पास्टरलाई प्रश्न: सेवा किन र कसका लागि?

 

Can You Really Be Happy In Life?

Life is uncertain. I think I have lived enough to know that life is uncertain and happiness can vanish at any moment leaving behind a long wake of tragedy. I have seen my life go through the ups and the downs of uncertainty and unhappiness on a regular basis; in fact, quite frequently until I met a certain person.

Lonely in Marriage or Loving?

We may have shed a tear or two for Robinson Crusoe says F. W. Boreham in The Luggage of Life (23), but in actuality we all are in our own isolated islands separated by the oceans of secrets; essentially, every soul lives and dies alone.

Savages, according to Boreham, lived happy and connected life as they had very little to hide, but the modern man is surrounded with secretes.

The rich want to hide their wealth, the poor their poverty. The wise want to hide their wisdom, the fool their folly. We all have something we rather not allow others to know about.

सुखी विवाहको लागि चाहिने तिन कुराहरू।

सफल वैवाहिक सम्बन्धले जीवनका सबै पक्षहरूलाई उज्यालो बनाउँछ। सफल विवाहमा शारीरिक, भावनात्मक र मानसिक आवस्यकताहरू अर्थपूर्ण तरिकाले पूरा भएका हुन्छन्। फलस्वरूप श्रीमान-श्रीमतीमा आत्मसम्मान उच्च हुनुका साथै छोरा-छोरीहरूमा जीवनप्रति सकारात्मक दृष्टिकोणको सृजना हुन्छ। सन्तुष्टिले भरिएका श्रीमान-श्रीमती र सपना र उद्देस्यले भरिएका छोरा-छोरीहरूले मानव समाजलाई प्रगति र उन्नतिको मार्गमा अगाडि बढाइरहेका हुन्छन्। सफल परिवार नै शसक्त समाज र देशको मेरूदण्ड हो भन्ने तथ्यलाई यसले प्रमाणित गरेको हुन्छ। त्यसकारण यदि कसैको विवाह सुखद र शान्तिपूर्ण छ भने उसले आफूलाई जीवनमा सफल भएको ठान्नु स्वभाविक हो कारण सुखी या दु:खी जीवनको लागि विवाहले धेरै ठूलो भूमिका खेलेको हुन्छ।

कति छिटै बुढेसकाल लागेछ!

बीस पच्चिस वर्षको जवान अवस्थामा जीवन लामो छ जस्तो लाग्छ। भविस्य आफ्नै वशमा रहेको भान हुन्छ र आफू भन्दा बीस-तीस वर्ष पाका मानिसलाई हेर्दा लाग्छ कि म त्यो उमेरमा पुग्दा त मैले के के नै गरिसकेको हुन्छु होला! हो पनि। समय, परिस्थिति र स्वास्थ्यले साथ दिएको खण्डमा बीस पच्चिस वर्षको अन्तरालमा भौतिक सफलताका धेरै तलाहरू चढीसकेका हुनसक्छौं। नेपला जस्तो गरीबदेशबाट विदेश जाने सपना भएकाहरू विश्वका विकसित देशका नागरिक बन्न सकेकोमा गर्व गरिरहेका हुनसक्छन्। शिक्षाका भोकाहरूले विद्वानको बिल्ला भिरेका हुनसक्छन्। धनका भोकाहरूले पुगीसरी कमाएका हुनसक्छन्। शक्तिका भोकाहरूले सत्ता हात पारेका हुनसक्छन्। ख्यातिका भोकाहरूले नाम कमाएका हुनसक्छन्। प्रेमका भोकाहरूले दाम्पत्य जीवन बसालेका हुनसक्छन्। सबै सपनाहरू साकार भएका हुनसक्छन्। आदि इत्यादि।

Is there a biblical solution to material poverty?

