Author Archives: sangeetha007
East Meets West Love Story
(From this moment life has begun, From this moment you are the one , right beside you is where I belong From this moment on From this moment I have been blessed I live only for your happiness And for your love I’d give my last breath From this moment on.) ]
I was single for a long long time I had never dated till I was 26 in the year 2005 I never had a boyfriend partly because I was not allowed to and partly because I was busy with university and work.
In August 2004 I came to study in Belfast at the university. I wanted to know what dating was about and got unto this dating website and one day I got this letter from a computer geek called Mark who wanted to meet up with me. We exchanged phone numbers and started having long talks.
In October 2004 we went out on our first date I wore a denim skirt and leather jacket with brown boots and my husband my knight in shining armour came in an bright orange shirt talk about God spotting him for me from all other potentials that bright orange shirt definitely helped.
He came over and I was waiting for him with my best friend he got down from the car, he had spiky hair, over six feet tall my best friend whispered he looks like a football player I thought I may not be a wag but this guy has some potential for future prospects because there was immediate chemistry.
He came over and gave me a big hug. I usually being formal just shake hands but I loved his spontaneity and he took me to this restaurant called Olio. I did not understand the Irish menu where we usually have a starter, a main course and dessert. So I asked him to order for me.He liked that I trusted his judgement but mostly because I was not familiar with western food.
So there came the starter and I not knowing thought that was my main course it was a finely prepared aubergine and I started fuming I thought that was all I was getting. I thought we might as well have gone to Mac Donald’s where he could have afforded my cheese burger.But as he looked into my eyes there was a spark of attraction but I was very upset with the aubergine till the waiter came with pink salmon in white sauce.
I thought this is a man who knows how to treat a woman right.
He reached out his hands to mine and held them and I thanked him for taking for this date.We laughed alot thinking what his parents might say when he brought me home in my traditional attire telling them “ I come on big bird to to Northern Ireland”
They were surprised to see me but they were gracious, Now it was time for Mark to meet up with my parents. My father being a strict Anglican Priest looked at Mark and the first thing he said was no kissing. Mark was surprised but agreed.
In the fourth month of dating just before we got engaged in December I was lying in his arms and he looked into my eyes and asked me what would you do if I kiss you and I humbly answered I will kiss you back and then I knew this was the man I wanted to marry.
I kept myself a virgin for this tall kind man who loved me knew about my depression problem yet wanted to marry me.In December 25th 2005 we got engaged and on May 20 2006 we got married.
Life has not been a bed of roses but our Love for each other helped us cope through the difficult times and we promised each other we will be there for each other through the good times and the bad times.
We have been blessed with a beautiful baby girl who brings us so much of joy and the centre of both our lives.
“I give my hand to you with all my heart,Can’t wait to live my life with you cant wait to start you and I will never be apart my dreams come true because of you, You’re the reason I believe in Love from this moment on.”
Circle Of Life
Have you ever wondered why you were walking in circles same job same car same mortgage same coffee in the morning and yes same husband or same wife, well my dear brothers and sisters we are not living a soap opera or Holly wood movie we are living life a reality.
It happened many years back when the children of Israel walked for 40 years in the desert they mumbled and complained just as we all do when we see the bills.But God through the vision and direction of Joshua brought them home to their promised land.
Someone once asked me where and what is home to me I said it is a place of contentment, a place of peace, a place of refuge a place of love, a place where you are most comfortable and you are not looking for anything else or anyone else that place my dear friends is home.
You may be in America and are in the best place in the world to live in. I live in the United Kingdom in Northern Ireland and yes it is just as good as America but I realised though I have all the basic luxuries in the world such as clean running water, micro wave, good food and a wonderful husband there was a feeling of dissatisfaction in my heart and I knew unless I do what He wants me to do that is to serve Him in spirit and in truth that feeling would never go away. I am 32 years old with my first baby in my arms she is such a blessing ,what could a stay at home mother and house wife do? I realised I could not do as much as I wanted but I could do what He wanted and that was to read the word, pray, sing to my baby and be a good wife to my husband I am not perfect but I could do my best.
Now coming back to walking in circles well life is a circle they say what goes around comes around, the song the circle of life in the lion king yes life is a circle but how you live in this circle is another thing you could either walk all your life in the wilderness mumbling and complaining or you could live in the promised land with milk and honey, You may say I am comfortable in my promised land but what are you doing for the one who has given you everything you have? , learn to be content and if you need to change then change for the better don’t just live life but make life worth living.
Remember you are someone special, God has chosen to do mighty things through you .Stop mumbling and complaining and doing the things the world does you are you.You are not someone else though we wish to be.You have to make an impact in this world so that others will know we are not just followers of him by word but by Action.So rise up let Jesus be your Joshua and lead you to your promised land instead of going round and round in circles read the word of God pray and seek Him.Watch him lead you to the promised land to the land flowing with milk , honey and contentment. Contentment in your life and with your life partner we are not as the famous soap opera goes the Bold and beautiful but we are the blessed and are a blessing to others through Him. Love overcomes all evil, all friction and all faults so let love prevail in this circle of life God has placed you and me in.
