तपाईँ अहंकारी, लाचारी वा नम्र ख्रिष्टियन? खगेन्द्र संग्रौलाको अवलोकन

Life Lessons from Nepal's Maoists

From 1996 until 2006, Nepal experienced brutal Maoist rebellion that took the lives of nearly 16 thousand people and hundreds of thousands were displaced during those ten years.  The rebellion started with what many thought was an insignificant group of disgruntled people with no political will and knowledge.  Most of its members came from the oppressed class known as “Dalits” or the “Untouchables”.  Hindu caste system had put Dalits at the lowest end of society and for hundreds if not thousands of years even the Dalits believed their gods had made them inferior to the upper classes of Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Baisays; Dalits had no option in life but to be subservient to the upper classes. 

Because who they were, initially, many treated the Maoists with total disdain and apathy to their cause thinking that communism was evaporating from the earth like the early morning mist; hoping that the bunch of these untouchables can do nothing in Nepal, a heartland of Hinduism. 

Ironically, the Maoists were led by 3 prominent leaders from the upper classes.  First among them was an enigmatic leader who attempted to craft a new form of communism known after his name – Prachandpath (Way of Prachanda).  The second was an ideologue who translated the communism of the bygone era in such a vernacular spirit that even an illiterate woman from the rural Nepal could give a powerful speech on the merits of Maoism.  The last one embodied what it meant to suffer for their cause; he became their suffering Messiah who was arrested, tortured and put in prison in India for a long time.  While in prison or after the release, he became their motivation to suffer for the cause of the revolution and the coming hope of utopian Nepal.  For ten long years, in spite of severe loss of lives, Maoists grew from strength to strength, toppling governments and eradicating monarchy once and for all.  Their hope of the utopian Nepal was so strong, the children gave up schooling and joined the rebels, and parents risked their lives in the hands of the government soldiers by secretly aiding and assisting the rebels in the villages.  Finally in 2006, the government gave in, accepted Maoist proposal for peace and invited the rebels to join the mainstream politics.  Maoists won the election, lost election, sat in opposition, joined other parties in forming a government and in less than 10 years, all the utopian dreams the Dalits had have been washed into the drain as these three top Maoist leaders fell victim to their hunger for power and money.  The same Dalits who were willing to lay down their lives are now lost and confused; the same powerful communist women of the villages who could give inspiring speeches on Maoism have now themselves forgotten what they were fighting for in those ten long years of hardship and brutality in the hands of the government soldiers. 

The Bible says “where there is no vision, people perish” and how true it was for the Maoists.  As long as these three leaders provided the purpose and direction, tens of thousands of oppressed class of people rose up to the challenge of laying down their lives to make Nepal a people’s republic.  But today, as their top leaders abandoned them for the comfort and luxury of power and prosperity by sitting in the seats of corrupt government, these Dalits have once again allowed their traditional Hindu oppressors to have the free reign over them.  They have begun to join the Hindu fundamentalists’ cause to make Nepal once again a Hindu State where caste system will continue to oppress the untouchables.  Without leadership, people indeed perish.

How about your life?  Do you have a vision for your life?  Do you have human leaders who lead you?  Do you look to them for inspiration and guidance?  Do you have any idea as where your life is headed?  Or are you like these innocent Maoists who have now lost their direction in life as their leaders abandoned them?  What makes you tick? Is there a cause that inspires you?  Do you have a positive outlook in life?  What are you living for?  Do you see good days ahead of you? 