Everywhere I look, I see the horrifying effects of poverty. A child working at a construction site carrying bricks and sand. An old man pulling a three wheeler rickshaw with two overweight women sitting behind. A sick mother pulling herself to work in someone’s field because if she doesn’t, her children will have to sleep without food. A young man’s dream is shattered because he has to give up his studies in order to look after his ailing parents. A young girl is sold by the parents to a rich old man so that they can continue to live under his favor. List can go on…

Poverty takes away human dignity. Life becomes a meaningless struggle.

What kind of message can I preach to the poor? What does the gospel offer to them?

God’s promises of blessing for a believer!

(New Revised Standard Version – Updated Edition) 

As you begin to pray, let your prayer spring from the subconscious mind that is filled with these promises. Let there be no shadow of doubt in your conscious mind about the goodness of God. God delights to bless you. But are you willing to put your trust in his promises? From Genesis to Revelation, we see God’s desire to bless man and be with him. 

जीवन कति छोटो अनि परिवर्तनशील छ!

जीवन कति छोटो अनि परिवर्तनशील छ! आफ्नै जीवनलाई नियालेर हेर्दा म जन्मेको दिन देखि १७ वर्षको उमेर सम्म जीवनको अर्थ खोज्दैमा समय बित्यो। खोजको निष्कर्षमा आइपुग्दा अर्थविहीन जीवन जिउनु भन्दा आत्महत्या नै उत्तम लाग्न थालेको थियो। तर अचानक ठूलो परिवर्तन आयो। १८औं वर्षमा येशू ख्रीष्टसँग जम्काभेट भयो। उहाँले बोलेका जीवनका वाणी सुन्दै गर्दा जिउने रहरहरू पलाएर आए। फलस्वरूप जीवनलाई सार्थक बनाएरै संसार छोड्ने आँट पनि आयो। 

मृत्युको मुखबाट छुटाएर जीवनको मार्गमा डोर्याउने येशूको अनुयायी हुनु भन्दा उत्तम अर्को विकल्प थिएन। सम्पूर्ण जीवन येशूको चरणमा सेलाएँ। १९ वर्षको उमेरमा पहिलो पटक एउटा चर्चमा येशू-भक्तको रूपमा प्रवचन दिने मौका मिल्यो। त्यो प्रवचन प्रति भक्तजनहरूको प्रतिक्रियाले मलाई येशू-वक्ता भएर नै जीवन बिताउने हौसला मिल्यो। 

Christian Leadership in Nepal

Christian Leadership in Nepal

All Or Nothing! Has Life Become Burdensome?

Life happened.  You arrived on this planet, and now you are here.  You have come this far.  How far you may have to go, the process of life is the same for you as with everyone else.  Nature does not discriminate.  It has no favorites.  The amount of sunshine, water, and air is the same for you as for everyone else.  How you go about living and what you do with what has been freely given to you is entirely up to you.  The sun will continue to shine, water will continue to flow, and the air will continue to blow regardless of what you do.  

सिबि गहतराज नेपाली इसाई समुदायका लागि चुनौती या अवसर??

एक सय वर्ष अघिका कोरियाका एक गरीब ख्रीष्टियन र उनका धनी मालिकको वास्तविक उदाहरण आज पनि कोरियन चर्चहरूमा बेलाबखत उल्लेख गरिएको सुनिन्छ।

नोकर र मालिक एउटै चर्चका सदस्य भएको कारण हरेक आइतवार आराधनामा जाँदा मालिक घोडा माथि र नोकरले घोडाको लगाम समातेर बाटोमा डोर्याउँदै चर्चमा जाने गर्थे।

 

