Jesus’ life story and salvation of mankind
by sandip on Dec.22, 2009, under General Topics, Salvation
Jesus’ birth:
Jesus’ birth was announced by the angel Gabriel.
Luke 1:26-33
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in to her, and said, Hail, you that are highly favored, the Lord is with you: blessed are you among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her, Fear not, Mary: for you have found favor with God. And, behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give to him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Gabriel told Mary that Jesus will be called Son of the Highest, God! Gabriel further prophecied that Jesus will rule over house of Jacob forever and His kingdom will never end !!!
An angel of God came to Joseph and explained him Mary’s condition and God’s plan.
Matthew 1:20-23
…Behold, the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, you son of David, fear not to take to you Mary your wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Jesus will save His people from the sins… Jesus is Emmanuel meaning God is with us.
Jesus’ teaching:
Jesus grew up and preached good news of kingdom of God (which would be established by Him), forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25)
Jesus said, “I and Father are one” (John 10:30)
The Delicate thing Jesus perfectly balanced as Son of Man who was also Son of God, is that disciples realised that HIS human form is not another God and still they understood that Jesus is Emmanuel = God is with us (Matthew 1:23)
Jesus kept pointing to Father God in heaven and at the same time taught the disciples that HE is “I AM”, the God !
The purpose of Jesus was to establish the eternal kingdom of God as Messaih so that mankind can receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life without compromising the law and justice.
Jesus’ prayer
John 17:13-20
Just before crucifixon, Jesus prayed
“Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth. I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.”
Jesus prays for all who believed in Him and for all those who would believe in Him by accepting good news from the disciples. Jesus makes it clear that the world would hate the believers of Him because they do not belong to the world and offers Himself as holy sacrifice on their behalf !
Atonement
Those who believe in Jesus Christ as their king and saviour and messiah and God are citizen of kingdom of God. They no longer belong to the world. So when the world will be judged on the Judgement Day, the people who were part of the world will be judged while the people who belonged to the kingdom of God which is not part of the world will be forgiven of their sins and granted eternal life.
The believers of Jesus Christ are asked “to pick up their cross and follow Jesus”. Following Jesus means to follow Him until death -even death on a cross !
Are you ready to pick up your cross and follow Jesus Christ, who is Messiah, the Saviour and who alone can give you eternal life ??? (John 10:28)
Receive Jesus in your heart and accept His kingdom in your heart. Be a citizen of Messiah’s kingdom and receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life…
Success quotes
by vishwas on Feb.03, 2011, under General
Truest SUCCESS is but the development of self.
Failure is not our only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others.
The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.
Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.
One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key to self-confidence is preparation.
Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.
Honesty is the most single most important factor having a direct bearing on the final success of an individual, corporation, or product.
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
…
God’s blessings for all nations
by vishwas on Sep.24, 2010, under General Topics
Many times Muslims have told me that God sent Jesus to Israelites only and Mohammad is sent to the whole world. This creates a misunderstanding that God didn’t care about other nations but Israel until Mohammad was sent. The Christians counter this as they believe that Jesus is the only way for the salvation of mankind. They support this with Bible verses.
Recently, I found a beautiful article in a prayer guide I was using to pray for the Muslims during the month of Ramadan. I have copy-pasted it below for the benefit of Christians and Muslim friends who are in my email list. It is not only showing how much God cared for all the nations of the world but it shows that we are praying for Muslims in Christ’s love so that they come to the full knowledge of Jesus who is Al-Masih.
Hope this article will be useful for your personal meditation and understanding of God’s message for people of all nations including Muslims.
*** Article ***
Is God really interested in all the peoples of the world?
When thinking about proclaiming the Messiah to all the world’s ethnic groups most people will often think of Matthew 28:18-20. That text is important but actually the Biblical basis of God’s desire to reach the nations goes back much earlier.
Many might be surprised that we find it in the book of Genesis. God speaks of blessing all the nations through Abraham’s seed and the promise is repeated several times. God always had a plan which included all the nations (in some texts the phrase “all the families of the earth” is used). Look at the following passages:
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, To the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, And make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3, See also Genesis 18:18 and 22:18).
The same promise was passed on to Abraham’s descendants. God spoke to Isaac: “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; (Gen 26:4). God also spoke to Jacob (Israel): “Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed (Gen 28:14).
The early Christians saw that Jesus also carried the blessing of Abraham. We read after Pentecost: “Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities” (Acts 3:24-26). Certainly God has fulfilled his word concerning Abraham’s physical descendants, but there is more. The Gentiles who believe in the Messiah are also included in God’s 4,000 year old promises to Abraham.
