Marbaniang, Domenic

Esau sold his birthright for a pot of pottage. The devil seems to have been in the pottage industry ever since then.

A great story that I saw this morning: God’s Ways by Dr. Shaily Bhashanjaly (Value Education - VIII, Holy Faith International) Life is a mixed bag of joys and sorrows, success and failures. It is in difficult times that your inner strength, perseverance and, most importantly, your faith are tested. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. But just know His ways are not our ways, but his ways are always the best. Remember to place your unwavering faith and trust in God. You will receive untold blessings. Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would admire the beauty." Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship and take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel...

One paradoxical condition of the sinful mind is that it doesn't know itself as sinful -- except for the grace of God, mankind would be bereft of the consciousness of sin, judgment, and repentance (Tit.2:11,12; 2Tim.2:25,26). The Spirit shakes us to our senses and brings life through the soul-rifting word of the Cross.

My Lord is there and He’ll show me The cross to take, the path to go. The cross is the mission that He gives me, The meaning of life He lets me know.

Text: Matthew 16:24   Sanjaynagar, Sunday, July 17 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. (Matt.16:24) The first requisite for one to be a follower of Jesus Christ is denying oneself, then taking up one's own cross and following Him. A little while ago, Jesus had asked what his disciples thought of Him. Peter answered, "You are Christ, the Son of the Living God," and Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jona, for flesh and blood [meaning man] has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven." Peter may have felt elated and so began imagining that he was someone important now. So, when Jesus immediately began speaking of His death and resurrection, he took Jesus aside (just think how daring does blind pride make one) and began rebuking (!) Him saying that such things won't happen. Jesus immediately rebuked him saying, ""Get behind M...

Text: Ecclesiastes 3:11 Sanjaynagar, Friday, July 15. "He has made everything beautiful in its time." (Eccl.3:11) If you have been wondering if life has any meaning or purpose, remember this, that you are beautiful, not because of how you feel or what people say, but because the Word of God declares that He has made you beautiful in your time. Some people give up very soon thinking it's all over and nothing's gonna work out. Remember Job's wife, how she came to him and said "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" But, Job knew that suffering is not meaningless. When the fire blazes hotter, the beauty of the gold gets clearer. There is a time for everything, and He has made everything beautiful in its time. 1. God Has Made Us So That We May Seek Him and Know Him And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,...

Text: Romans 12:2 Wednesday, July 13. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom 12:2) Knowing God's will is important. It is not an option, but a necessity. Jesus walked according to His Father's will. "Not as I will, but as You will" He prayed in the Garden of Gethsamane. He was led by the Holy Spirit and worked and taught by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:1,2; 10:38). He has given us the Spirit so that we may walk according to His leading in our life. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (1Co 2:11-12) There are three things necessary in order for us to be able to discern ...

Fichte, The Vocation of the Scholar "To subject all irrational nature to himself, to rule over it unreservedly and according to his own laws, is the ultimate end of man; which ultimate end is perfectly unattainable, and must continue to be so, unless he were to cease to be man, and become God. It is a part of the idea of man that his ultimate end must be unattainable; the way to it endless. Hence it is not the vocation of man to attain this end. But he may and should constantly approach nearer to it; and thus the unceasing approximation to this end is his true vocation as man; i. e. as a rational but finite, as a sensuous but free being." ~ Johann Gottlieb Fichte, The Vocation of the Scholar _________________________ The New Testament Subjection of Nature Through Christ "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because th...

Of a project for engaging him in the ministry, he thus writes -- "I know my opinions. I am neither of the Lutheran nor Reformed Church, but of the Christian ; and were I compelled to choose, I should (since no purely Christian community now exists) attach myself to that community in which there is most freedom of thought and charity of life ; and that is not the Lutheran, I think. . . . . . I have given up these hopes in my fatherland entirely. There is indeed a degree of enlightenment and rational religious knowledge existing among the younger clergy of the present day, which is not to be found to the same extent in any other country of Europe. But this is crushed by a worse than Spanish inquisition, under which they must cringe and dissemble, partly because they are deficient in ability, partly because in consequence of the number of clergy in our land their services can be spared, while they cannot sacrifice their employment. Hence arises a slavish, crouching, hypocritical sp...

