Signals and Noise

Insolence

2012-02-19T08:59:00.008-06:00

Dear God,

I have bent my knees,

And humbled my heart,

I am ready for the daily

routine of ours.

Shall we wrestle?

"Punk! do you know who you are talking with ?"

I do,

I really do,

He could break me ,

He could wound me,

With just one commmand

But I am talking with my Father,

And asking for my friends.

It does not matter to me then,

That you think I am insolent.

Dhobi Ghat

2012-01-26T12:18:00.001-06:00

The Judsons

2012-01-22T16:27:00.002-06:00

Time for a short story.

The Judsons were crazy. Like really crazy. When Adoniram asked for Ann's hand in marriage he wrote to her father:

"I have now to ask, whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world; whether you can consent to her departure, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of missionary life; whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean, to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death. Can you consent to all this, for the sake of him who left is heavenly home, and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion, and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with the crown of righteous, brightened with the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Savior from the lost* saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?"

He got married to Ann on Feb 5, 1812. He set assail with her to India on Feb 19, 1812. Ann bore Judson 3 children, all of whom died. When her second child died she wrote:

Our hearts were bound up with this child; we felt he was our earthly all, our only source of innocent recreation in this foreign* land. But God saw it was necessary to remind us of our error, and to strip us of our only little all. O, may it not be vain that he has done it. May we so improve it that he will stay his hand and say 'It is enough.'

* Words changed to make more contextual sense. The word 'heathen' used is really not meant derogatorily. It is meant to imply people who do not share the same faith, but it is not used without love. People who do not love the heathen do not end up sacrificing their, theirs spouse's and their children's lives for them.

The story was picked from here

Mother Teressa on clarity

2012-01-17T10:16:00.001-06:00

I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust

- Mother Teressa (apparently)

Random Thought

2012-01-13T02:00:00.000-06:00

If you are weak, then you may not be loved. But if you are strong, you do not know what it means to be weak and still loved.

Random Thought

2012-01-12T15:31:00.001-06:00

It is more joyful to be involved in producing one quality human being, than thousands of average ones.

Random Thought

2011-12-06T09:10:00.003-06:00

If I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus, I wouldn't write a song about it.

October

2011-11-30T18:27:00.000-06:00

For Bono:

Jerusha

2011-11-26T11:23:00.005-06:00

So here's the deal Jerusha,

If you die by contracting the same disease that killed the person you nursed, then you love him. It does not matter if you just liked him, or if you liked-him-liked him.

Hey... I think it's cute.

"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."

Gas

2011-11-14T19:23:00.004-06:00

Sugar snap peas cause gas :-/

Random Advice

2011-11-12T21:05:00.000-06:00

This should be done:
1. Visiting the house of the dead, so that it will make you thankful for life.
2. Visiting places that preach the prosperity gospel, so that you will be overwhelmed in love for the true one and those that preach it no matter how much you disagree with the methods and the peripheral theology
3. Attending boring lectures, so that you resolve never to give one.

They don't teach anything worth knowing

2011-11-06T20:38:00.002-06:00

“I've been making a list of the things they don't teach you at school. They don't teach you how to love somebody. They don't teach you how to be famous. They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don't teach you how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer. They don't teach you how to know what's going on in someone else's mind. They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying. They don't teach you anything worth knowing.”

- Neil Gaiman

See and Smile

2011-10-24T09:08:00.002-05:00

2011-10-23T19:13:00.003-05:00

Dear Mr. William Wilberforce,

I will try to not look the other way.

Joy - Page CXVI

2011-09-15T12:16:00.003-05:00

http://pagecxvi.com/

Random Thought

2011-08-27T10:37:00.003-05:00

Structure is like clothing in that if you go for a one-size-fits-all, it does end up covering you, but you don't look great.

Oh my God

2011-08-20T23:50:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I can not forgive and these days mercy cuts so deep,

If the world was how it should be, maybe I could get some sleep.

While I lay, I'd dream we're better, scales were gone and faces lighter,

When we wake we hate our brother, we still move to hurt each other,

Sometimes I can close my eyes and all the fear the keeps me silent,

Falls below my heavy breathing, what makes me so badly bent?

We all have a chance to murder, we all have the need for wonder.

We still want to be reminded that the pain is worth the plunder.

Sometimes when I lose my grip, I wonder what to make of heaven,

All the times I thought to reach up, all the times I had to give up.

Babies underneath their beds, in hospitals that cannot treat them.

All the wounds that money causes, all the comforts of cathedrals,

All the cries of thirsty children, this is our inheritance,

All the rage of watching mothers, this is our greatest offense

Oh my God,

Oh my God.

- Jars of clay

Advice to Christians: Love - Francis Schaeffer

2011-08-09T19:54:00.000-05:00

"As we turn to consider in more detail how we may speak to people of the twentieth century, we must realise first of all that we cannot apply mechanical rules. We, of all people, should realise this, for as Christians we believe that personality really does exist and is important. We can lay down some general principles, but there can be no automatic application. If we are truly personal, as created by God, then each individual will differ from everyone else. Therefore each person must be dealt with as anindividual, not as a case or statistic or machine. If we could work withthese people, we cannot apply things we have learnt..." "...mechanically. We must look to the Lord in prayer, and to the work of the Holy Spirit, for theeffective use of these things."