In Galatians 3:16 and 3:28-29 we read, “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ. … There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Those who are in Christ are Abraham’s seed, we are in the seed of Abraham, the Messiah. We are blessed and we are to be a blessing. Our prayers during this month of Ramadan are part of God’s ancient desire to bless all the nations, even all the families of the earth. Do we share his heart? Are we willing to go beyond our own comfort to bless the nations? Let us pray with faith knowing that God wants to bless the nations through his servant Jesus.
*** End of article ***
May God bless you as you gather more knowledge and understanding about al-Masih Jesus Christ.
Allah and your relationship with him
by sandip on Aug.13, 2010, under General
Dear Brother,
Peace be upon you.
Since few weeks I am struggling to understand something and I think it is time I bring it to my Muslim friends during this Ramadan as they are renewing their faith and cleansing their heart with thoughts of Allah.
Kindly consider this email as an attempt to understand Muslim perspective and nothing other then that.
Some time back I had sent an email about “Friends of Allah” as mentioned in the Quran. (Yunus 10.62). I received many replies and all of them were claiming that it is not possible to have relationship with Allah, forget friendship. A Muslim brother actually said that it is Christian misbelief that they can befriend with the God and have a cup of tea.
With such comments and reading some Islamic websites, I reaslised that Muslims firmly believe that Allah is very far away and totally unknown. They think that Allah does not (or cannot) interact with his creation at all and so relationship is impossible.
I could understand this concept as it considers that Allah is unknown and cannot be known. But then I started thinking like a Muslim. If I were a Muslim and if I want to know about Allah what would I do? The answer came to my mind is reading of Quran reveals about Allah.
Now you can disagree with me, but when we read Quran we know about certain attributes/characteristics of Allah. There are 99 names (attributes) of Allah. As a Muslim, one can firmly believe that Allah is most merciful and he is the sustainer and the creator. I questioned myself, is this not truly what Allah is?
It is true that we cannot fully grasp the mercy and providence of Allah but yet we can know in our heart that Allah is indeed most merciful and our sustainer. He is our master and we are his slave. I could see a relationship of Allah with us. He is our master and we are his slaves. Master interacts with his slaves through, may be 70, levels (or veils) but master’s order reaches to a slave.
As a Muslim when I pray to Allah then I have faith that Allah will hear my dua(prayer). I believe this in my heart and that is interaction. Allah hears our prayers and not only that he answers our prayers. I again see here an interaction and relationship with Allah.
After reading Quran, I do not feel that Allah is totally unknown or he does not reveal who he is and what he wants from us. I can see Allah interacting with his creation -even though it may be through veils/level, mediums, angels but he indeed interacts with his creation.
It is meaningless to believe in hereafter and judgement day without believing interaction and relationship of Allah with us. Why should Allah judge us if he is not interacting with us? ( Judging is interaction. ) Why does he care and judge us? (Allah likes us to follow his commands. It may be as distant as a General of an army and his soldiers, but know that a General is not closer to his soldier but Allah is closer than his jugular vein to a believer.)
I can only see relationship of Allah with me as a Muslim. I can see Allah wants/likes me to be his follower and believer. Even when Allah is testing, I can see Allah’s relationship and interaction with me as he provides my needs and sustains me through the testing.(For example: Allah gives me more faith during the testing when I pray and fast. Are not Allah’s blessings his interactions with us?)
So, I cannot understand how my other Muslim brothers cannot understand that Allah is knowable as much as he had revealed in the Quran, and Allah does have a relationship with us and he interacts with us. Without that our dua are in vain and towards an emptiness and not to Allah.
I invite your thoughts on this as you study Quran this Ramadan. Please note that I will NOT reply your message unless you specifically ask me to share my views further. I am not sending this message to debate or discussion or argue but I am trying to understand what is inside a Muslim mind, what is his perspective. So share what are your personal thoughts.
When I think, I can see paradox in what Quran is revealing (interaction and relationship of Allah with us ) and what Islam is teaching (non-interaction and no relationship of Allah with us ). I will be glad if you will study Islamic resources yourself and reply in your own words rather then copy-paste.
Let me stress again, I am trying to understand Muslim perspective and what an individual Muslim understands from the Quran and Islam about this subject. This is not a discussion or debate but sharing what you personally understand. So do not haste in replying. Think over, and mull and meditate before you respond.
have a blessed and meaningful Ramadan.
