Marbaniang, Domenic

Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? (John 18:38  KJV ) Since the Fall of man , man has resorted to the tools of violence and deception in order to rule man. While the use of arms for protection of justice can be justified, the use of deception is a symptom of the inherent human vileness. Religion, superstition, education, media, propaganda, disinformation, riots and a host of tools have been politically exploited to keep the masses under bait. Hitler coined the term " Big Lie " for a propaganda technique that he himself used. "...in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falseho...

Pragmatism is the philosophy that basically states that anything that works is true; if not essentially, then at least functionally. It is the dominant philosophy of the modern age. This has had an adverse effect on theological thinking as well. For instance, one would argue that a particular man's teachings cannot be false since the results prove that the teachings work. However, unless an essential connection between the fruit and the tree can be established, such embracement of theologies based on empirical results can be dangerous. Let's look at a few considerations now: 1. God's use of a practice in an exceptional case doesn't entail His acceptance of its theoretical backings. There are a number of instances in the Bible where God is seen to be using the very systems that He explicitly denounced. For instance, just because God used a medium to speak to Saul doesn't prove that God has finally accepted the practice of consulting the dead and the demonic doctrines...

Ichabod was born at the juncture of deaths - his father was killed by the Philistines in war, his grandfather died from a shock fall on hearing the news of his son's death and the capture of the Ark of Covenant, and his mother died in childbirth. Before she died, she named him Ichabod, which means "no glory"; for, it is written: she named the child Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed from Israel!" because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, "The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured." (1Sa 4:21-22 NKJ) Little did she know that the fall of her family didn't mean the fall of Israel; the Glory hadn't departed but had returned with vengeance, cleansing, and power. The death of his father, Phinehas, was prophesied earlier already. The Bible says that it was actually God who wanted to kill them because of their wickedness. The wicked deeds of Phinehas an...

The Urdu Bible in Devanagiri Script. Converted with Simple Bible Reader. File source: Crosswire.org DOWNLOAD:  ESword   TheWord   MySword Android Bible   GoBible Java

Required Reading: John 1, 14,15,16; 2Corinthians 5:11-21; Romans 8; James 4; Galatians 5:11; 6:12-15 The doctrine of reconcilation teaches us that the world is at enmity with God and so Christ came to reconcile the world to God. He did that through His atoning sacrifice by the Eternal Spirit. Now, He appoints His servants as ambassadors in the hostile world and has given them the ministry of reconciliation. It is a ministry of reconciliation on God's terms; not a ministry at the mercy of the world in the world's terms. We are not called to make peace with the world at the expense of the Cross; we are here to declare the Goodnews that peace has been made by Christ on the Cross. The Cross will be a stumbling block to many, because they would like that the offence of the Cross didn't exist, so that peace would be natural. But, that is the same as being worldly and thus in enmity with God. The Cross is where the world is crucified to the Christian and the Christian to the world...

ABOUT THE BOOK This book was originally written in three volumes between 1655 and 1662. Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher and evangelist of the last century commented that Gurnall's work is "peerless and priceless; every line full of wisdom". John Newton, converted slave trader and author of "Amazing Grace", said: "If I might read only one book beside the Bible I would choose, "The Christian in Complete Armour." Dave Wilkerson said concerning this book: "Leonard Ravenhill, a very godly friend, gave me a copy of 'The Christian in Complete Armour' with these solemn words, "This book is going to revolutionize your life. It has had a profound effect on my life, and I believe you are prepared to receive its message now." Says Wilkerson: "at first I put the book aside; it was too long, too wordy, and written in 17th century English. Out of curiosity, I later scanned the first 25 pages. That is all it took to bring ...