"Furthermore, we must remember that the person to whom we are talking, however far from the Christian faith he may be, is an image-bearer of God. He has great value, and our communication to him must be in genuine love. Love is not an easy thing; it is not just an emotional urge, but an attempt to move over and sit in the other person's place and see how his problems look to him. Love is a genuine concern for the individual. As Jesus Christ reminds us, we are to love that individual 'as ourselves'. This is the place to begin. Therefore, to be engaged in personal 'witness' as a duty or because our Christian circle exerts a social pressure on us, is to miss the whole point. The reason we do it is that the person before us is an image-bearer of God, and he is an individual who is unique in this world. This kind of communication is not cheap. To understand and speak to sincere but utterly confused twentieth-century people is costly. It is tiring; it will open you to temptations and pressures. Genuine love, in the last analysis, means a willingness to be entirely exposed to the person to whom we are talking."

- Francis Schaeffer, thanks to Stephen Williams

Remember The Titans

2011-08-06T02:05:00.001-05:00

Someday, when you get the time and if you haven't already, watch the movie.

Spoiler!

Jim and his ice-cream

2011-08-01T13:42:00.003-05:00

So there was a kid. Let's call him Jim. Jim was unique, in that, he loved ice-cream…. like genuinely.

One day he and his father were out on one of their evening walks, and they stumbled upon an ice cream vendor. Jim looked at his father expectantly. His father was wise. It wasn't too often that he would give Jim what he wanted, but today was Jim's day.

Soon Jim had his round, black, sparkling eyes fixed on the ice-cream he was holding… but even before he took his first bite at it, he saw a kid - about his age, with tattered clothes, shrunken body and sunken eyes that made it obvious that he craved the ice-cream. He was not begging.

Jim felt pain. A lot of it. He was a kid, remember? He knew too little to be able to rationalize his feelings away. And the pain not was just a result of an inherent ability to empathizing with the street kid, it was mixed with the pain of feeling compelled to have to part with his ice-cream - things he did not understand then and that would one day be taught to him as 'right' in one of his value-education classes.

While he was still staring at the kid, he heard a whisper right beside his ear. He could tell that it was his father's, not only because his father was the only person around him and he could see the profile of his face in his peripheral vision, but much more - because he knew his fathers voice. He had learnt to recognize it. His father often said things to him that seemed grave, profound and serious. He hadn't heard many fathers talk with kids his age that way. Many times he did not completely understand the things he said. This time he heard:

"And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do."

Somehow, all that reminded Jim of how big his father really is. Jim made his decision. He gave his ice cream, then still missing it, he turned around, looked up to his father and gave him a weak smile. They weren't too far from the ice-cream vendor and Jim's father was very rich. But he did not buy him another ice-cream. However, later that evening, Jim had so much fun with dad, that when he lay on the bed that night, tired, he had forgotten everything about his ice cream.

Random Thought

2011-07-12T09:05:00.001-05:00

How pitiable our lives look if the resurrection from the dead is not true, might be a good measure of how well we live it.

Loves too little

2011-07-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

He loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake.

- Augustine of Hippo

For a change...

2011-06-21T07:32:00.002-05:00

You know that thing where you wake up every morning, go do your thing for the day and then sleep again?

Ok, so for a change, this morning I tried waking up in a different body... but failed :-/

Shayan

2011-06-16T19:06:00.000-05:00

Some babies are special:

Sheetal and Shayan

They make
a special mom
a special dad
a very special great grand mom
special grandmas and grand-dadas
special aunties
special cousins
and a somewhat special uncle

Random Thought

2011-05-23T13:55:00.000-05:00

Looking at history it seems that some have loved God too much for him to allow them to have a long life.

One Mind

2011-05-21T21:25:00.000-05:00

"They must talk to each other directly, Ender, mind to mind. What one thinks, another can also think; what one remembers, another can also remember. Why would they ever develop language? Why would they ever learn to read and write? How would they know what reading and writing were if they saw them? Or signals? Or numbers? Or anything that we use to communicate? This isn't just a matter of translating from one language to another. They don't have a language at all. We use every means we could think of to communicate with them, but they don't even have the machinery to know we're signaling. And maybe they've been trying to think to us, and they can't understand why we don't respond."

Random Thought

2011-04-19T08:39:00.001-05:00

Seminary training can sometimes indeed be useful.

Random Thought

2011-04-15T12:17:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow… while you are having a perfectly normal day, going about your business, whether it is taking a walk... or shopping at the grocery store… some one might come to you… (it could be a stranger, an acquaintance, your friend or who knows???? may be even your spouse) and they might say, "I know how a transistor works!". DON'T BELIEVE THEM.

The Cosmic Paradox

2011-04-09T15:39:00.000-05:00

It is better to give, than to receive

- Jesus Christ (Acts 20:35)

Runaway

2011-04-02T16:37:00.000-05:00

This one is growing on me:

Fail?!

2011-04-01T16:36:00.001-05:00

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default

J. K. Rowling

Random Thought

2011-03-30T18:20:00.001-05:00

Gagan Awhad is stinking rich. Now, it only is a minor inconvenience, sometimes, that he does not have money.