THERE'S A BEGGAR sitting by the gate called Beautiful, And he needs more than just silver and gold; The priests scoff by, The rich walk by, The people throng by, The children ask why This beggar's sitting by the gate called Beautiful. There's a preacher coming to the gate called Beautiful, And he ain't got any silver or gold; But, he won't lie, And, he won't shy; For, he's the kinda guy Who'll just stop by This beggar sitting by the gate called Beautiful. A priest gnarls by, "Wretched beggars defacing the Temple!" A vendor calls by, "Come, you fella! Got any change of coins?" A youth rocks by, "Hey dude! Got good style ha; keep on rockin'!" The beggar's not listenin', He's eyes are on the preacher transfixed; He stretches out his palm for alms; The preacher grasps his arm, "Silver and gold have I none," he says But what I have I give to you; In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, Rise up and walk, I say ...

Shepherd of my soul Shepherd of my soul I give you full control, Wherever You may lead I will foll-ow. I have made the choice to listen for Your vo-vo-ice, Wherever You may lead I will go. Be it in a quiet pasture or by a gentle stream, The Shepherd of my soul is by my side. Should I face a mighty mountain or a valley dark and deep, The Shepherd of my soul will be my guide. मेरा चरवाहा मेरा चरवाहा मेरा प्रभु महान जहा भी ले जाएं मै चलूंगा मेरा यह निर्णय तेरी आवाज सुनूं जहा भी ले जाएं मै चलूं चाहे हो ये ठंडी छां,झरनों के पास मेरा चरवाहा मेरा प्रभु ये पहाड़ है विशाल, घोर अंधकार मेरा चरवाहा है मेरा प्रभु MERA CHARVAHA MERA PRABHU MAHAN JAHA BHI LE JAYE MEI CHALUNGA MERA YEH NIRNAI TERI AWAAZ SUNOON JAHA BHI LE JAYE MEI CHALUN CHAHE HO YE THANDI SHA JHARNON KE PASS MERA CHARVAHA MERA PRABHU YE PAHAD HEI VISHAL AUR GHOR ANDHAKAR MERA CHARVAHA MERA PRABHU Trans. D. Marbaniang

Text: Micah 3 1.  Hatred of Good and Love of Evil (Mic 3:2) A. Values that are Self-Centered, Not Christ-Centered B. Values that are Self-Defined, Not Spirit-Defined C. Values that are Self-Glorifying, Not God-Glorifying A confused value-system that honors culture, man, and the world rather than the Law of God Luke16:15 And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God. 2. Exploitation of the Sheep (Mic 3:2) A. Manipulating People Like Things and Not Treating Them as Persons B. Over-Demanding C. Not Caring for the Well-being of Sheep Mat 20:25-28 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let hi...

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. ( Deuteronomy 33:27, NIV) THE ETERNALITY of God demonstrates His unfailing power of self-existence and self-sustenance. He is both invincible and indestructible. Therefore, He is our best refuge. Earthly shelters and shields have their bounds against bruises but God is a sure refuge of all those who trust in Him. The promise of the Scripture not only tells us that God is our refuge but also that this security is undergirded by His everlasting arms, which speak of at least three things: 1.  Care.  His everlasting arms underneath us speak about His love and care towards us. As a mother holds her child in her arms, so does He hold us in His everlasting arms.  Someone said that the four letter word LOVE can also be spelt as CARE. For if we don’t care for someone then we don’t even love that person. But God demonstrated His care and love towards us so much as to send His beloved Son to die for us. 2. Comf...

From Marbaniang, Domenic.  Epistemics of Divine Reality  © 2007. p.31 EPISTEMOLOGY is related to knowledge while Ontology is related to reality. Epistemology seeks to understand the nature, sources, and scope of knowledge; Ontology, to understand the nature of reality. Epistemology deals with the meaning of Truth; Ontology deals with the meaning of reality. True or false is predicated of statements only. Real or unreal is predicated of existence. Therefore, logic and semantics are important issues in the study of truth. Truth is mental; reality is essential. Truth is dependent on reality; reality is independent of truth. Truth is usually contextual. There are different kinds of truths that are truthful only within their contexts. For instance, there are poetical truths expressed in statements that would appear total falsehood in any other linguistic context or genre.  Truth is that which is known about reality. As such, therefore, truth, in common experience, is substanti...