There is only one requirement that Jesus has for those who wish to become His disciples: it is to deny the self and take up one's cross and follow Him. It implies that everyone has his own cross, but they aren't able to carry it because of a lack of self-denial. The cross is the mission that one has in his own life; it is that which he needs to bear, to carry when following Christ. 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. As long as one is holding on to self, one cannot carry the cross. And, if one can't carry the cross, one cannot follow the Lord. There are many things that we keep holding on to and wish that the Lord will not take away from us, things that we are not willing to part with; they are the idols of the heart. It might be a job, a material asset, a relationship, an earthly dream/wish, or even a ministry. As long as we have not given them to the Lord in a...

The book of Ruth recounts a powerful story that illustrates the power of faith. In the first chapter, everybody appears to be quite rationally disposed (after the natural man, psuchicos ) in their actions. They act according to visual observation, risk calculation, and wager decisions. Thus, when famine hits the "Promised Land", a godly family goes to Moab, a gentile nation, because the survival possibilities are better there. It was a rational choice. However, they didn't survive though they reached a "greener" territory. It reminds me of the story of Death in Tehran and Jesus' parable of the Rich Man who wanted to build new stores. Reason creates the illusion that one can control one's fate; however, we need to remember that only that which is in God's control is under control; and nothing under God's control can be out of control. If one thinks that the chances to die as a missionary in a hostile country is great, he makes the same mistake. Th...

Ravi Zacharias, EVANGELISM AND THE NEW MILLENNIUM:BARRIERS OF THE MIND, AND HUNGERS OF THE HEART, Amsterdam 2000. Sunday, July 30, 2000 "You see, the Bible does not say, “In the beginning was video.” It says in the beginning was the Word." "What then do we make of our time when the camera controls the imagination of young minds? I am afraid some day we will wake up and wonder how we were so foolish to have missed this powerful influence. And we cannot run from it. We are in it. From the pictures that tell the story, to the music that is now visualized, we are in it. The sensations are being propelled through the eye-gate. It is not without reason that Jesus warned His listeners to let the eye be single, for it is the lamp of the body. The implications here are extremely important. For decades science has been seen as an exacting discipline of the intellect, and the arts as a free-floating realm of the imagination. With the advance of computers, may I suggest to you that ...

The more I lean on the things outside, the more I grow weaker inside; The more I look to the things outside, the more I grow blinder inside; The more I long for the things outside, the more I grow emptier inside; The more I live for the things outside, the more I keep dying inside; The more I'm led by the things outside, the more I lose direction inside: You never can be found in the things outside, for You live inside of me, And You groan and You long that I be changed in the inside totally; So, help me Father to lean on, look to, long for, live for, and be led by only You completely.

1. IT IS UNRIVALED, UNIQUE, & EXCLUSIVE - There is nothing like it. It is divine. "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (Joh 1:4 NKJ) "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (Joh 17:3 NKJ) 2. IT IS SUPERNATURAL - Not this-worldly. It is heavenly. "The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly." (1Co 15:47-48 NKJ) 3. IT IS IMPERISHABLE & INCORRUPTIBLE "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1Co 15:51-52 NKJ) 4. IT IS INVALUABLE & PRECIOUS "knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible ...

1. CITIES OF REFUGE (Deut.19:1-13) These cities were places where an unintentional killer (someone who didn't kill by intention, but by accident) could run and be safe. However, if he left the city, his blood was on his head. 2. LIMIT OF WITNESSES ( Deut. 19:15-20) The limit of witnesses was at least two or three. The Law specifically states: "One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." (Deut.19:15, NIV) 3. MANNER OF INVESTIGATION ( Deut. 19:18) The judges were required to make a "thorough investigation" (NIV), a "careful inquiry" (NKJV) of the matter. 4. DETERRENT OF CRIME ( Deut. 19:18-21) "..if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil from among you. And those who remain shall hear an...

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. (1John 4:1 NKJ) Test #1: Fulfillment of Prophecy "And if you say in your heart,`How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'--when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him." (Deu 18:21-22 NKJ) Test #2: Right Theology - The one that teaches fear of the Lord "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder,"and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying,`Let us go after other gods'-- which you have not known--`and let us serve them, "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether...