Marbaniang, Domenic

An Unforgettable Boat Ride He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. (Psa 107:29 NIV) One day, the Bible tells us in Luke 8:22, Jesus got into a boat with His disciples. There were many times that Jesus chose to have a boat ride along with His disciples. If you have been on a boat sometime, you may remember it as a very pleasurable experience. But, for those who have travelled in a boat many times, almost everyday, the ride is as common as going to school in a school van, car, or an autorickshaw. But, this was a ride that the disciples could never forget. How do we know that? Because they spoke about it again and again, and we read about what they spoke in the Bible. You never speak about your everyday walk or ride to school in general. But, if you had some unusual or very different experience, you would surely tell. And, in case you had an unforgettable experience, you might even want to write about it. So, what was this experience that the disciples of Jesu...

Sundar Singh (1889-?) was born into a Sikh family in Punjab. At that time, the British were ruling over India and Christian missionaries ran English medium schools into which many well-to-do families sent their children for education. Sundar Singh was sent into one such school. Sundar hated reading lessons from the English New Testament which was read as a daily textbook in the Mission School where he went. Of course, at the beginning he did like the teachings of Christ; but, he abhorred the fact that the New Testament was given too special a preference. When Sundar was 14 years old, his mother, who was a model of piety for him, died. Sundar's life was shaken. He began to grow bitter against Christianity and the teachings of Christ. In a rage of anger, one day, while he was in his early teenage years, he got hold of the English New Testament and set it to fire  (Later, after he had came to know Christ, he grievously mourned this act as a grave sin). But, Sundar had no peace in his...

Excerpt from Stranger (2014) , pp.63-64 “You seem to be in grave consternation!” I turned to my right and saw a lean middle-aged man sitting on a chair closeby, smiling at me. He wore a simple and neat white shirt tucked into his brown trousers and had a certain curly waves of hair on his head that evidently couldn’t be groomed. His face looked casual and carefree. He wore a gold ring on his left finger, and a brown thread on his right. “I saw you arrive with Clever. He has a particular dislike for me, you know… Well, these businessmen, they look at me as some kind of an omen. But, I do surprise them with my unwits sometimes.” “Who are you, Sir?” I asked. “Shouldn’t I have asked you the same? But, it doesn’t matter what or who you are to me or to anyone, isn’t it so? Of course or perhaps or may be not; whatever…” he drew his chair close to me and spoke in whispers with a crystal spark in his eyes, “The truth is that truth is a catchword; reality is a myth; existence is a game of accomm...

From "20th Century Christian Contribution to Philosophy" (ACTS, 2004; Basileia, 2008) As one of the foremost Christian apologists of this century, Ravi Zacharias ’ specialization in Western, Eastern, and Middle-Eastern philosophy takes him to numerous academic circles all over the world. Through his rich literature, broadcast, and record ministry, he has addressed millions of people all over the world. Most of his books and lectures address the present condition of the Western man which he diagnoses as caused by the invasion of rationalistic atheism and secularism in the once Christian societies. Ravi has shown that the invasion of secularism, existentialism, and Eastern philosophy has led to the relativizing of truth in present day society. His apologetic is against the agnostic and skeptic stance one takes with respect to truth. He says, ‘truth by definition is exclusive. If truth were all-inclusive, nothing would be false. And if nothing were false, what would be the meani...

For about 40 years now, Zac Poonen has ministered to the Church in India and worldwide through the ministry of teaching by voice and by letter. In an age when commercialization of ministry is on rise and the hype culture seems to consume the meaning of Christian virtues, Zac stands for integrity and sincerity to the Word of Truth. The story of his walk with Christ is recorded in his book The Day of Small Beginnings  (2007).  Zac follows the Lord in the holiness tradition and had close connections with Hebron and with Brother Bakht  Singh, who also performed Zac's wedding with Annie. Zac is honest about his experiences with God. In chapter 21 of The Day of Small Beginnings, he makes some daring confessions: The period from mid 1971 to end 1974 (when I was 31 to 35 years old) was the period during which my fame grew rapidly in my public ministry. It was also the period during which I backslid the most in my personal life. Popularity and backsliding go together in the lives ...

