Victor Raj

Communities Personal fulfillment is the highest value, in this individualistic culture we live in. If you don’t find fulfillment in something get out of it. Sacrifice is the word consigned to dustbin. Split in the family is because of this radial individualism. Family is the most basic component of community, which is breaking down because of this individualism and in the longer run makes it difficult for people to establish meaningful relationships. Regardless of this individualism, there is a craving for community. People seek out relationships in many places, from friendship clubs, churches to virtual communities on the Web. These groups must truly be caring communities to command people’s allegiance. People must find fulfillment collectively and individually. Key word for success of these groups is “authenticity”. The Bible says, The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts…. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body…. If the whole body w...

LITTLE BOY OF GREAT FAITH Fear is the worst enemy. The story of David & Goliath is a great source of encouragement, its David’s response to adversity. This story gives us insight to how we can increase our faith, in the same way that David did, particularly the following verses: 32 David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." 33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth." 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied t...

BACK TO LIFE I asked my colleague to click my photographs to upload on my blog. As I took a look at the photographs, I just could not believe my self, I lost so much hair and grayed too!!! Yep, lost my hair, my hair lost its color. Uh! We just keep losing things, nothing stays as it was. I am reminded of the fact that I have achieved optimal development physically and also reached a point where the breakdown started. I am balding, hair is graying I can see these changes. What I can’t see is my muscles shrinking, tissues degenerating, and hormone levels declining. My body gets tired soon, muscles fatigue, joints pain. Once I used to be strong, not any more. Many years and seasons passed, storms raged, blown by wind it’s not stronger anymore. I am decomposing, decaying. A horrible thought isn’t it? No, no, no. Not a horrible though. I will tell you why. My pastor Jerry, sometime back kept his status on Google as “decomposing”. I thought he was crazy. Suddenly a thought ran through my min...

WISDOM My notes from the Study of James in my Cell Group Some people have a bumper-car mentality in their relationships with others. Using blunt words, they deliberately bump into other feelings, which is anything but harmless. “He who restrains his lips is wise,” says Solomon. But James says, “No man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). James says in Vs. 3:9 that with the tongue we bless our God who created us, but we also curse those whom God created. Both blessing and curse cannot come out of mouth. To tame our tongues, we need God’s help. Paul says in Romans that we need to make a choice-to present our bodies “ as instruments of righteousness to God” not “as instruments of unrighteousness to sin.” Everyday we need to make a choice to present our body including our tongue as a living sacrifice to God to be used by God as an instrument of blessing. James suggests that a person who is wise reflects wisdom in his daily deeds (James3: 13). James...

TRANSFORMATION Born in a Christian family, like most of the Christian kids I grew up listening to Bible stories. Genesis tells us the story of creation; it says God took 6 days to complete His work of art, the Creation. It also tells us that it took just a few minutes for a man to destroy this great work of art. Man declares independence from God and parts. A brother kills his own brother taking authority over the life, which is legitimately God’s. And in that sinful world I am born. And to restore this world, and me God condescended Himself into human form Jesus Christ, who shed His blood to restore that work of art. It took God 32 painful years to make me realize that He is the Lord of all creation and Lord of my life, my resource and my perfect foundation. For those 32 years I lived, as I wanted, without God. Did whatever pleased me, aimless, no map. Jerry says that he doesn’t understand why maps are there in the Bible. But I think maps are important, they help us to know where we ...