Moving over to Wordpress [https://minddebrief.wordpress.com/]

Dear friends, readers and fellow scribes,

After a long hiatus, I have re-started blogging.  This new chapter will be on wordpress (link: https://minddebrief.wordpress.com/).  Please do visit my blog and leave your valuable comments as always.

Yours sincerely,

John Xavier aka joxa

The Past

The pit.

Dig it deep.

Dump them in,

Your past,

Things you feel miserable about.

They might have some good in them,

So yea, keep those fine ones with you - experience is what they call it!

And no, don't sow any new seed in there,

You don't want the new roots to grow corrupt.

Though manure is good for the plants,

This one ain't!

Close the pit,

Close it fast and move ahead!

Move on, for there is a new place

One that you were waiting for,

One that is waiting for you,

One that will teach you more than what you've learnt thus far.

This is going to be good, you think so.

But you still hold a second thought.

Never mind, just go for it. Take the plunge.

Evaluating good vs. bad is for the ordinary, not for you.

For now you already know that good or bad is just the way you perceive any new reality.

For who knows, the new destination could also create some bad past in the future,

But that shouldn't be a reason for you to not try.

Remember life only gets better, 

Not because we grow older, possess new things, or make new relationships, 

But because we have learnt to bury the bad old past and sow the seeds of experience 

In the pristine landscapes of the future.

And that's how Good Old Past is made.

Courage to Forgive

Working out at the gym is generally not part of my Sunday routine. But, I felt like doing some weight training and so went to the gym. After stretches and warm-up, I started my super-set with incline press and lat pull down. And the next was supposed to be bar-bell bench press and seated row. When I was going to start my bar-bell bench press, I noticed another member (in his late 40s) doing it. And so I waited for him to finish to let him know if we can alternate.

Here’s our conversation:

Me: Have you completed?

Other guy: No.

Me: Can we alternate?

Other guy: Okay, but you will need to do and replace the weights back.

Me: Sure, I’ll remove what I add and you can do the same.

Other guy: No, you have remove and add after your work out and keep it how I want.

Me: [furious and irritated] Sir, that’s not how it works… you’re doing something, I’ll change that for my work out and you do the same for yourself… why should I fix weights for you?

Other guy: Sorry, we can’t do it that way… please check with the gym management…

Me: You go check them, why should I - - I’d rather do my work out on the smith’s machine than to have a chat like this with you.

I didn’t want to lose my warm-up and so did my bench press on smith’s machine. But that conversation totally irritated me, making me think what kind of guy was he. As I was working out, the irritation grew more and more and I was abusing him in my mind. And I felt like going and telling him, I pity your family for the type of attitude you have.

I finally completed my work out with pull-ups and dips. And before I went to give him a piece of my mind, I thought I’ll do 10 mins walk on the treadmill. My mind was contemplating many things that I should tell him before I leave. And, finally at about 3 mins after my walk, the word ‘forgiveness’ came to my mind. I could very clearly sense someone prodding me to forgive him. And so, I did it in my heart and a great thought came to me. It takes courage and strength to fight and win over a person physically, but it takes much more courage and strength to break down your ego and forgive someone and win their heart.

I prayed as I was walking and thanked the Holy Spirit for his counsel. Again, I sensed someone prodding me to get off the treadmill and got talk to that man. Exactly, when I got down, he finished his inclined press and was sitting. I said, “Sir, don’t take me wrong and I’m sorry if you felt offended… I’m going to the church, and I’d definitely don’t want to go like this.” He looked overwhelmed and gave me his hand and said, “I’m glad that you came and I’m sorry too… You see I was a heavy lifter and I generally don’t keep a count of the number of sets I do plus my back hurts a lot if I keep changing weights… I could have told you better but as I was in the middle of my workout, I couldn't speak clearly. It’s really nice of you to come and talk to me. It’s a credit to the Lord Jesus Christ.” I controlled my emotions at that statement and said, “I’m John.” He introduced himself as Raj and we had another few exchanges and I went to shower to go to church.

And as I was walking to the men’s room; the verse that came to my mind was: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God.” And I said in my heart: “Thank you, Lord.”

Tears of Joy

Crying is an expression of emotion that is least understood by us. We most often associate it with sorrow, but fail to see that it is also the highest expression of joy. Picture a mother who loses her only child in a large crowd and later finds him after her desperate search. The moment she finds her child, she embraces him with tears running down her eyes.

