If Jesus were a charlatan......

If Jesus was as fake as people and other religions claim him to be...If He wasn't really the Son Of God, if He was just a charlatan out to make a quick buck, don't you think he would have said I would spiritually rise up in 3 days.

Wouldn't that have been easier enough to confuse and more difficult to disprove? By raising up the spectre of vagueness and disbelief, A CHARLATAN GAINS ALWAYS!

Why is it we have relics and shrines built to the remains of some saint or the other? How come there are no such relics about Jesus? He transcended in flesh from the Earth once his purpose was fulfilled!

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, rebuilt the temple in three days. For 40 days after the ressurection he was with His people in flesh. He cooked for them. He stayed with them.

Much Thanks to Ravi Zachrias for visiting us in Cochin!!

Does suffering and affliction come from God?

An oft asked question which Ravi Zachrias answered beautifully in many many ways during his visit here in Cochin...Here's what I understood..
1) If you can accept blessings and gifts from God, how can you turn up your nose at all that comes from Him?
2) Suffering, affliction, perfection, and strength these are all parts of God's ultimate purpose for us. Satan—despite his incredibly cunning intelligence, cleverness, and power—is still only a puppet in God's hand to bring about His purpose. We see this clearly in the Book of Job. God is far more powerful than Satan. Though Satan boasts about His power on us (and that too because we let him!), God's power and might is far greater over Satan.

WATCH OUT!

1 PETER 5:8 says, " Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
I've read this a million times. But Guess What? I just realized something...look at the word I have highlighted. May.
Which means permission. Unless you allow him, he cant devour you. Got It? :)
The first half of the verse tells us to keep watch, guard ourselves against Satan's machinations. How does he do that? By undermining our confidence, sowing discord, and getting us to stop believing and revert to baser natures.
Vigilance means keeping watch. But an equally important part is takeing preemptive precautions. So pray you do not enter into temptation...which is the doorway Satan seeks to devour you.

What comes after being born again?

Now that I am born again, can I rest on my laurels ? God's surely gonna reveal himself and his intention for my life now, isn't he? I know so many friends of mine whose lives have changed dramatically after being called to His service. Surely, thats what's gonna happen to me too, isn't it?
Is it?
As Ravi Zachrias told us the other day the other day in Cochin," This is not right! Heck, You are not even wrong!"
Yea, you read it! The above assumption doesn't even work itself upto the dignity of an error. :)
Seeking Our Lord, waiting on Him, speaking to him then, is a continuous responsibility for the converted person. This isn't as easy as it sounds not because God's elusive, but because we are so full of wrong assumptions and misconceptions. (Let me remind you here of Adam and Eve's sin and Satan's deception of all mankind. That is why!)
We have been so thoroughly deceived that our conceptions about God are dreadfully vague. How do we cross this bridge?
With Daily Time! You need to have a QT E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y!!
Pursue Him.
Doesn't every husband and wife court each other? Court Him!
And once you get married, do you leave your husband on a shelf to collect dust? No you pamper him, love him, seek him always.
The same is demanded from every part of the Church. God wants to be courted by us just as ardently as He has courted you! Only when God chooses to reveal Himself to you do the bits and pieces of the ergo incomprehensible jigsaw called Life begin falling together into the correct pattern.
John 17:3 teaches us that the most important thoughts the mind can entertain are thoughts of God, as they will determine the quality and direction of an individual's life. These mistaken beliefs are erased through the experiences of coming to know Him.