Resonance

2011-03-19T23:56:00.000-05:00

Yep. This is exactly what our typical workday looks like:

10 Resolutions for Mental Health - Clyde Kilby

2011-03-18T09:56:00.000-05:00

This post is pasted from here

1. At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.

2. Instead of the accustomed idea of a mindless and endless evolutionary change to which we can neither add nor subtract, I shall suppose the universe guided by an Intelligence which, as Aristotle said of Greek drama, requires a beginning, a middle, and an end. I think this will save me from the cynicism expressed by Bertrand Russell before his death when he said: "There is darkness without, and when I die there will be darkness within. There is no splendor, no vastness anywhere, only triviality for a moment, and then nothing."

3. I shall not fall into the falsehood that this day, or any day, is merely another ambiguous and plodding twenty-four hours, but rather a unique event, filled, if I so wish, with worthy potentialities. I shall not be fool enough to suppose that trouble and pain are wholly evil parentheses in my existence, but just as likely ladders to be climbed toward moral and spiritual manhood.

4. I shall not turn my life into a thin, straight line which prefers abstractions to reality. I shall know what I am doing when I abstract, which of course I shall often have to do.

5. I shall not demean my own uniqueness by envy of others. I shall stop boring into myself to discover what psychological or social categories I might belong to. Mostly I shall simply forget about myself and do my work.

6. I shall open my eyes and ears. Once every day I shall simply stare at a tree, a flower, a cloud, or a person. I shall not then be concerned at all to ask what they are but simply be glad that they are. I shall joyfully allow them the mystery of what Lewis calls their "divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic" existence.

7. I shall sometimes look back at the freshness of vision I had in childhood and try, at least for a little while, to be, in the words of Lewis Carroll, the "child of the pure unclouded brow, and dreaming eyes of wonder."

8. I shall follow Darwin's advice and turn frequently to imaginative things such as good literature and good music, preferably, as Lewis suggests, an old book and timeless music.

9. I shall not allow the devilish onrush of this century to usurp all my energies but will instead, as Charles Williams suggested, "fulfill the moment as the moment." I shall try to live well just now because the only time that exists is now.

10. Even if I turn out to be wrong, I shall bet my life on the assumption that this world is not idiotic, neither run by an absentee landlord, but that today, this very day, some stroke is being added to the cosmic canvas that in due course I shall understand with joy as a stroke made by the architect who calls himself Alpha and Omega.

- Clyde Kilby

Screwtape Letter #1

2011-02-26T22:55:00.001-06:00

My dear Wormwood,

The question you raised in your last letter - ‘Why do we spend so much time and resources continuing to attack the belief of the humans the Enemy certainly has snatched into his camp’ is, of course, valid, but has made me ask some more troubling questions to myself. Have I been a bad mentor? Are you really my nephew? Should I just quit? Nevertheless, I find some comfort in the success of some of my other pupils. While we have not been in correspondence for all these years, I expected you to increase and not decrease in your maturity. Besides, I cannot help but ask: What has kept you going on the field all these years? Your question, after all, attacks the very foundations of your work. Or have I found the answer to why we find your work so unproductive? Whatever it be, it might be time for us to take a serous action… may be call you back for a period of re-programming or relieve you of your duties entirely.

I will, however, answer your question in this letter with the hope that my efforts might push you to work the rest of your days, whether few or many, with a renewed vigor to bring honor to our Father below.

It seems to me from your question that you do indeed understand the doctrine of assured loss. By that doctrine, we understand that we will never be able to completely bring a human back to our side that we have lost to the Enemy. We know this not only because the Enemy has claimed that, but also because over all the years we have had no success in this matter (we have not yet given up, but those matters are better left to more capable tempters than you, and are irrelevant to answer your question). Your question is a naive response to that doctrine, and has been asked by thousands, but during far earlier stages in their training. To a novice who first understands that doctrine, it makes much sense that we focus all our resources on the ones we know we have not yet lost, rather than spending those on the ones we will never win back.

So why don’t we do that?

I am not going to assume you remember much of what has already been taught to you. So.. When the Enemy created these humans, He did it with much care – these beings are unlike any other creatures we know. While He did make them finite, almost like any animal, He did, in that finiteness, add some of His infinite qualities that make them beyond our complete understanding. Infact, some of our kin, who refused to follow our Father sti!ll fall in worship of the Enemy confounded by this simple being. How self abasing and despicable! Anyways, one of the things we do understand is that, ironically He created them with an overpowering desire to be completed – and completed in Him. Often we have found them express this with some words they use like ‘joy’, ‘happiness’, and ‘satisfaction’ (Don’t try to figure that one out. Being faithful servants of our Father, we have been well protected from such dangers). They are restless without Him.

There is more you should know. Along with a desire to be completed in Him, they have a desire to 'enjoy' Him with other beings - with almost any thing that has breath.

Now, having been well deprived of this thing they call ‘joy’ that they were created for, for centuries starting from our biggest win against the Enemy through a plan well crafted out by our Father, (the continuous study of which will do you well), these humans have reached a pitiable state. Not only have a lot of them stopped thinking He exists, (Isn’t that hilarious?) they have started finding satisfaction in any toy we have to offer… and sometimes in things even we would never imagine to work for our benefit, as a substitute for Him. They have also become completely confused as to what they live for, and rightly so. But, while we gain the advantage of years, you must remember, even in their pitiable state, all the time and every time, whether knowing or unknowing, they are looking for Him. We can use that desire to our advantage, but we cannot kill it.

The crux of the matter: We would not have spend any resources on any thing after our first win had the Enemy not been so stubborn on wining some of them back to Himself. Long story short (I do not want to get into the details of the implications of our biggest loss 2000 years ago), He brings them back to Himself by faith. Yes, to the same relationship he created them for. They must only believe in Him. Sounds ridiculous, you know that, but pay attention - the more they believe in Him the more they know Him. The more they know Him the more they get transformed to beings they were meant to be (pretty much like the first man from the Garden). That makes them more joyful, more perfect, more incomprehensible, more beautiful, and far less susceptible to our schemes.

It gets worse. Once that happens, they cannot help but communicate Him to all others around them one way or another (and whether they use words for this or not is hardly the point). That is when it becomes problematic. We start loosing our grip over the minds of the ones we have blinded, who on seeing them start wanting what they have. And we all know that deep down, they want Him with that same overpowering desire that they were created with. Even the thought of it makes me shudder. Against that, our most powerful efforts can fail.

I hope you now see that we have as many humans captured in our camp, not only because our direct efforts to keep them, but that complemented with our efforts to undermine the faith of those on the Enemies camp. So, my dear apprentice, keep at it. Every day... every hour... every second. Incessantly beat against your patients faith, whether you chip little pieces or huge chucks. Change strategies... try out new things, but keep his faith as low as possible. That is your goal and your calling. Your efforts are not in vain.

In the meanwhile, I will see what can be done to bring you back…

Your affectionate uncle,

Screwtape.

Random Thought

2011-02-23T14:04:00.001-06:00

Insanity is relative

Random Thought

2011-02-22T06:07:00.001-06:00

I can't love people because they are lovable. I can love them because God loved me when I was not close to being lovable.

Amsterdam

2011-02-17T23:21:00.000-06:00

One of their lesser known and more beautiful songs. Like it.

Joy can weep

2011-01-18T22:18:00.002-06:00

The reason Joy can weep is because it longs to be extended.

- John Piper

Do you believe?

2011-01-12T23:36:00.000-06:00

2011-01-04T23:29:00.000-06:00

"All right," said Hermione, disconcerted. "Say the Cloak existed ... what about the stone, Mr. Lovegood? The thing you call the Resurrection Stone?"

"What of it ?"

"Well, how can that be real?"

"Prove that it is not," said Xenophilius.

Hermione looked outraged.

"But that's - I'm sorry, but that's completely ridiculous! How can I possibly prove it doen't exist? Do you expect me to get hold of - of all the pebbles in the world and test them? I mean, you could claim that anything's real if the only basis for believing in it is that nobody's proved it doesn't exist!"

"Yes, you could," said Xenophilius.

Random Thought

2011-01-01T13:05:00.000-06:00

The difficult thing about believing the message about the bible is that you try to get your mind around two infinities... juxtaposed beside each other... and if that is not enough, one infinity is greater than the other.

The infinity of your sin, the infinite power of God's grace, and the infinite power of God's grace to cover your sin.

Homeschoolers in Pune

2010-12-27T19:30:00.000-06:00

This is so hopeful.

Also, check this.

random thought

2010-12-26T12:07:00.000-06:00

To serve is to be free

Random Thought

2010-12-23T21:06:00.002-06:00

One day there was Faith.

Then... there was Knowledge

Blowin' in the Wind

2010-12-14T18:50:00.001-06:00

For Dylan, and the part of him that I really like.
c/o Joan Beaz

God is good.

2010-12-07T07:44:00.000-06:00

God is good. I will say that till I am blue in the face.

12 Days of Christmas

2010-11-29T11:57:00.001-06:00

Want Jesus

2010-11-28T09:11:00.000-06:00

When you want heaven, you want an escape from hell and pain.

When you want Jesus, you want everything, all at once.

That's why some are willing to pay everything else for it.

Wanting Jesus, is wanting more. It is being unsatisfied with everything else. It's a smarter choice. When you ask for Jesus, you dare to ask for the most precious thing in the whole universe. And today God is gracious to give Him to you at His expense. I think it is a good deal. I think you should take it!

Random Thought

2010-11-26T13:31:00.000-06:00

God works through people, not institutions or mission statements.

Some Happiness for Mathematicians/Physicists/Computer Scientists

2010-11-25T01:08:00.000-06:00

These ones made me laugh. Enjoy!

source: http://xkcd.com/824/

Random Thought

2010-11-24T12:40:00.000-06:00

Humility is the thing that frees you to look straight into the eyes of the person in front of you

My parents should be applauded

2010-11-21T22:20:00.000-06:00

Earning money is a hard thing to do. It is a respectable thing to do. My dad did that and I respect him for that. For every meal, every toy, for the education I would have never received otherwise, for the love I never deserved. So many don't get it.

Raising kids is a hard thing to do. My mom brought us up. Stayed away from her husband. Strove hard to give to us everything that seemed good. Always gave her kids higher priority than her desires.

My parents sold their lives for us. Today I have so many things because of my parents. So many riches... My parents should be applauded. (Ok, atleast applaud them in your heart :) ) God's mercies and graces are immense. Indebtedness seems to be growing exponentially with time.

Borderline Heritical

2010-11-17T16:07:00.001-06:00

If your preaching of the gospel of God's free grace in Jesus Christ does not provoke the charge from some of antinomianism, you're not preaching the gospel of the free grace of God in Jesus Christ

- Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Why so serious?