Imagination is the faculty of forming mental images or concepts. There are three kinds of imagination: Productive Imagination. Also, referred to by Kant as transcendental imagination, whose function is to synthesize, by means of the a priori categories, the manifold experience. It is spontaneous and a priori. By the help of this faculty one is able to experience the world of senses in a meaningful way. Reproductive Imagination. It is the power of reproducing images stored in the memory under the suggestion of associated images. (Random Dictionary) Creative Imagination. It is the power of recombining former experiences in the creation of new images directed at a specific goal or aiding in the solution of problems. (Random Dictionary)

Time will test both friends and enemies, The ones who war, the ones who make peace; Don't watch the stars, don't divine by any breeze, Time itself will tell the friends from the enemies

From Marbaniang, Domenic.  Epistemics of Divine Reality © 2007. To the attacks of the pluralists, Zeno of Elea, disciple of Parmenides offered several arguments in form of paradoxes that demonstrated the utter absurdity of commonsense realism. Since absurdity is a sign of falsity, it is false that reality is many. Hence, Zeno argues that reality must be one. It may be noted that the paradox may also mean, contrary to Zeno’s contention, that reason is false and experience is true. However, since it is difficult to label reason as false without the use of reason itself, the certainty of rational reality looms over that of experience. Few of Zeno’s most famous proofs are as follows: The Paradoxes of Plurality The Argument from Denseness If there are many, they must be as many as they are and neither more nor less than that. But if they are as many as they are, they would be limited. If there are many, things that are are unlimited. For there are always others between the things that ...

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1) From  Explorations of Faith ,  2009. Secondly, faith is “the substance of things hoped for.” In other words, the things that we hope for are, at present, composed of and given to us as faith. Therefore, whenever we have faith we also have the things we hope for in the form of faith now.  That is why Jesus said “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mk. 11:24). He doesn’t ask them to believe that they will receive it in future but to believe that they have already received it in faith. In other words, if someone has faith in God for something, he already has that thing. I believe this is so because God is not conditioned by time but if something is “yes” in Him then it is eternally “yes” and the same in future, present, and past. Thus, it is not whether that thing will be real to us in the future but whether it is already real in the sight of...

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1) From Explorations of Faith , 2009. The Greek word for “substance” used here is hupostasis (υπόστασις), from which is derived our English word “hypostasis”, which means, in metaphysics, “essential nature or underlying reality.” Literally, it meant “that which is placed under”, that is the ground beneath something on which the thing gains a firm foothold. It is in this sense that the Septuagint (LXX) uses it for “standing” in Psalm 69:2, where the psalmist says, “I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing,” [1] or place for the foot to rest. The word is used five times in the New Testament; thrice as “assurance” or “confidence”, once as “person” or “essential nature”, and once, i.e. here, as “substance”. Obviously, a word can be used in more than one sense, as for instance the word “ground” in the English language can be used to mean “the surface of the earth”, “a piece of land”, e.g....

From The Republic And no good thing is hurtful? No, indeed. And that which is not hurtful hurts not? Certainly not. And that which hurts not does no evil? No. And can that which does no evil be a cause of evil? Impossible. And the good is advantageous? Yes. And therefore the cause of well-being? Yes. It follows therefore that the good is not the cause of all things, but of the good only? Assuredly. Then God, if he be good, is not the author of all things, as the many assert, but he is the cause of a few things only, and not of most things that occur to men.  For few are the goods of human life, and many are the evils, and the good is to be attributed to God alone; of the evils the causes are to be sought elsewhere, and not in him. That appears to me to be most true, he said.