This young man was a ferocious drunkard and a violent police officer in Punjab. But, his life didn't just get better. Karamchand Hans became one of the most influential evangelists and Christian leaders in Punjab. He spearheaded a powerful indigenous church movement that proclaimed faith as the foundation of ministry, forbade salaries, and saw great signs and wonders following their ministry as thousands thronged into the Kingdom of God; all because one woman prayed for her son to be saved. Over four decades ago, Karamchand's mother came to Christ through a miraculous healing of her daughter. Her conversion was repulsive to Karamchand. He warned her not to allow the Western missionaries and began to become violently aggressive. But, his mother prayed. One day, this mother's piety became too unbearable for the young man. He punched her, pushed a cot over her, and began hitting her aggressively. All the time, the mother prayed and loved him. He left her saying he would never ...

"My desire is to be an exhibition of His power, an extension of His life, and an expression of His love," says Dr. Matthew K. Thomas. Presently, the President of Central India Theological Seminary, the Chairman of the Fellowship of Pentecostal Churches in India, and Secretary of Pentecostal World Fellowship, he looks back at his younger days and remembers the toils through which his family had been. "We sat on the ground in school and wrote with barru ," he says to the younger generation. "My dad didn't have a few paise to buy me a ticket to Hoshangabad, so we bi-cycled to the place.... We patched our torn trousers and wore it to school....." His father, the late Dr. Kurien Thomas, had this humble confession about the birth of Matthew: On the 2nd of November, 1948, our second son was born. He was delivered in the house attended by a village midwife. One of the believers, a sister, was also present. She told me that according to the custom of the place,...

CHARLES Finney’s Power from on High documents miraculous incidents of supernatural results in ministry in his life. Finney emphasizes on the need of the power of the Holy Spirit for any spiritual results in modern day ministry. The story of his experience has an electrifying effect: I was powerfully converted on the morning of the 10th of October. In the evening of the same day, and on the morning of the following day, I received overwhelming baptisms of the Holy Ghost, that went through me, as it seemed to me, body and soul. I immediately found myself endued with such power from on high that a few words dropped here and there to individuals were the means of their immediate conversion. My words seemed to fasten like barbed arrows in the souls of men. They cut like a sword. They broke the heart like a hammer. Multitudes can attest to this. Oftentimes a word dropped, without my remembering it, would fasten conviction, and often result in almost immediate conversion. Sometimes I would fi...

The three little imps dozed off and snored recklessly as the last plenary of the Ministers’ Conference dragged on. Beelzebub, flying through the mid-air, saw this and shot a fiery dart that ended with a burst of sparks over their heads. They woke up with a start. “It’s the Prince!” Snob cried. “Yes, it is!” Vague confirmed. “He looks fiendishly soured!” Crafty rejoined. “Is it time to sleep and dream recklessly while time steals away our only opportunity?” Beelzebub demanded. “We’re sorry, Master” Crafty replied, “But, it’s difficult to keep eyes opened when these ministers and theologians open their mouth!” “Nevertheless, you’re required to keep them open!” “We’ve wound up the clock, master.” Snob argued, “All their actions are timed and preset. A quick flight over their heads would instantly give evidence of our superior accomplishment.” “I’ll see,” replied Beelzebub and flew away. The very next instant he came back with eyes wide open. “What is that guy talking about?” “About some o...

Remembering this story from Dr. K.C. Abraham at the CFCC Graduation: A man ventured on an helicopter to a deserted area, soon lost control and crashed on to a tree. As he hung there, he saw a man passing by and asked in desperation, "Sir, can you tell me where I am?" The man looked up and replied, "You are on the tree." Puzzled, he asked again, "Are you a theologian?" "Yes, how did you know?" came the reply. "Because you speak the truth, but it is irrelevant to my situation." Moral: Do Theology with Relevance!

Adversary of the Gnostics Significance: Doctrine of Christ’s Incarnation, Union of Natures, and Recapitulation theory of Atonement . The church is one and universal, and it confesses one and the same faith throughout the world. The common faith is confessed at baptism, at which one act the believer receives forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit. “Canon of truth” referred to the “rule of faith”, the content of the apostolic preaching in summary form that served as a norm for interpreting Scripture and determining the apostolic faith. Took church at Rome as the representative church in his argument for apostolic succession (from one teacher to the next; not, from ordainer to ordained). The apostolic faith was preserved at Rome. Affirmed the reality of the physical presence of Christ in the Eucharist against the Gnostic depreciation of material elements. Mary, in reversing the disobedience of Eve, found a place in Irenaeus’s doctrine of recapitulation.

