REASONS TO BELIEVE IN CHRISTIANITY

There are many reasons to prove that Christianity is very much different from other faiths. The main reason is that the founder of Christianity, Lord Jesus Christ is a Risen Lord. He was born as a human being, lived as a human, suffered for the whole mankind as a human and was crucified as a human. He rose again from the dead on the third day and now seated at the right hand of the Father. The early Christians were not the theologians or the philosophers, but were the witnesses to the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead after three days inspite of sealing His body in the Tomb with guards, yet after three days the tomb was empty and those who saw the Living Christ were risking their lives to declare that HE IS ALIVE. We all believe that He shall come again to judge the world for what we have done throughout our life. There had been hundreds of prophecies of His Second Coming, but the Lord Jesus Himself have said that "NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY, EXCEPT THE FATHER" it means that no humanbeing knows about the Day but He wants all of us to stay awake, alert and always be in prayers. The founder Himself was in the beginning at the time of creation with the Father and He will be there on the Day of Judgment. The accuracy with which the Bible has been written is confirmed by the Dead Sea Scroll of Qumran. Today the Bible speak not only with the Spiritual power but also with prophetic accuracy. The whole Bible stresses on the love of God for the whole mankind. even during the ministry of Jesus, He showed his compassion for the poor and the oppressed, sick and the dying and for the sinners. He healed the sick, casted out the evil spirits, fed the multitude and raised the dead; not only this inspite of knowing that He will be betrayed by His own disciple He willingly wished to fulfill the Will of His Heavenly Father. It is Jesus Christ who reveals the caring love of the Heavenly Father for all that He has created. Jesus during his ministry set an example before us to lead a pure and righteous life that is pleasing to God. The life of Jesus not only changed the life of the disciples but also the life of their enemy, SAUL who's task was to catch the Christians and put them behind the bar. Saul was transformed to PAUL, from a Christian killer to the one who gave his life to establish the churches for the Lord. The Bible also explained that the problems in human life is the problem of the heart. Jesus said - "out of our heart proceed evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, blasphemy. These are the things that defile man." Years after years we have hoped for the better future, we have fought wars, developed educational and technology theories yet we are not able to establish a world of peace, joy, love and justice. The carpenter's son changed the world. The world bears the silent witness to his birth, death, resurrection and the second coming. There is no other way that offers salvaton for forgiveness, eternal life and adoption into the family of God by calling and trusting.

GOD’S WORD GIVES US STRENGTH TO RESIST TEMPTATIONS

The expression temptation in the second part of the theme means test or trail to examine how steadfast a believer is in faith and belief he proclaims and pronounces. It is not only a test, but for an ardent believer is a process to strengthen him and invigorate his faith. In a sense, therefore, says that we should could it a blessing when we fall into temptation. But it will not be the same with everybody; unless the person under assault by temptation is cautious to fight it out, there is the danger of the person losing the crown reserved for him. Temptation assails man from within. Members of the body are the tools of temptation and the chief of the tool is the eye. People in general may at times when they are tempted; say that they are tempted by God. We must guard ourselves not to be beguiled by such thinking.

In the Gospels according to Matthew and Luke, we see how Jesus was tempted. Let us note the Scripture carefully; Jesus Christ, being full of Holy Spirit, returned and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness and was tempted by the devil, The Satan, for 40 days. On the one hand we note that he was full of Holy Spirit and on the other hand we note he was led into wilderness, when he was tempted for 40 days. This appears conflicting. How could the Spirit lead any man into wilderness, and how could the devil tempt anybody filled with Holy Spirit? It suggests that the devil, who is the tempter, always lurks behind the persons filled with the Spirit to trap them in and to devour and enfeeble them. All of us therefore must be vigilant not to fall victims to the ingenious devices of the devil. In the gospel lesson we could observe as it were an internal exaltation, in the form of devilish mentality that provoked Jesus to perform certain exercises utilizing the energy acquired by him by virtue if his fasting of 40 days and spending time with his Heavenly Father. If the devil had accosted him in the form of a living being, he would
have chastised or cursed him away, but we find that he was led to a high mountain and then he was set on a pinnacle of the temple, it must be a mental and emotional exaltation of him understandably infused by the evil spirit. But we need not to be scared of the enticement and snares placed on our path to Salvation, by the adversary, because the Lord in whom we believe, knows how to deliver us from temptation.
From the Gospel we note that the devil always is prone to tempt one when he/she chooses to become stronger in faith by fasting, praying and by striving to be led by the Spirit. It is because the tempter does not want anyone to get out of his hold. Here is therefore a lesson for all of us. When we decide or resolve to become sturdy in our faith, we shall be all more liable to be tempted and it should be the appropriate time to guard ourselves with complete armour. When we endure temptation, we should count it as a blessing because we can then receive the crown of life, which our Lord Jesus Christ has promised. Coming back to the first part of the theme, The Holy Bible is the WORD OF GOD which stands forever and ever, as Jesus Christ had declared in Mt. 24³⁵. It is food for the soul and Lord Jesus Christ, when was tempted by Satan to convert stones into bread and satiate his hunger, admonished the latter saying that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. God’s Word, The Holy Bible is not only food but is life and life giving source to the faithful. God’s Word opens our eyes and enables us to hold wondrous things in his Scriptures. We also note that it were eyes through which first sin came into the life of human beings. The Word of God gives us strength and encourages us to face Satan in our daily life. The word of God is written with the inspiration of God so that we all may read and understand God’s love for the whole mankind that HE gave His only begotten Son, Jesus to die as ransom for many. It is written that the word of God is so powerful that it is two edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrows and is a discerner of the thought and intents of heart.