Ramadan Mubarak…
Muslim misinterpretation of the Bible
by sandip on Jul.10, 2010, under Contradiction?
muslims and their scholars NEVER discuss verse like john 10:28 I give them eternal life along with john 10:30 I and father are one, or where Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life” or where jesus said I was before Abraham or where Jesus said I am the turth along with verses like
Mark 12:29.
Those who are really interested in interpreting the Bible in right manner and derive the truth will not neglect implications of above mentioned verses and many other events to understand Trinity.
person and Trinity
by sandip on Jun.25, 2010, under General, Trinity and Islam
You can only know about something from its interactions with you and others (or with its surroundings). God interacts with HIS creations and from that we are trying to understand who and what really GOD is.
This is much deeper understanding and most people do not grasp. God revealed HIMSELF through HIS menifestations.
God’s menifestations are collective representation of interactions and thus forming a person whom names are given : Son and Holy Spirit. Some by mistake count these personhood as individual entities.
Hope I am clear enough…
Allah and the Bible
by sandip on Jun.09, 2010, under General
Some Muslims claim that the Bible is corrupted and changed by Christians and Jews. Their claims are without any sound evidences. For Muslims benefit, anyone can claim that Quran is corrupted and changed by Islamic leaders by using their own scale.
“The Bible is not corrpted” can also be proved by Quran.
Quran 010.037 YUSUFALI: This Qur’an is not such as can be produced by other than Allah; on the contrary it is a confirmation of (revelations) that went before it, and a fuller explanation of the Book – wherein there is no doubt – from the Lord of the worlds. It is clear that Allah said “…the Book – wherein there is no doubt” in circa 600AD.
Allah vouched that the Bible is not corrupted. Not only these but in the same Sura (Yunus), Allah furthur instructs Mohammad. Read ayah 94.
Quran 10:94
YUSUFALI: If thou wert in doubt as to what We have revealed unto thee, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before thee: the Truth hath indeed come to thee from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.
It is clearly from the Quran that Allah not only vouched the authenticity of the Bible but also supported interpretations of the Bible.
Now if someone wants to quote another verses from Quran saying that the Book is corrupted then please feel free to do so. I will be glad to know such information.
God bless you as you seek the truth…
Abrogation and the Quran
by sandip on May.29, 2010, under Errors in Quran
Quran AN-NAHL 016.101
YUSUFALI: When We substitute one revelation for another,- and Allah knows best what He reveals (in stages),- they say, “Thou art but a forger”: but most of them understand not.
Abrogation in Islam is accepted so we will not discuss on that issue.
The problem with abrogation lies in the belief that Allah know the BEST !
If allah knew the best then he should have revealed the BEST and not something good which can be replaced by the better. The abrogation shows that Quran is a good book and not the BEST. If it was the best then abrobation is not possible. Fortunately, abrogation in Quran is recorded and thus we can safely conclude that Quran is just a good book which can be made better.
Some may try to argue that Allah revealed what was good at a certain point of time and then replaced it with the better or the best! This only opens a door showing that Quran was “the BEST” at a certain point of time. Then, it was updated to “the BEST” at another point in time. Therefore, application of Quran may not be the BEST for today’s point of time.
Such arguement will be exercise of personal faith rejecting Allah’s own words :
When We substitute one revelation for another, – and Allah knows best what He reveals, …
Sura 16:101
“Thou art but a forger”: but most of them understand not.
Sura 16:101
Quran verse from Abi Khuzaima and its implications
by sandip on May.16, 2010, under General
Salam and peace of God be with you.
I hope that you have read the following hadith showing that it was Abu Bakr who originally collected the Quran as one codex/book/mushaf. The last portion this hadith caught my attention again.