As a Christian who came from a place of aimless life, I can tell you there is no greater cause then Christ himself.  If you could know Jesus as he is, you won’t need any human leader or a cause to lead your life and inspire you to greatness.  If you know the love of God the father and the sweet communion of the Spirit, you would become a mighty force to quell.  The love of God within your heart would compel you and propel you forward in seeking God’s kingdom and righteousness.  You would have no time for lame excuses of not having ability or resources.  You won’t be worried whether you have finances or not.  You won’t be worried about your retirement benefits and future security.  You won’t be afraid to venture in new places, meet new people and try new things, all for the glory of the father.  You won’t be worried about what others are saying.  You won’t be saying “what’s in it for me” because all you would be thinking about is the day when you will stand before Christ in that celestial place where he will look into your eyes and say “well done thou good and faithful servant, you were faithful in little and now come and join your master’s joy”!  Wherever you go, you would become a force for good and a catalyst for God’s kingdom.  Jesus would be building his church through your life.  So, my friend, don’t wait for people to inspire you, don’t wait for finances to come fully to meet your needs, don’t wait for tomorrow.  Whatever God is telling you to do, do it today.  Once you experience the joy of obeying God, you won’t like to go back to your old way of living.

Nostalgia: विगतलाई सम्झँदा

Nehemiah 2:11-20 Are you for, against, or in between for God?

Pray and Obey: Difference between success and failure

Although childhood was robbed from me, I experienced God’s grace early in life.  At 19, I was in the full time ministry and by the time we were married in our 20s; our roles in the ministry were that of the ministers in their 40s and 50s.  The Lord united my wife and me in such a way that our callings, giftings, and love for the Lord and his kingdom became one and the same for both of us.  From the time we answered the heavenly call, never thought about our future, our security, our needs and desires.  All we wanted was to see the glory of God and salvation of his people through our humble efforts.  Our house was always open, our hands always extended and our hearts always filled with pain when we could not help God’s children overcome their difficulties in life. 

Over the years, God blessed us with many friends and fellow believers who needed our prayers and ministry.  Grateful to God for the wisdom and grace we were able to impart.  In return, we have also been greatly blessed by so many friends who saw our needs as if they were theirs too.  To this day, we have a visible and an invisible list of names that we pray for regularly. 

In this short span of our ministry, we have seen God’s children enjoying abundant life and at the same time saddened to see some simply giving up on life all together.  Some of them were younger than us and others like our parents, even grandparents.  We witnessed some making remarkable progress while others plunging in the ever expanding patch of quicksand of misery and agony.  In reflecting on this, two things come to mind.  These two things Jesus asked the disciples to do in the Garden of Gethsemane, especially to Peter.  He said; “Simon, are you asleep?  Could you not keep watch for one hour?  Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.  The Spirit is willing, but the body is weak” (Mk. 14:37-38). 

The one thing that keeps a person on the path of progress, blessing, peace, victory, joy and life of abundance is the path of prayer.  When someone says “I am praying”, that person acknowledges God’s existence and rule over his life and future.  Prayer also acknowledges that God is a good God who rewards those who seek him diligently.  That’s why the book of Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith it is impossible to please God”.  You might as well ask “what to believe”?  The same verse gives us the content of our faith; “God is and that he is the rewarder of those who seek him earnestly”. 

A praying person has a sovereign God over his life who is also a good God who delights to fulfill the desires of his children.  Jesus personally commanded Peter to keep praying and watching but he did not do and soon fell away. 

So, the second thing that we saw making a difference in the life of God’s children is the obedience.  Jesus tells them to “watch” but they went back to sleep as soon as Jesus stepped away.  They did not obey Jesus, and specially Peter.  Had he listened to Jesus and obeyed him, kept a watch over his soul, kept a watch over his spirit and body, kept a watch over what was happening, he could have been spending more time in prayer with God the father as Jesus had taught them and possibly could have avoided the heartbreak he went through.  But he refused to heed Jesus’ warning to keep a watch and when the temptation came, he fell away.

Without putting God’s word into practice, all else will be of no use.  God will not do what he has asked you to do.  But if you do what he has asked you to do, he will do what he promised to do for you. It is that simple.  Some people keep complaining about God not answering their prayers.  The question is; are you doing what God has asked you to do?

In conclusion;

Prayer presupposes faith in God’s sovereign existence and goodness of his character.  Obedience requires humility of the heart and mind. 

