Blog@GraceJunction

Guys,

I really had a great time at the seminar yesterday on leadership. I never really thought that a few aspiring leaders can get together and throw up some really enlightening thoughts on leadership. In order to sum up what we learnt and for the benefit of those could not make it to the seminar I just want to put it together in the following paragraphs.

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Dear Countrymen,

Today Anna Hazareji has valiantly led the nation’s tirade against corruption which was fast becoming a cancer within the country’s political and administrative system. Political corruption or the abuse of public power, office or resources by government officials or employees for personal gain was at its lowest levels because more than the money involved, it was beginning to impact the image of the country at the international level.

Just imagine a sports event involving more than fifty countries of the world would have to be embroiled in allegations of gross mismanagement of public funds which could have been better used to project India as a much improved sporting nation leave alone our now lost opportunity to pitch for an Olympic event. If that was not enough the telecom minister putting some of the biggest names in telecommunications through a process of dirty bargaining and lobbying for licenses, red tape and shady dealings had captured the attention of the international media and investors, which is now refusing to fade away from the public memory.

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Hi Imran,

In response to my mail on the subject of Trinity you had posed a few questions which I intend to answer in this mail. I appreciate your sincere efforts in finding the truth about God and his nature. You wanted to know if Jesus ever claimed to be God. That is a very common question that I receive from many people because Jesus is often considered to be a prophet, moral teacher, a social revolutionary, a zealot, a spell binding preacher who could heal but not God.

However, the scriptures tell us that Jesus does things only God can do, exercises the rights of a deity and also makes direct claim to be God in flesh. In the Bible, before Jesus’ ministry here on earth, God calls himself as ‘I AM’. In Exodus 3:14 it says, God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” (more…)

(Re-post from March 17th, 2008)
Read carefully. I wrote ‘Great Suppression’ and not ‘Great Depression’.

1929 is etched in world history as the year that caused a great and dramatic meltdown or downturn of the world economy. The depression had devastating effects in both the industrialized countries and those which exported raw materials. International trade declined sharply, as did personal incomes, tax revenues, prices, and profits. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by 40 to 60 percent. Facing plummeting demand with few alternate sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as farming, mining and logging suffered the most. Though the slump started in many countries much before 1929, it was the US downturn that really brought it down. (more…)

There is a magnificent story in Marie Chapian’s book “Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy”. The book told of the sufferings of the true church in Yugoslavia, where so much wrong has been perpetrated by the politicized ecclesiastical hierarchy. That which has gone on in the name of Christ for the enriching and empowering of corrupt church officials has been a terrible affront to decency.

One day an evangelist by the name of Jakov arrived in a certain village. He commiserated with an elderly man named Cimmerman on the tragedies he had experienced and talked to him of the love of Christ. Cimmerman abruptly interrupted Jakov and told him that he wished to have nothing to do with Christianity. He reminded Jakov of the dreadful history of the church in his town, a history replete with plundering, exploiting, and indeed with killing innocent people. (more…)

Mate,

It is nice to be able to write these letters to you from jail. I am awaiting the final decision on the mercy petition pending with the President of India. These days I am just reflecting on the days gone by and I can’t help myself from being nostalgic as hopes of a future life died when I was convicted.

I felt like a life wasted in the quest for being loved and wanted. There are many things that I could not have changed but there were many that I could have. I could not have changed my family, my parents and my upbringing. I could not have done much about my parents strained relationship or the inevitable pain of going through my parents divorce as a small child. (more…)

It’s official! India has added one more dubious distinction to its “shining” cap. In a study conducted by National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) where they compiled data from 22 countries which included Australia, Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Japan, Canada, England and Wales, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand and Srilanka, India has been declared as the ‘murder capital’ of the world!

According to the NCRB report, in 2007 – 08, there were 32,719 incidents of murder recorded in India, which is three times more than its neighbor Pakistan and double the figures in the United States.

Did it catch us by surprise? I don’t think so. The media is peppered with news of gruesome murders every single day. Grover, Aarushi cases are still fresh in our minds. Many other cases go unnoticed. As per the study, India witnessed an average of 90 murders per day! This means that as every hour passes, around four people are murdered in India! A very high number by any standards! (more…)