समय बित्दै जाँदा एक दिन ती नोकर उक्त चर्चको एल्डर हुनको लागि चुनिएछन् र विधिवत तरिकाले उनी त्यो चर्चको एल्डर पदमा नियुक्त भए।  प्रेस्बिटेरिएन चर्चमा पास्टर र एल्डरको आत्मिक अधिकार बराबर नै हुन्छ।  फरक यति मात्रै कि पास्टरलाई चर्चबाट पारिश्रमिक दिइन्छ भने एल्डरले उल्टै चर्चलाई आर्थिक सहयोग गर्नुपर्ने हुन्छ।  त्यसकारण यी नव-नियुक्त एल्डरले पनि आफ्नो मालिकको सेवालाई निरन्तरता दिंदै चर्चको एल्डरको जिम्मेवारी वहन गर्नुपर्ने भयो।

 

निरन्तर प्रगतिको रहस्य

अज्ञानता मानिसको यस्तो शत्रु हो जसले जीवनका सुख र खुसीहरू चोरेर लगेको आफूलाई थाहै हुँदैन।  त्यो भन्दा पनि बढी डरलाग्दो शत्रु अल्पज्ञान हो।  अज्ञानीलाई जब कसैले चोरको पहिचान गराइदिन्छ तब उसले आफ्नो जिउधनको सुरक्षाको लागि ढोकामा गजबार लगाउँछ भने अल्पज्ञानीले उसको घरको गजबारलाई बाहिरबाटै कसरी खोल्न सकिन्छ भनेर चोरलाई नै उपदेश दिंदै हिंड्छ।  त्यसकारण अज्ञानीको जीवनमा विकास र उन्नतिको लागि आशा हुन्छ भने अल्पज्ञानीको लागि आशा हुँदैन।

 

अज्ञानी हुनु हाम्रो भुल होइन।  जन्मसिद्ध सबै कुरा कसैले पनि सिकेर आएको हुँदैन। कतिपटक जीवनका प्रतिकूल परिस्थितिले ज्ञानको सीमा कोरिदिएको हुन्छ भने कतिपटक आफ्नै शारीरिक र मानसिक स्वास्थ्यले साथ दिएको हुँदैन। धार्मिक अन्धविश्वास, सामाजिक रूढिवादी र सामन्ती वर्गले लादेका परम्पराको कारण ज्ञानको ढोका खट्खटाउन पनि मानिस कतिपटक असमर्थ हुन्छ।  

 

मगजको ख्याल गर्नुहोस कारण जे सोच्छौं त्यस्तै बन्छौं

Don't Let Your Mind Go To Prison

Life is Beautiful

Arthur Schopenhauer saw two enemies of human happiness; need and pleasure ending in pain and boredom. He said, "The lower classes are engaged in a ceaseless struggle with need, in other words, with pain, the upper carry on a constant and often desperate battle with boredom.”

Schopenhauer looked into the eastern religions to find some kind of balance between these two enemies, but found none. Thus, he settled for pessimism generated by agnosticism.

If only he had listened to Christ, he would have found a beautiful balance between the need and pleasure. The sermon on the Mount begins with a beautiful word "Happy is the man..." and then progresses into the beauty of the lilies of the valley and the carefree birds of the air.

The Psalmist of old summarized the essence of the sermon on the Mount in saying, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will fulfill the desires of your heart" (37:4).

Man was created to enjoy the company of his creator. Sadly, Schopenhauer attempted to find happiness without the creator and thus concluded that life is practically meaningless. No wonder he is known as the philosopher of pessimism.

Life is beautiful. Life is meaningful. Life is joyful.

To enjoy this life, we must overcome the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth.

Jesus gave us the parable of the seed sower whose seed fell in good soil producing 30, 60, and 100 times more. He likened this good soil to a good and noble human heart.

The purpose of this good and noble human heart is to seek God's kingdom and God's righteousness.

When that happens, God himself comes down to take care of human need, human pain. The cross is the evidence. In the cross, Jesus took our pain. In the resurrection, he has met all human needs.

The life we live, we live by faith in the son of God who gave himself for us. If he gave himself for us, will he not give us all things we need? Indeed he will said Paul in Romans 8:31.

When I Called The Professor As My "Brother"!