When we have faith in God’s person and his goodness, when we are humble in our hearts and minds, our prayer life becomes vigorous.  We can’t imagine of going a day without a heartfelt prayer to God.  When such a prayer is birthed in our hearts, we experience divine favor in life.  We transcend our weaknesses, we achieve more than our natural abilities and talents would have allowed us.  We start living above our circumstances and take control of our lives.  And soon, we find out that the promises God made to the children of Israel can be ours as well through Christ.  God said, “if you obey my words and walk in my ways…then, you will be on top and never at the bottom, you will be the head and not the tail…God will chase your enemies seven different ways…you will be blessed when you come in and when you go out…you will lend but not borrow…everything you put your hands upon will be blessed…your property and your children will be blessed” (Deut. 28:1-14).

Those precious friends who took God’s word seriously and trusted God, started to pray.  When they prayed, they became more like Christ in their character.  Their faith strengthened and they began to take the step of faith in obeying God’s word.  When they obeyed God’s word, they experienced divine favor in their lives.  But those who refused to either pray or obey God found out that this life is one long miserable journey in which everyone else seems to be doing just fine but them. 

Broken and Contrite Heart

At birth, Jacob was grasping Esau’s heel as if to say “I want to go first”, or “don’t leave me here alone”.  Possibly he wanted to come first but due to his physique and temperament, he could not beat Esau and the only thing he could do was to cling in Esau’s heel so that he won't be left behind.  When their mother, Rebekah, prayed about the struggle that was going on in her womb, God made it clear to her that the one who comes first would serve the one who comes second. Jacob had no idea about that.  All he wanted was to beat his brother so that he can also feel significant and important.  As the brothers grew up to be little boys, the elder one impressed the father while the younger one developed feminine qualities of hanging around his mother’s chores and household activities.  Looking at Jacob’s timidity, mother must have consoled him by talking about God’s plan for his future.  When he imagined his brother serving him, he must have felt good.  But, Jacob wanted to make sure that this plan of God that his mother talked about would surely take place.  His reason told him that such a thing could only happen if he could somehow be declared the first born; after all it was just a matter of brief moment’s difference, he must have thought. 

Matthew 6:33 How Do You Seek God's Kingdom?

Audio Nepali Bible Study on Philippians

Nepali Bible Study on Philippians (7): ४ः१०-२३ दिने विस्वासिको खाँचो परम...

आर्थिक चिन्ताले सेवाको नाममा भ्रष्टाचार ल्याउँछ

जीवनमा केही न केही कुराको चिन्ता प्राय सबैलाई हुन्छ किनकि यो मानवीय स्वभाव हो। यदि हामीलाई कुनै कुराको चिन्ता लाग्दैन भने हामी मानसिक समस्याको शिकार भैरहेका हुनसक्दछौं र जीवनमा यसले ठूलो खति ल्याउनसक्छ। एकातिर चिन्ता लाग्नु स्वस्थ मानवीय स्वभाव हो भने, अर्कोतिर, चिन्ताले हामीलाई नाश पनि गर्नसक्छ। यसको अस्वाभाविक उपस्थितिले हाम्रो जीवनमा ठूलो मानसिक वा भावनात्मक गडबडीको साङ्केतिक प्रमाण दिइरहेको हुनसक्छ। यदि समयमै यसको ठीक निवारण भएन भने हाम्रो जीवनबाट यसले मानसिक, शारीरिक, सामाजिक र आत्मिक खुसीहरू सदाका लागि लुटेर लान सक्छ। यसमा भएको नकरात्मक शक्तिले जीवनप्रतिको हाम्रो दृष्टिकोणलाई यसरी क्षति गर्छ कि हामी असल र खराबलाई छुट्याउनै सक्दैनौं र चिन्ता मुक्त हुनको लागि यसले हामीलाई नैतिकताका सीमानाहरू पनि मास्न प्रोत्साहन गर्दछ र हाम्रो आत्मिक जीवनलाई निस्सासिदिन्छ (मत्ति १३:२२)।