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/061.sbt.html#006.061.509
Sahih Bukhari
Volume 6, Book 61, Number 509:
Narrated Zaid bin Thabit:
Abu Bakr As-Siddiq sent for me when the people! of Yamama had been killed (i.e., a number of the Prophet’s Companions who fought against Musailama). (I went to him) and found ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab sitting with him. Abu Bakr then said (to me), “Umar has come to me and said: “Casualties were heavy among the Qurra’ of the! Qur’an (i.e. those who knew the Quran by heart) on the day of the Battle of Yalmama, and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place among the Qurra’ on other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Qur’an may be lost. Therefore I suggest, you (Abu Bakr) order that the Qur’an be collected.” I said to ‘Umar, “How can you do something which Allah’s Apostle did not do?” ‘Umar said, “By Allah, that is a good project. “Umar kept on urging me to accept his proposal till Allah opened my chest for it and I began to realize the good in the idea which ‘Umar had realized.” Then Abu Bakr said (to me). ‘You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you, and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah’s Apostle. So you should search for (the fragmentary scripts of) the Qur’an and collect it in one book).” By Allah If they had ordered me to shift one of the mountains, it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Qur’an. Then I said to Abu Bakr, “How will you do something which Allah’s Apostle did not do?” Abu Bakr replied, “By Allah, it is a good project.” Abu Bakr kept on urging me to accept his idea until Allah opened my chest for what He had opened the chests of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar. So I started looking for the Qur’an and collecting it from (what was written on) palmed stalks, thin white stones and also from the men who knew it by heart, till I found the last Verse of Surat At-Tauba (Repentance) with Abi Khuzaima Al-Ansari, and I did not find it with anybody other than him. The Verse is:
‘Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty..(till the end of Surat-Baraa’ (At-Tauba) (9.128-129) Then the complete manuscripts (copy) of the Qur’an remained with Abu Bakr till he died, then with ‘Umar till the end of his life, and then with Hafsa, the daughter of ‘Umar.
I have a few questions out of curiocity:
1. Why did Zaid find one verse of Quran from only one person when Muslims are taught to believe that whole quran was preserved in the memory of many many Muslims (qurra)?
2. Whether the verse found from Abi Khuzaima was part of the Quran recited in musjids? If it were the case then other persons must also be having this verse. Unfortunately sahih does not suggest this.
3. Whether the found verse was added to the recitation in ALL musjids? The sahih hadith suggests that the manuscript (copy) of completely collected Quran remained with Abu Bakr and then with Hafsa.
4. How many years might have passed between the death of Mohammad and the collection of Quran by Zaid? It is possible that during the Ramadan, when whole Quran is being recited, it might have happened that many musjid recited the Quran without verse of Abi Khuzaima.
( Muslim friend said that it was just one year passed after Mohammad’s death when Zaid collected the Quran)
Kindly do your research before you reply. Please make sure that your answer does not challenge your other Islamic beliefs and practices.
Have a blessed day…
Jesus and the gentile woman
by sandip on May.06, 2010, under Contradiction?
Muslims whole heartedly believe that Jesus came only for Jews / Israelites. In their support they use Matthew 15:21-28 and Mark 7:25-30
Matthew 15:21-28
21Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”
23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
27“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
28Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
Mark 7:25-30
24Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. 25In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. 26The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.
27“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”
28“Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
29Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”
30She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.
The incident is very clear… Jesus uses a classic example to test the faith of the gentile woman. When satisfied, HE heals gentiles woman’s dauther. Then how can one say that Jesus only reached to Jews?
Jesus wanted to reach to Jews first and then to gentiles because Jews were the chosen nation. This does not mean that Jesus reached out only to Jews.
A quick research led me to http://www.abu.nb.ca/ecm/topics/out5.htm
which contained the following :
Ministry Among Gentiles
| Trip to Gennesaret Mark 6:45-7:23 |
| Trip to Tyre, Sidon and Decapolis Matthew 15:30; Mark 7:24-8:9 |
| Healing of Syro-Phoenician’s Daughter Mark 7:24-30; Matthew 15:21-28 |
| Feeding of the Four Thousand in Decapolis Mark 7:31-38; Matthew 15:29-38 |
| Visit to Magadan in Galilee Mark 8:10-12; Matthew 15:39-16:4 |
| Trip to Caesarea Philippi Mark 8:10-9:32 |
| Peter’s Confession Mark 8:27-30; Matthew 16:13-20; Luke 9:18-21 |
| Jesus Predicts His Death Mark 8:31-37; Matthew 16:21-26; Luke 9:22-25 |
| Transfiguration Mark 9:2-8; Matthew 17:1-8; Luke 9:28-36 |
We can easily see that Jesus reached out to gentiles and did many miracles to help them understand GOD’s love for them. Many gentiles believed and were baptized and brought in the fold.
It is compeltely wrong to claim that Jesus was only for Israel and not for gentiles. Such is not recorded in the Bible as Jesus never taught such. In fact, Jesus sent out HIS disciples to all over the world.
If you have not yet accepted saving grace of Jesus Christ and still trying to gather the crumbs under the table, then take a minute of time and kneel before GOD and ask Jesus to come in your heart and make HIM your king and God. You will be included in the family of GOD as a child of GOD.
Don’t be a dog!