2010-11-15T12:41:00.002-06:00

There is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious. It is too good to waste on jokes

- C. S. Lewis

Journal Entry

2010-11-14T11:21:00.000-06:00

Journal Entry: Nov 12, 2010

Faith in fortune cookies continues to grow... Today mine read, "One day you will be an accomplished writer". There is something about those cookies... either someone is closely watching me and trying to communicate a message, or the universe is just in dire need of me. Oh the weight of being so gifted! I guess people like me can only dream of having a simple normal life.

Random Thought

2010-11-12T19:50:00.000-06:00

Some people look at the depressed and wonder what's wrong with them… You know, may be something is right with them and wrong with us. May be their souls got the real taste of this world, unadulterated by the attractive wrapping - and they did not like it.

Considering how much joy we are created for, and what we have fallen to, depression seems to be just about the right response.

If - Rudyard Kipling

2010-11-11T08:21:00.000-06:00

My Relationship with Theology

2010-11-10T08:39:00.000-06:00

My relationship with theology is similar to the relationship a spoilt kid of a rich father has with money. He does not understand the importance of it.

However, it is also true that some people have a relationship with theology similar to that the rich father of the spoilt kid has with his money, if he had to earn all of it. He gives it more importance that it deserves.

Random Thought

2010-11-09T12:03:00.000-06:00

A good leader is also always a good follower, because he is motivated not by a desire to lead, but by a desire to be somewhere.

Of Probabilities, Information, Intelligence and Faith

2010-11-08T15:33:00.000-06:00

Once, a normal unbiased die was rolled inside an box and so nobody could tell what number was rolled.

One person was told to give the probability that the number 6 was rolled. The person was intelligent. So he calculated correctly. He said the probability that 6 was rolled is 1/6. That is also the same probability that 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, were rolled.

The die was not rolled again. Nothing about the experiment was changed.

Another person was asked the same question... "What is the probability that the number 6 was rolled?" However, this person was given some more information. He was told that an even number was rolled. Since this person was also intelligent, he concluded correctly that the probability of 6 being rolled was 1/3rd.

The die was not rolled again. Nothing about the experiment was changed.

A third person was asked the same question, but he was given more information. He was told, that the number rolled is even and is not less than or equal to 3. The third person also happened to be intelligent and so concluded, that the probability that 6 was rolled is 1/2.

The above simple story was written from an experiment that my advisor Carl Sturtivant told me to make his point about the importance of information.

Note that every intelligent man had faith that the information given to him was true. He trusted the source.

I want to respect the beauty in the simplicity of the experiment by not writing explicit conclusions from it except allude to one. I recently read a quote I found agonizingly painful. Here - "Actually faith and intelligence are alternatives. You can't have both of them at the same time." This experiment probably brings out why I find that statement so painful.

Phir Dekhiye

2010-11-02T12:29:00.000-05:00

Love this song:

I can't wait to be in heaven.

Carl Sagan on Atheism

2010-10-31T11:09:00.001-05:00

An atheist has to know a lot more than I know.

- Carl Sagan (Agnostic)

Random Thought

2010-10-29T16:46:00.000-05:00

To 'get' the gospel you should try rattling hard against the bars of "but what about?"s, "how-come?"s and "but that's dangerous"s, that incarcerate you... and you will realize that they do not break. Then try bending your knee, and praying that the Holy Spirit would break them... and... He might just do it for you. He might take you to the world where there is a sea Joy, where Christ is far exalted and you are far more thankful. That's when you are closer to 'getting it'.

Announcement

2010-10-28T21:10:00.000-05:00

Today I became a believer in Fortune Cookies. My fortune read:

"Sell your ideas - They have exceptional merit"

World, take note that this blog will soon become a paid site.

Random advice - Rebellion

2010-10-27T21:14:00.000-05:00

Rebellion is an inadvertent by-product of trying to reach a legitimate goal... a means, that too one that is last resorted to... it is NEVER itself the goal. It should never be the goal

New Middle Road - Francis Chan

2010-10-26T12:08:00.000-05:00

I love Francis Chan

Universal Fact #55 Playing House

2010-10-25T13:21:00.000-05:00

It is true. Trust me! It is not something we made up to look more masculine. In fourth grade, or pretty much all of our younger years, we guys find playing 'home' gross even though we might end up doing the real thing with one of you girls when we grow up.

Oh, and I think we get the concept. We just don't get why you girls find it fun. :)

Growing Up

2010-10-24T12:16:00.001-05:00

When you're a little kid you're a bit of everything; Scientist, Philosopher, Artist. Sometimes it seems like growing up is giving these things up one at a time.

- The Narrator (the grown up Kevin Arnold) from The Wonder Years

Short Story

2010-10-23T16:05:00.000-05:00

I was on my knees, upper body stooping down, nose almost touching the ground. I was still hot with the argument... with pain. I could feel it in my head. My face was still wet with tears.

He was on his throne and was giving the orders that had devastated me. I was not looking at him. After they were given, I could hear the others leave briskly, so that I knew we were left alone. I felt him turn his face to me. With his same stern commanding voice he said,

"As for you... "

"Yes, my Lord", I said. I had given up trying to argue... trying to present my case. He was too strong.