Apostle Paul knowing that the Word of God is sharper than a sword, in his appeal to brethren to put on the armour of God including the word of God which is the sword of the spirit. In Rev.1¹⁶ we note that out of HIS mouth went a sharp two edged sword with which HE will fight those who fail to repent. It was because of this same word that Saul was transformed into Paul and it is still piercing the hearts of many, stony hearts
into the heart of flesh.

· Has this not been able to transform us from traditional Christians to true Christians?

· Has His word, the sword of God been able to make us repent and confess our faults?

If not then we should humble ourselves before God inviting His Word to enter our hearts to transform us.

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF

Man is an inseparable part of the society he lives in. He tries to influence the society by his feelings, emotions and behaviour and in return he is also influenced by the activities of the society. Man and society are thus interactive and it is man who infuses the society with his pursuits and practices and inhales for his fusion what he gather from the society. Inspite of differences between caste, colour, creed, physical growth, language, mental and intellectual standards man should always feel oneness with others. this behaviour of man leads to unity in diversity and also reflects the universal brotherhood. For those in Christian faith it is essential at the same time to retain their identity, without in any manner assimilating the customs and traditions of the society that are disadvantageous to their spiritual growth. Once we mould ourselves in such form we feel the world's joy, suffering and pain as ours.

Looking at the topic the very first question strike is - What is important "Being a Christian" or "To became a Christian"? At large we may conclude that one should first be a Christian; but on a close and deep analysis of the two expressions - BEING and BECOMING we may all also agree that unless one continues to be a Christian by leading a truthful and righteous life, we cannot be adjudged a Christian. In the Book of Prophet Jeremiah we note the exhortation of the Prophet to the Jews carried away as captives to Babylon, to pray upon the Lord for peace of the city into which they were carried captives, for peace of the city would be their peace. Here we find a new teaching and a new exhortation. Christianity in general seeks to drive a wedge between itself and others on a certain amount superiority complex. but when we learn to love others to express our concern for others, this separatist tendency disappears like darkness during the day. To understand the feelings of others and to suffer the pain of others, we must identify ourselves with others so that we can represent to God the case of others with all emphasis. Our concern for the world must be expressed by our practical participation and involvement. If we are to continue Being Christians we should continue to be truthful to our commitment to Christ Jesus. Therefore being Christian is a continuous process and it is renewal of our Christian Faith and life daily. Such renewal makes us all into Being a Christian. As a Christian the best thing we could do is to pray for the whole world and for all our fellowmen. Generally our prayers are limited to us, our wants and requirements, our loved ones and our dear ones. Apostle Paul exhorts that we should pray for all men; in other words we must become the intercessors in true Christian spirit.

1 Timothy 2:1-3 "First of all, then I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."

It is therefore our duty of every individual more particular of us Christians to get ourselves concerned for the world and then alone we can establish HIS Kingdom on earth, within us and in our midst. When the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied that the kingdom of God would not come directly, because it is within us. The commandments our Lord Jesus has propounded "That ye love one another" and "Love thy neighbor as thyself "and Do unto others as you would be done by" and the parable of the Good Samaritan, have all been made within the conceptual framework of our concern for the world. Once we develop the feeling of fellowship with others, love for others as ourselves, then we should consider ourselves as participants in the constructive program of formulating the kingdom of God on earth.

Today we have to examine ourselves, if there is any shortfall in our life to Being a Christian. There is no doubt we have become Christians and our symbolic expression to the fact is Baptism. The acid test is whether we are Being Christians or we are continuing our life by Being Christians. If we lack something in any respect then we have to pray to God to make us real Christians.