And as I sat back and pondered upon this wonderful expression that God has blessed us with, I was pushed into a deeper level of understanding. Two recent incidents show-cased the impact of this emotional expression.

In one situation, I was really pushed to my wits end with no flicker of hope. And as I pictured its impact, tears welled up and I went down on my knees to say nothing, but to just thank my Lord for the many great days He was pleased to give me.

The following morning, I received a verse from a friend of mine. This is the verse God has been speaking to me with for quite some time now. (Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future). And as I was reading the verse, tears rolled down my eyes expressing an uncontrollable satisfaction that God hasn't missed me out and is faithful to what He has promised.

In another situation, I had a sudden desire to sing worship songs in a group. Nothing that happened that whole day went according to my plan and I even forgot that I thought about something. And as the day was drawing to a close, I walked into the office cafeteria at about 7:30p and one of my good friend's at work mentioned that Don Moen is performing near our office location (at St. Theresa's Church Nungambakkam) - - Don Moen recently came down for a concert last Sunday and I missed it.

My friend and I attended the concert after work - - just when Don began to sing - - and it was a wonderful hour of praise and worship. And just in the middle of when Lenny Leblanc was singing 'Above All', I found myself overwhelmed. I thought how much God loves me that He even fulfills a desire that I myself have forgotten.

These incidents led me through the crests and troughs of emotions, both of which stretched me. But my cry had a meaning only when I cried in His presence when I worshipped My Lord. What a wonderful thing God has given man - - a spirit of worship and tears of joy.

An Ode to Rain

The first one splattered and rolled down.

Followed, the next one with such precision,

That it was hard to say one from another.

Such is the beauty of the droplets of water when it rains.

And as I was watching those tiny drops descend on the glass window,

Slowly and beautifully, softly and tenderly,

They designed that glass so marvelously which

Even made Picasso and Michael Angelo cringe away in defeat.

Looking beyond the droplets, I saw the grey clouds

So dutifully refreshing the plants, shrubs and trees, and

Replenishing the land with the much needed elixir.

Such is the life sustaining order of rain.

A new day dawns, fresh and clean,

Chill and breezy, with the song of the morning birds

And the joy of the squirrels on the trees running here and there.

Even the greatest philosopher cannot fully understand the work of God

Of which rain is just a part.

Completing 27, gaining new perspective on The Gang

Every year my birthday celebration seems to be getting better. Thank you all guys for making my day. And like I always say, I’m thankful to God for such great friends. Out of the entire eventful evening, I’d like to pick out one specific piece, which stands out – on what I think about each one of you. Given that all of you are such good friends to me, it was quite hard for me to describe each one of you in few words. On the whole, each one of you is unique in your own way and none can replace anyone within the group. Just like the human body, every part has its own purpose and reason to be and without one of them, the body is considered disabled.

And so, here’s a bit of brief background on why I said what I said (read again;)). Forgive me if I’ve made any error as these are only my perception of my friends from my point of view.

Trafiro – Ever youth: You are one of those who are forever young with no placeholder for the word ‘worries’.

Amit – Easygoing: You are so frank that you even scare people by your frankness by saying both my kidneys are out… jokes apart. You’re easygoing nature is unique in our pack

Gayathri – Very nice friend: You have true heart with trust at its centre.

Balaji – Big brother: You’re there at all times, to plan, organize and help out in times of need.

Yogi – Understanding: You’re one of those rare ones who listen and understand before giving any suggestion (at Tuticorin, we had a conversation on marriage remember)

Mohan – Adaptive and flexible: You are so adaptive that even amidst chaos you have talent to take a nap and then get back on track. It’s truly a gift.

Kiran – Laughing riot: You cannot be separate by laughter. Whether the joke you say is funny or not, the way you laugh makes people laugh automatically. Keep laughing

Prashanth – Empathizer: You put others ahead of yourself and make every effort to help out.

JP – Youthful and easygoing: You’re easygoing attitude makes you not have any second thought before you speak. Just go with the flow.

Rekha – Smiley: You’ve been blessed with a smile that will get you out of any situation.

Joseph – Calm and understanding: You’re smile is not only on your face, but in your heart and soul too.