From The Republic I am myself reminded that we are not all alike; there are diversities of natures among us which are adapted to different occupations. Very true. And will you have a work better done when the workman has many occupations, or when he has only one? When he has only one. Further, there can be no doubt that a work is spoilt when not done at the right time? No doubt. For business is not disposed to wait until the doer of the business is at leisure; but the doer must follow up what he is doing, and make the business his first object. He must. And if so, we must infer that all things are produced more plentifully and easily and of a better quality when one man does one thing which is natural to him and does it at the right time, and leaves other things.

Cephalus to Socrates in Plato 's The Republic ... let me tell you, Socrates, that when a man thinks himself to be near death, fears and cares enter into his mind which he never had before; the tales of a world below and the punishment which is exacted there of deeds done here were once a laughing matter to him, but now he is tormented with the thought that they may be true: either from the weakness of age, or because he is now drawing nearer to that other place, he has a clearer view of these things; suspicions and alarms crowd thickly upon him, and he begins to reflect and consider what wrongs he has done to others.  And when he finds that the sum of his transgressions is great he will many a time like a child start up in his sleep for fear, and he is filled with dark forebodings.  But to him who is conscious of no sin, sweet hope, as Pindar charmingly says, is the kind nurse of his age: Hope, he says, cherishes the soul of him who lives in justice and holiness and is the nurs...

From Marbaniang, Domenic. The Story of Prarthana Bhavan of Sanjay Koyala Nagar , 2005, pp.7-9. THE FIRST Christian Convention of any kind in Sanjay Koyala Nagar was organized during October 8 – 10, 1992. Pastor Karamchand Hans arrived with his son Pastor Rajinder Hans and a disciple on October 7th. They were lodged at the Guest House of Sanjay Koyala Nagar. Pamphlets advertising the healing services had already been circulated. On the evening of October 8th, a huge crowd gathered at the Durga Ground, the site of the Convention. People were anxiously waiting to have a darshan of the Baba (that’s how holy saints or miracle workers are referred to by non-Christians in this area). After a few songs, Pastor Karamchand Hans was introduced and he came to the dais with his tambourine in hand. He was to sing a song before he preached. Suddenly, the clouds grew darker and began to drizzle down. The people, who were seated under open heavens, began to flee seeking shelter as there was no pavilion...

Text: John 6:1-14 (The Feeding of the Five Thousand) After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased. And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples. Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, "Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him, "Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little." One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, "There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?" Then Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was much grass in the...

पाठ: यूहुन्‍ना 6: 1-14 Joh 6:1 इन बातोंके बाद यीशु गलील की झील अर्थात तिबिरियास की झील के पास गया। Joh 6:2 और एक बड़ी भीड़ उसके पीछे हो ली कयोंकि जो आश्‍चर्य कर्म वह बीमारोंपर दिखाता या वे उन को देखते थे। Joh 6:3 तब यीशु पहाड़ पर चढ़कर अपके चेलोंके साय वहां बैठा। Joh 6:4 और यहूदियोंके फसह के पर्ब्‍ब निकट या। Joh 6:5 तब यीशु ने अपनी आंखे उठाकर एक बड़ी भीड़ को अपके पास आते देखा, और फिलप्‍पुस से कहा, कि हम इन के भोजन के लिये कहां से रोटी मोल लाएं Joh 6:6 परन्‍तु उस ने यह बात उसे परखने के लिये कही? क्‍योंकि वह आप जानता था कि मैं क्‍या करूंगा। Joh 6:7 फिलप्‍पुस ने उस को उत्तर दिया, कि दो सौ दीनार की रोटी उन के लिये पूरी भी न होंगी कि उन में से हर एक को योड़ी योड़ी मिल जाए। Joh 6:8 उसके चेलोंमें से शमौन पतरस के भाई अन्‍द्रियास ने उस से कहा। Joh 6:9 यहां एक लड़का है जिस के पास जव की पांच रोटी और दो मछिलयां हैं परन्‍तु इतने लोगोंके लिये वे क्‍या हैं। Joh 6:10 यीशु ने कहा, कि लोगोंको बैठा दो। उस जगह बहुत घास यी: तब वे लोग जो गिनती में लगभग पांच हजार के थे, बैठ गए: Joh 6:11 तब यीशु ने रोटियां ली...