Apologist and Martyr. “For I myself, too, when I was delighting in the doctrines of Plato, and heard the Christians slandered, and saw them fearless of death … perceived that it was impossible that they could be living in wickedness and pleasure” (2Apol.12) Significance • One of the first highly educated Gentiles to use his learning to defend Christianity even before the emperor himself. o His writings use citations from Euripides, Xenophon, and above all Plato to strengthen his case for Christianity. • Opposed rival teacher Marcion who taught that the New Testament contradicted the Old Testament. • Logos-theology: Even before the coming of Christ, the logos was manifested partially in such Greek philosophers as Socrates and Heraclitus, and in such Hebrews as Abraham, Ananias, Azarias, Misael, and Elijah (1st Apology). Plato’s truth was dependent on Moses (chs.59-60). o The seed of God’s logos ( logos spermatikos ) was disseminated to all men in their God-given capacity to respond to t...

Fed to lions during the reign of Trajan (AD 98-117). Wrote 6 letters en route to Rome. Significance: • First to use the word Christianismos (Christianity, Ign.Rom 3:3; Magn.10:3) • Opposed Docetism (Trallians 9;11-2; Smyr.1-3) • First to stress the concept of “monepiscopacy” (or monarchical episcopacy): a single bishop in a given city presides over the 3-fold ministry of (i) bishop (ii) presbyters (iii) deacons o The bishop presides in the place of God (Magn.6:1; Tral.3:1) o Submission to bishop is necessary to achieve henosis (“unity,” Ign.Eph.5:1). o Even when a bishop is youthful as at Magnesia (Magn.3:1) or is silent as at Ephesus (Ign.Eph.5:1) or at Philadelphia (Philad.1:1), they are not to be despised, for silence is a characteristic of God Himself. • First to use the word katholikos (“universal”) of the church (Smyr 8:2) “Set on unity” (Philad.8:1). Urges Polycarp (1:2) “care for unity your concern for there is nothing better”. • First to maintain that either the bishop or h...

This story is excerpted from the book, " Be an Extraordinary Person in an Ordinary World " . It is entitled "Saved by the Mystery Doctor" in the book. A dear friend of mine, Algetha Brown, is a beautiful singer.... Algetha is married to an air force career man. Right after the Second World War, they were assigned to Germany. The Nuremberg trials were happening. As Algetha said, 'At that time there were many scared German citizens, because the word was out that if you were a Nazi or if you were a close friend of the gestapo or if you were a good friend of a Nazi, the odds were that you might be called in for questioning. You might be arrested....' She said, 'Dr. Schuller, my husband and I met so many good, beautiful, wonderful German people who weren't Nazis, but they knew the wrong people so they were in hiding.' At the time, Colonel Brown, his wife, Algetha, and their two sons were living on the fourth floor of an apartment building. One day, he...

A Story by Domenic Marbaniang © 2012 “Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes… Then each one’s praise will come from God.” (1 Corinthians 4:5) The Stadium was filled with cheers, applauses, and feverish excitement. The runners all took positions and geared up waiting for the signal shot. Gerald sensed the sublimity too. The seconds of time between the start and finish line of the 100 meter track was all the reality that meant everything to him. All of space-time was crammed therein for him now. He felt highly elated. After seven years of rigorous training, throughout which his formidable form had emerged as the unbeatable image to all, he was now on the test to prove to the world that it now had the giant of athletics it had long been waiting for. He had watched the other competitors and marked their dispositions. Some looked quite confident. He scoffed at them in his heart. In his heart he said to them, “This will be the day to break your pride, man!” There were one or two...

“Love…keeps no record of wrongs.” (1 Corinthians 13:5) (Written for a Youth Magazine forthcoming) The scenic valley of the Satpura range in Central India bustled with fresh streams, chirping birds, grazing cattle, and woodcutters chopping wood in the forest. A few women were gathering the yellow flowers that fell from the Mahua ( Madhuca Longifolia )trees that were all over the forest. The nearby fields were all ready for harvest and one could see little boys and girls, with school bags on their back, singing and hooting and hurrying along the hedges of the fields to the little Government School in the village. But, little Ashruti, seven years old, walked very slowly with head bowed down, a frown on her face, and swollen cheeks. She didn’t seem to be in a very happy mood. From her little shack in the distance, made of mud walls and a thatched roof, her mother watched her walk very sadly away. She was, evidently, sad about her daughter that day. She had been angry with Ashruti and had s...