Sowmya – Responsible friend: You have a fine ability to fulfill your responsibilities as Wife, Sister, Daughter and Professional. My prayer is that you prioritize that which is most important.

Karthik – Controlled: You are never out of track or mind. You are consistent and daring in that which you commit to.

AB – High presence of mind: Your wise-cracks are always timed at the right moments which amplifies the joke at all times.

Shandrina – Mrs. Trafiro: You are THE person who completes Mr. Trafiro.

Simna – Strong mind: Your tough experiences succumbed to you because of the strong person you are. Though your struggles were hard, your learning has taken you to an equilibrium point. You are a balanced person.

Sikha – A very calm friend: Your silent personality makes you a very calm person even when the world falls apart.

Rahul – Friend for life: You are a gift to this entire group. I’m sure everyone will agree to that.

Rejeesh – Thought Partner: You have a quest for knowledge that helps us collaborate and share info with each other. I hope that your quest for truth will supersede the quest for knowledge.

Aarathi – Go-getter: You will make every effort to get what you want.

Bala – Seeker: You always have a need for a trusted friend, which arises, from your single-child background. I just realized that every other person in our group has a sibling but you. This makes you unique in the group. My prayer is that you will find your soul-mate soon which will end your seeking.

Srinath – Creative: You have the ability to thrive where other find it hard to even survive. And no wonder you’re our Macho man.

Karthik (panda) – Experiential Philosopher: You’ve faced the rough patches of life with great calm and have understood the underlying philosophy of it. You are definitely my fellow philosopher at all times.

Why Go to Church?

My interaction with a couple last week left me thinking on the essence and implication of going to a church. It was clear that both of them were looking at the issue from two totally different vantage points – one from a legalistic stand point and the other from a spiritual one. Though I had an opportunity to put forth my point of view with an intention to find the middle ground based on the Word, it was quite clear that one of them was not interested in anything that affected status quo.

In my experience at work, God has given me several opportunities to learn a lot of things. One of them is, to make decisions. And to make sound decisions, one has to have the right facts. And more often than not, these are not obvious and so one has to ask the right questions to get to them. So, at the most primary level, it is framing one’s questions to get the facts to make a decision. In this case, the question looked like this “Are you coming to this church or not?” This question had a strong potential to polarize the two parties as you’re either for it or against it plus one’s answer would arise from the present situation instead of the starting point.

And so, as I thought about it, I wanted to ask the right question. I framed it this way - “what is a church, what do followers of Christ do there and where do we as Christians stand in that context?” I think answering this question would help our couple (and anyone else who has a similar issue) find the truth above our opinions and belives. The very word “church” is mentioned in the Holy Bible only after Apostle Stephen was martyred. The root of the word “church” comes from Greek “ekklesia” which means a group or assembly of people meeting with a common purpose. So, what is important to note here is that it was NOT tied to a particular place, but a particular purpose.

And what do these people do when they meet is mentioned in the book of Acts and 1 Corinthians. Two verses that caught my attention were these: “They [believers in Christ Jesus] devoted themselves to Apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… Everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts – Acts 2:42&46.”

“What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church – 1 Corinthians 14:26”

These verses clearly inform us that in a church

§ One must listen and learn apostles’ teaching which is the Holy Bible (the only authority). Quite often this is wrongly interpreted as what a particular church pastor says is to be followed implicitly as that is considered as apostles’ teaching. My suggestion for this group of people is to follow the example of Bereans (Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true – Acts 17:11). The fact of the matter is your pastor did not give you salvation; it was the Lord and your faith in His Word.

§ And secondly, one must fellowship by connecting with the fellow believers and encouraging each other on can strengthen the church as in 1 Corinthians 14.26 (above).

So, by following what is written in the Word let’s make our time meaningful at the Church of God. We would do well if we worship our God in Spirit and Truth rather through rules and rituals. We’ve been made free by Christ, let’s not get enslaved by enforcing rules that don’t satisfy our Maker. My hope and prayer to the couple and many others is that they find the truth above their opinions and beliefs. I honestly feel that our beliefs and opinions don’t change the way of life in general, but only alter our approach to the changes in our society. In the end the question is not just “why go to Church?” but “Am I fulfilling my role as a follower of Christ?”

May God bless you!!