murder? Because it will hurt not one person but many many people. Why should we care? Because we love others. And why do we love? Because we are social animals, have emotions and believe that we need each other. We love because we were made interdependent. We believe all of this because of the faith that God made us all equal and equal heirs to the world He gave us. We love others because Christ did and we believe in Him and have faith in Him.
4. Faith leads to happiness.
Unhappiness is when what you get or what you achieve, is much lower than what you expected or think you deserve. When you have faith in God, your expectations start getting matched to His grace and will, thereby leaving no room for you to build your own ambition. Therefore there is no disappointment or unhappiness. You will be happy in every circumstance.
5. Faith leads to world order.
Have you ever thought about where laws of democratic countries came from? If you do, you will soon realize that the source is the 10 commandments! Laws lead to world order, and laws are based on the Word of God. If we did not believe in God, we would not believe the commandments and therefore would not have laws which are fair to all. And we believe only through faith.
Finally, is faith blind? We don't think so. It is based on logic and a rationale and our experience or experiences. Anyone who has faith must have experienced God's grace which led them to believe in Him, Jesus, the resurrection and salvation.

Our 8 Watt Abilities

In his book, Pastoral Grit: the Strength to Stand and to Stay (Bethany), Craig Brian Larson writes:
"In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter's magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.
"But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter's immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.
"And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. 'Perhaps most remarkable,' writes Jaroff, 'those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth."
The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Thats a lot like many Biblical characters and a lot like us. 

An ability we think is low, may actually be just what God needs to accomplish something. The question we need to ask ourselves is: What can I do for God? How can God use me? I can cook and clean: Is that good enough (Yes). I can run errands, is that useful (Yes). I can sew. I love to drive. I have green fingers. Yes. Yes to all. Think about yourself today. God made you for a purpose. And if you can't figure it out, go ask God. He is available 24X7! 

Remember, God does not need great orators, scientists, businessmen or women, leaders, etc.  In fact He does not need greatness at all, because He will make you great. All He needs is a contrite heart and a grateful mind. 

In Case You Missed : "Your Comfort Boat' and 'Beyond Your Control'

                                                          

Like we do every Monday, here is a trip down memory lane with two posts of the past to start the week.
Your Comfort Boat - is about our circumstances and how we are constantly challenged to step out and step up. You can read this post HERE

Beyond Your Control - Have you ever thought about a time when you are NOT in control of your life and safety? Our calculations show it's about 1440 minutes per day. Read how HERE
Happy reading and wishing each and every one a blessed week ahead.

Living on the Edge

Some people know the true meaning of the words "God provides", because they have lived with nothing in hand, no idea from where they will meet their daily expense and yet they are able to. Quietly and without fanfare, through some God given providence.

While Gods provision is true for all, these people have lived on the edge of collapse, with nothing in sight except hope for Gods provision, unlike other people who have wealth or jobs or plans which they depend on, not realizing that even those were provided by God.

One is not better than the other. We all go through hard times, possibly living on the edge. We may feel let down or that life is unfair, but there is another perspective: it brings about true dependence on God. Such times remind us of the journey of Israel as they walked to the Promised Land. They were not allowed to store manna as an exercise in trusting Gods daily provision.

Why?

Ms. Francis Taylor explains it beautifully -

"We take these troubling events and turn them into powerful witness statements! The Holy Spirit leads us to opportunities where we can share our stories and comfort people who are experiencing the same turmoil".

We welcome all who may like to share their stories to encourage others.