But there was a pause... I was waiting to hear my punishment.... or a disciplinary action. Even a beating couldn't be worse than his orders. And he continued,

"My son..."

The tone of his voice had changed. I looked up... to him... I did not expect to see tears streaming down his face. He felt my pain. I couldn't believe it. I kept looking at him and in sometime there broke a smile on his face and he said,

"You will learn to enjoy me."

Random Thought

2010-10-22T11:02:00.000-05:00

Money is too quantifiable not to be deceptive.

One object of pursuit

2010-10-21T19:30:00.000-05:00

There is ONE object of pursuit in life and that is Jesus Christ, and none other. Not Holiness, nor purity, nor security, nor goodness, nor generosity, nor any fruit of the Spirit- they are fruits - not objects of pursuit, not happiness, (it is a mind set, it can't be pursued), nor missions, nor ministry. All these are enjoyed as by products. They are enjoyed because they are good, but they are good because they are right. They are right because God has designed them that way. The best thing for a man to do is to bow his head before the Lord of the universe, Jesus Christ, the cornerstone, the solution, the origin, of all things material and immaterial. All the universe falls in place in looking at him.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Colossians 1:15-20

...There is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

1 Cor 8:6

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 11:36

The Cure or The Disease?

2010-10-20T12:29:00.000-05:00

Cuz its my kinda humor:

Source: http://xkcd.com/56/

Random Thought

2010-10-16T10:28:00.001-05:00

There are a few things I want to be known by. One of them is freedom.

2010-10-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

Random Thought

2010-10-12T22:06:00.001-05:00

If it weren't for the doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, I would probably be an agnostic

Thoughts on Love - C. S. Lewis

2010-10-09T23:21:00.001-05:00

There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.I believe that the most lawless and inordinate loves are less contrary to God’s will than a self-invited and self-protective lovelessness…We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as a way in which they should break, so be it. What I know about love and believe about love and giving ones heart began in this

- C. S. Lewis

Questions

2010-10-09T12:18:00.000-05:00

I know you would fight for your loved one,
But would you die for someone else's too?

There are people blinded by lies,
But would you love them before you give them the truth?

Cowards don't fight for justice,
But did you stand up for your friend when she needed you?

I understand your fight for uncertainty.
But then how were you certain that your abortion didn't kill a life or two?

Random Thought

2010-10-08T09:19:00.000-05:00

What you believe is generally followed by what you feel. So if you feel incorrectly, perhaps you believe incorrectly.

Gianna Jessen

2010-10-07T12:41:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I get the honor of calling her my sister.... :)

2010-10-07T08:34:00.000-05:00

Can I say something? Being a part of this thing called 'Christianity' I have gotten to see the Christian God very closely. I have also gotten to see how he can transform people, very closely. There are few of them. There are never many... but there are. The God who works in them... woh kuch aur hai.... He is something else!

Random Thought

2010-10-06T10:44:00.000-05:00

There should be a pointer that pops up, like a thought bubble in a comic would, pointing to you, saying "He's kidding!" everytime you make a statement that is a joke, but could be taken otherwise, so that you don't have to append the highly annoying but sometimes essential, '... just kidding' at the end.

  And then may be Microsoft could add some spice to life by make it pop up, when you aren't really joking.

My Heroes

2010-10-04T13:45:00.000-05:00

Chris Williams taught me that God meant business when he decided to communicate to Human Beings through the Bible. That Christ was all consuming and not a Sunday morning game. I may not be a very strong man, but a large part of the existing strength has been gained through his teaching. A lot of my theology comes from his teaching. In a way, he attempted turning boys to men, we might not have, but thats our fault. I met my LORD through his teaching. I cannot stop loving him.

Stephen Williams, taught me that a guy can be young, cool and in love with God. That Christianity trickled down to a daily living and was not a two faced thing. I learned to pray from him, to ask God for much better things... much richer things.

Francis Chan taught me to be genuine. If I can believe God half as much as he does, I can't say I would be satisfied, but... I still want to be there. I love Francis Chan.

C.S. Lewis: It is hard to do justice to what he has taught me because he has taught me a lot more than what I can tell you or put in words. I have not read a lot of Lewis, but his direct and indirect influence is far beyond what I have read and heard about him. Some Men don't influence you in words but they involved in changing you. They make you like themselves so that the outflow of the result, whether direct or indirect is still an influence of them. That is what lewis does to me. Though there may be something I do, think or write tomorrow, that could qualify as original, there are good chances of it being an influence of Lewis.

Some of the things that he taught me and come to mind are:

- People are souls not bodies or brains.
- Sometimes, fiction is a better way of communicating truth. Infact sometimes truth is so overwhelming and out of this world, that the only thing that might do a decent job is fiction.

Blaise Pascal: Unlike Lewis, what Pascal taught me could be summarized in his quote:

"All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves." There might be very, very few things, outside the bible, that have changed me as much as this quote has. Pascal taught me to look at the world differently... more clearly. He channeled my love for Jesus.

Matt Reagan: Matt tends to have a freeing effect on me. He fights, not only for me to think a certain way, but also to feel a certain way. To feel the truth. If I am a Christian Hedonist at all, it was Matt that made me one directly, and not Piper.