Christ In The Old Testament
Describe the Christ of the Old Testament.
Christ of the Old Testament plays an extremely significant role in comprehending the Christ of the New Testament. In the study of Theophany, which is God appearing to man in human form, some evangelical commentators feel that this could have been the Lord Jesus. Noah and Enoch “walked with God”. God spoke to Noah concerning the ark. In Genesis 18, the Lord appeared to Abraham. “There is good reason to think that theophanies before the incarnation of Christ were visible manifestations of the pre-incarnate Son of God.” (p. 847, Merril C. Tenney, 1963) Christ therefore has appeared to man in human form in the Old Testament and the Christ of the Old Testament, whether in the form of theophany or prophesy, is as significant as the Christ of the New Testament.
The Messiah: The word Messiah means the anointed one. Messiah also means the Saviour promised to the world through the children of Israel. Messiah is derived from Mashaeh which means to consecrate an individual or objects with the use of the sacred anointing oil. The term Messiah has different meanings for the Jews and the Christians. For the Jews, the term Messiah is one who would be king, a spiritual leader, a political head, and through whom they can enjoy peace and prosperity. For the Christian on the other hand, the term Messiah refers to Jesus Christ as mediator who came to set his people free from sin and death and who is our spiritual deliverer. Jesus Christ is therefore called Messiah because He is the original, essential and eternal Son of God (Merril C. Tenney, p. 529, Dr James Smith, p. 1, Jack W. Hayford, p. 699, Luis Berkhof, p. 92).
Messianic Prophecies: The Messianic prophecies are divided into two groups – the general messianic prophecies and the personal messianic prophecies. The general messianic prophecies refer to the eschatological sequence or the new age to come. The personal messianic prophecies refer to Jesus Christ as the king, prophet, counsellor eg Isaiah 9:6 which tells us “And he will be called wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”.
The messianic prophecy is divided into two pre-supposition, which ultimately are:
- The possibility of prediction (not being a rationalist, not a skeptic; these predictions have come true and other spheres and aspects of the prophecies of the Bible are being fulfilled today).
- The omniscience of God (“Our God is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient”). Our God is all knowing, when one looks deeper into the angle of omniscience with a Biblical point of view, one sees numerous spheres of hidden truths. But the prophecies are not a hidden truth, they are an “open truth” which was fulfilled and which are being fulfilled even today, with historical data proving it. Therefore our God is omniscient or all knowing. God predestined us; but above all God spoke to us concerning the Messiah and what He spoke He fulfilled. (Italics my own) (Dr James Smith, p. 415)
The First Messianic prophecy: Gen. 3:15 tells us that God would put enmity between the serpent (which is the devil) and man (and Jesus was the representative of man). So in other words, the devil and Jesus Christ. This verse shows us the deity and the humanity of Christ (Jack W. Hayford).
Messianic
Prophecies of His ministry:
Herbert Lockyer, p. 101, 1973 says: “The sacred sublime task of the Christ of prophecy when He became the Christ of history was to become the Christ of redemption”. The miracles that Jesus performed and the teaching of Jesus are a proof that Jesus is the authentic son of God.
- The Ministry of Jesus began in Galilee: Ish 9:1,2 “Beyond Jordan in Galilee the light shines”.
- The Continuation of the ministry of Jesus went forth into Jerusalem. “Rejoice greatly .. shout O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy King cometh” (Zech. 9:9).
- Christ played a major role in the temple of God: “I will fill this house with glory’ (Hag. 2:7).
- Christ ministry was the proclamation of salvation. “Loose the bands undo the heavy burdens let the oppressed go free.” (Ish 58:6) “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me to preach … to bind up … to proclaim.” (Ish 61:1,2)
- The ministry of Jesus was both to the Jews and the Gentiles: “My people hath been lost sheep” (Jer. 50:6); “Rejoice o ye nations with his people (Jews)” (Deut. 32:43, Ps. 18:49).
- The ministry of Jesus flowed with the anointing of the holy spirit: “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me” (Ish 61:1) (Herbert Lockyer, 1973, p. 101, 102)
Messianic Prophecies of the Crucifixion of Christ: Ish 53:1-12. These verses give us a detailed and accurate account of the crucifixion of Christ. The purpose of the atonement for our sin is because we are all sinners but as Christ came to earth to die for our sins we are declared righteous and through the atonement of Christ we now have abundant life, abundance physically, spiritually and financially.
Ps. 22 can be divided into two parts, the first part denotes the suffering of Jesus on the Cross and the second part denotes the glory of Christ after his resurrection.