I spent the childhood in detesting my biological family.  As a newborn infant, I was abandoned by parents at birth on the basis of their religious and astrological convictions.  Spent the first ten years of my life in maternal grandparents’ home where I endured a kind of child abuse by an uncle that nearly cost my sanity.  At eleven, I was brought back to my father’s home where physical and emotional abuses nearly cost my life.  The terms “father”, “brother”,  “uncle” found no place in my oral or mental vocabulary.  The only endearing terms were, and still are, “grandfather” and “grandmother”.  Sadly, I was not aware of my grandpa’s death (apparently he died while I was being taken care of by another family).  I still have a memory of my childhood days of waiting for his return for a long time; no one told me he had died.   When I was brought back to my father’s home, I lost the love of my grandma too.  Thus, back in my father’s home, the goal of my life was to get away from the family as far as I could get.

In my quest of running away, I ran into the Lord Jesus Christ.  In an amazing manner, he transformed my life, my quest and my destiny.  I got into a small Christian community.  Everyone in that community called each other as “brother so and so” and “sister so and so.”  There appeared to be a deeply rooted brotherly kindness even among the strangers.  Such friendship and intimacy began to affect my otherwise solitary existence.  As I grew closer to Christ and to Christians, I began to feel at home in the church. 

Why Was I So Fascinated With The Northeast? - Part 2

I was born and brought in an ultra-conservative Hindu society in the far western part of Nepal. At the age of 17, I happened to read a booklet that brought me to the feet of Jesus Christ.  When I eventually met some Christians, the thing that fascinated my young imagination was the egalitarian spirit of that small community where the higher caste and the lower caste would sit together, eat together, and live with no single care of being defiled by the other!  Men and women sat together and talked with each other so freely and so comfortably as if there was no wall between them.  In my childhood experience as a Hindu, I was not allowed to eat or even touch a lower caste.  Even as little school children, when we came home from the school, someone would have to sprinkle clean water over us before we could enter the house.  If no one was at home to do so, in that case, there would be a water jar kept outside for that particular purpose, and because there was no one to do the sprinkling, one would have to find a green leaf in the yard, dip the leaf in the water without touching the jar and then sprinkle the drops over one’s head. 

Why Was I So Fascinated With The Northeast?

The year was 1988.  I had just gotten in an English medium Bible College in Bangalore; though I could not make one proper sentence in English.  The first person who took a genuine interest in helping me to improve my English was a friend from Nagaland, a Christian majority state from the Northeast part of India.  His name was Nzalo Kath (not sure of the spelling).  Our friendship was short lived as he developed a serious stomach problem and went home.  He never returned back to college; had no address to write to him. I still wonder if he even survived the sickness.  But he left a lasting imprint in my young Christian mind of what a Christian friendship would look like.

By the second year in college, my English improved a little, and the circle of my friendship was expanding.  Many of those inner circle friends were from the Northeast.  If things had to go by my appearance and ethnicity, I should be at home with the mainland Indian friends.  But for some mysterious reasons, I was drawn to friends from the Northeast.  So much so, by the end of my fourth year in college, I had fallen in love with a beautiful lady from Manipur, another state in the Northeast where Christians make the majority of the population.  Falling in love with a warm hearted lady brought all together a different level of excitement and attraction to the Northeast.  After 28 years of marriage with a person from this part, this excitement about the Northeast has not yet waned.

There is a Friend who sticks Closer than a Brother!

I met Pastor Asher Wasker some 32 years ago in a Bible College in Bangalore. He graduated a year ahead of me, and it took another 29 years for us to meet again yesterday here in Guwahati.

Died as a poor man but left a rich church: Paul

Just in 13 verses in 2 Timothy 4:9-22, Paul mentions 17 brothers and sisters by name in addition to many others that were not named. Out of the 17, one abandoned Paul and another opposed him.

The wonderful thing about Paul is that even for those who abandoned or opposed him, his prayer was that it would not be held against them.