John Piper: I am going to make a big statement here. What Piper calls 'Christian hedonism' is, in my opinion, the most mature way to live. John Piper is like my spiritual grandfather. He has been in dangerous areas of thought and brought out from the deep mysteries, cool and satisfying waters so that some of us can have them freely. Even before I was saved, he has thought and written things that amaze me today.

Priyadarshan taught me that a man can be an athiest/agnostic and still genuinely love people, trees and nature, far more than me a believer, and be willing to give his life for them. I find that amazing.

My Uncle taught me that it is possible to love your brother's children as much as yours.

Dad showed me that it was possible to love your family more than yourself, and sacrifice all your life for it.

While I say, 'they taught me', I can't completely say, 'I have learnt these things'. Some success I have had, but not even that would be possible if God were not pleased in working in those men and in me to produce the change.

If you happen to read this, here is the intention: I love these men. Theoretically, if death was painless, I would rather God kill me now and distribute my remaining life to some of these. I am not much of a man, but understand that if it weren't for these men, I would be far worse. So don't forget to invest in the lives of people around you.

Computer Science and Computers

2010-09-28T20:47:00.000-05:00

Computer Science is no more about computers than astronomy is about telescopes

- Edsger Dijkstra

I want to grow old on the Gospel

2010-09-27T22:04:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine once made a comment about dogs, when one continued to chase and bring back the bone he threw. He said, "It is interesting that dogs continue to do the same thing over and over again, with the same level of excitement".

I look at human beings and myself completely differently. I need new and better things keep me excited. Things bore me quick. Living here for 26 years, I tend to find lesser things that excite, interest, and boggle me. I am unable to keep my mind fascinated... and please, gadgets are one of the least impressive things. However there is an anomaly to this.

I have heard the gospel message over and over again. It is simple. I can put it in about 5 sentences using really simple words. Here: I am a sinner, and desperately so. I rebelled against a righteous and holy God who should justly punish me into hell. And when I was still and enemy of God he chose to die for me. He killed his Son for me... so that now, if I believe in his Son, I can have eternal life with Him. And his Son... he continues, even today, to intercede for me.

This simple message that is stupid to some, that people stumble at because, it has in it no "wisdom" for them, is so powerful that it saved me and it continues to save me. My mind continues to get boggled by it. Isn't that amazingly weird? I can't believe God can continue to boggle my mind with the same old thing. He insults my intelligence. I love it.

Yesterday I turned 26 years old... and I want to grow old on that message.

Dear Piper

2010-09-23T23:49:00.000-05:00

Dear Piper,

God has been gracious to you
He has shown you wonderful things
The awesome power that he is a source of.
Please don't forget, as much as I do,
That you are who you are because He is who He is.

May you find more riches in our Lord,
May you find all your healing,
May your family find its healing,
May you decrease as He increases,
May you have eyes to see through the deception of this world,
To see through the deception of fame,
May you be blessed with health, wealth and the prosperity that is our God.

So that you can come bless us in return.

On my knees for you.

Why I don't Like Blogging

2010-09-17T18:48:00.000-05:00

There weren't many reasons... but each of them is huge .

1. Just as as mirror, it reflects you, and so, just like a mirror, it has a strong pull towards narcissism.

2. History can start limiting and defining you. The same, I think, can be said about well document thoughts. They can start limiting your future thinking or biasing it.

3. Every human has a strong desire to be known and understood. Blogging can be an unhealthy expression of that.

4. If at all your blog makes you "known" by many, being known by many is a dangerous thing. Not many handle it well.

Mad World

2010-09-16T12:41:00.000-05:00

Scavenger

2010-09-15T16:14:00.000-05:00

My story is that of a diseased and incomplete soul in a junk yard that once used to be a perfect garden. My soul, restless and thirsty, scavenges for something... ANYTHING that completes it, satisfies it, heals it. There are few things it does find in the pile of trash, that seem precious and that satisfy indeed… but only temporarily. It is just a matter of time before my soul realizes its find is defective, incomplete, not trustworthy… or just that its longing is for more. The piece does not fit it. Then all it does is look sorrowfully at its "precious" just to throw it back in the pile of junk.

Then magic happens! Suddenly, it gets a taste of God, supernatural... from out of the junkyard and my soul realizes, not that God just completes it, but more, that its existence is in God.

From then on, all it has been doing is begging for and being satisfied in more of Him. It refuses to be satisfied with junk again.

"... and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:17

Random Thought

2010-09-10T09:17:00.000-05:00

There was a time when I found it hard to get that in Heaven, we will singing of the Lamb who was Slain for all eternity.

Now I find it hard to get that we might not be doing that all the time.

Random Thought

2010-09-06T22:41:00.000-05:00

To be a good quality mathematician, and a well respected one at that, you should learn to use the word 'arbitrary' quite arbitrarily. How frequently you use it determines how well you do at math.

Random Thought

2010-09-03T09:16:00.000-05:00

We don't communicate words. We communicate spirit. Sometimes, we use words to do that.

(Not So) Random Thought

2010-08-31T13:43:00.000-05:00

So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. - Romans 7:21

A Sermon A Week

2010-08-28T14:59:00.001-05:00

Why should we have a sermon every sunday? What if a pastor stands up, goes to the pulpit and says 'I have no sermon for you today'?

What is/should be/ideally has been the role of pastors? How much of it is expositing what the bible says and how much of it is modeling for the church what it means to be a man who is led by God, and out of that having sermons preached, may be twice a week? Shouldn't a shepherd be more of a man who is walking and leading the sheep and preaching being only one of the several ways he leading them? Or does a shepherd look at his responsibilities as, "If i give the sheep 5 whacks a day, give them to the waters once a week, then my responsibilities are over "

I find it hard to believe that every Sunday God wants the church to gather in a building, sit in the pews, and to listen to a pastor preach, and then go back home. I find it hard to believe that a pastor is called to preach every sunday. Don't get me wrong. There is a place for sermons, there is a place for preaching. However, as of today, I stand unconvinced that it needs to be done every sunday.

Delhi - 6

2010-08-27T09:56:00.000-05:00

... cuz I love this song.

The Unsaid Exception to the Unsaid Rule

2010-08-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

If you wear multicolored boxers then an ABCD offence will not be counted against you.

Someone should blog about ABCD, so that I can link to it.

The Decline

2010-08-24T11:44:00.000-05:00

The First said, "Thank You"

The Second chose not to.

The Third asked, "Who are you?"

The Fourth said, "We don't know you"

The Fifth asked, "Do you exist?"

The Sixth answered, "He does not!"

Why I like blogging

2010-08-23T10:40:00.000-05:00

1. It is creative. I like creativity.

2. The world, with all its messages, talks to me all the time. ALL THE TIME. This is my way of talking back to it. I love the fact that the world has access to it.

3. There are so many things to say, but whom are they to be said to? Who is the audience? Friends? But there is only so much you can talk with friends, only so much you can burden them with / bore them with. Blogging lets the audience decide if they want to continue listening to you.

4. When you write, you preserve a mind. It can be helpful in the future.

5. Though biased, it is a semi-decent reflection of who you are - to yourself and to the world.
6. Writing/blogging is like crying in that It is an emotional release. You stay less complicated once you write.

Random Thought

2010-08-22T09:37:00.000-05:00

I desire, therefore I am.

The best part of, "Life of Pi"

2010-08-18T21:54:00.000-05:00

I am not a big fan of the book. There isn't much to get from it... but this is the best part.

Chapter 13

So you see, if you fall into a lion's pit, the reason it will tear you into pieces is not because it's hungry - be assured, zoo animals are amply fed - or because it's bloodthirsty, but because you've invaded its territory.

As an aside, that is why a circus trainer must always enter the lion ring first, and in full sight of the lions. in doing so, he establishes that the ring is his territory, not theirs, a notion that he reinforces by shouting, by stomping about, by snapping his whip. The lions are impressed. Their disadvantage weighs heavily on them. Notice how they come in: mighty predators though they are, "king of beasts", they crawl in with their tails low and they keep to the edges of the ring, which is always round so that they have nowhere to hide. They are in the presence of a strongly dominant male, a super-alpha male, and they must submit to his dominance rituals. So they open their jaws wide, they sit up, they jump through paper-covered hoops, they crawl through tubes, they walk backwards, they roll over. "He's a queer one," they think dimly. "Never seen a top lion like him. But he runs a good pride. The larder's always full and - let's be honest, mates - his antics keep us busy. Napping all the time does get a bit boring. At-least we're not riding bicycles like the brown bears or catching flying plates like the chimps."

Only the trainer better make sure he always remains super alpha. He will pay dearly if he unwittingly slips to beta. Much hostile and aggressive behavior among animals is the expression of social insecurity. The animal in front of you must know where it stands, whether above you or below you. Social rank is central to how it leads its life. Rank determines whom it can associate with and how, where and when it can eat; where it can rest; where it can drink; and so on. Until it knows its rank for certain, the animal lives a life of unbearable anarchy. It remains nervous, jumpy, dangerous. Luckily for the circus trainer, decisions about social rank among higher animals are not always based on brute force. Hediger (1950) says, "When two creatures meet, the one that is able to intimidate its opponent is recognized as socially superior, so that a social decision does not always depend on a fight; an encounter in some circumstances may be enough." ...

It's a question of brain over brawn. The nature of the circus trainer's ascendancy is psychological. Foreign surroundings, the trainer's erect posture, calm demeanor, steady gaze, fearless step forward, strange roar (for example, the snapping of a whip or the the blowing of a whistle) - these are so many factors that will fill the animal's mind with doubt and fear, and make clear to it where it stands, the very thing it wants to know. Satisfied, Number Two will back down and Number One can turn to the audience and shout, "Let the show go on! And now, ladies and gentlemen, through the hoops of real fire ..."

Chapter 14

It is interesting to note that the lion that is the most amenable to the circus trainer's tricks is the one with the lowest social standing in the pride, the omega animal. It has the most to gain from a close relationship with the super-alpha trainer. it is not only a matter of extra treats. A close relationship will also mean protection from the other members of the pride. It is compliant animal, to the public no different from the others in size and apparent ferocity, that will be the star of the show, while the trainer leaves the beta and gamma lions, more cantankerous subordinates, sitting on their colorful barrels on the edge of the ring.

The same is true of other circus animals. and is also seen in zoos. Socially inferior animals are the ones that make the most strenuous resourceful efforts to get to know their keepers. They prove to be the ones most faithful to them, most in need of their company, least likely to challenge them or be difficult. The phenomenon has been observed with big cats, bison, deer, wild sheep, monkeys and many other animals. It is a fact commonly known in the trade.