Christ’s suffering (vs 1-21)
- (vs 1-5) denote the theme of God the father forsaking Jesus Christ.
- (vs 6-10) denote the rejection of men that Christ went through
- (vs 12-18) denote the indescribable physical agony that Christ went through on the cross.
- (vs 19-21) denotes the love, fellowship and trust between God the father and God the son. As Jesus calls upon God the father for deliverance. (Hayford, Dr James Smith)
Eschatological Expectation of the Messiah: There was a strong eschatological and apocalyptic expectation about two centuries before the ministry of Jesus commenced.
Let us now look into the context of Jesus as the Priest Messiah. Jesus as high priest can be seen in the form Melchizedek (Heb. 5:7) (James H. Charlesworth, p. 372).
The Qumran and the Messiah: What is the Qumran? The Qumran is a region where there are eleven caves in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were situated. The importance of the study of the Qumran documents for early Christianity is of immense significance. According to F. F. Bruce, p. 72, “the Qumran community was sometimes called the community of Aaron and Israel. A Messiah from Aaron and Israel should probably be taken to mean a priestly Messiah and a lay Messiah”.
The Messianic prophecies therefore are very significant, illuminating the life of Christ or Messiah as He was prophesied about in the Old Testament. There are a few simple ways of viewing prophesy. The first being the predictive element of prophecy and the second being to emphasise the message in modern day situations. Both these points are evident in Biblical prophecy. God is omniscient or all knowing and in Ephesians 1:5 it tells us the God pre-destined us. God has a foreknowledge of the future and He knew exactly when the Messiah was to come and bring us salvation and when He is coming back again. (Italics my own.)
Prophecy is therefore like a window that God reveals to his saints the prophets. The Messianic prophesies are not just windows but doors that Jesus walked through when He came into the world bringing salvation. (Italics my own.) (David Allen, Fredric William Sanford, p. 305
Types of Christ from the Old Testament:
Adam. Adam, made by God for a divine plan and purpose, who was to commune with our Creator. Adam, made by divine word. How did Adam handle this responsibility? Adam fell through disobedience and this fellowship with our Creator was marred. But Christ in the New Testament, the second Adam, came to bridge this gap, by becoming the mediator between man and God. (Andrew Jukes) (Italics my own).
Melchizedek: James Strong calls Melchizedek a patriarch. Who is this Melchizedek? Genesis 14-18 tells us that this Melchizedek is both priest and king. Zech. 6:13 tells us that he shall be a priest upon his throne. Ish 32:1 “Behold a king shall reign in righteousness. These verses show us that Melchizedek is both priest and king. Another important point to note here is that after Abraham was victorious over the kings, Melchizedek refreshed Abraham with bread and wine and blessed Abraham. This clearly shows us the character of Christ. Abraham also gave Melchizedek, who is both king and priest, tithes of all that he had taken. This clearly tells us that Melchizedek for me was not just a type of Christ, but was Christ himself who appeared to Abraham. This leads us to the study of theophany. Melchizedek is a good example of Christ appearing to man in the Old Testament. Alfred Edershiem says “Melchizedek appears like a meteor in the sky – suddenly, unexpectedly, mysteriously – and then as suddenly disappears”. Ps. 110 tells us the priest, king must belong to “the order of Melchizedek”. Jesus Christ, not with earthly priesthood such as the Levitical priesthood, but a heavenly priesthood.’ (Herbert Lockyer, Merril C. Tenny) Italics my own.
Isaac: Isaac is a type of Christ because when God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on the altar, it was symbolic of the sacrifice that God the father required Jesus to go through. The union of Isaac and Rebekkah was symbolic of the union between Christ and the church. Therefore Isaac plays a very important role to symbolize Christ because Isaac was the sacrifice his father Abraham was to offer just as God the Father offered Jesus as the sacrifice for the sins of the world so that the world might be saved. Herbert Lockyer says “In Melchizedek we see Jesus as the priest of the Most High God. In Moses we see Jesus as the mediator between God and Man. In David, we see Jesus as shepherd, ruler and king. In Joseph, we see Jesus as preserver, provider and Saviour.
Conclusion: In conclusion, I would like to say that the Christ of the Old Testament is as real as the Christ of the New Testament and the characters and events that occurred in the Old Testament are symbolic of the New Testament. Christ is the fulfillment of the prophesies of the Old Testament. Therefore, Christ is the chief cornerstone that the Holy Spirit has written his word on. The whole Scripture is therefore like a sphere which starts and ends with Christ.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bruce, F. F., Jews and Christianity Origins outside the New Testament, USA, 1974.
Charlesworth, James H., The Messiah, Fortress Press Minneapolis, 1992.
Edersheim, Alfred, Old Testament Bible History, William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, 1977.
Hayford, Jack W., Hayford’s Bible Handbook, Nashville, 1995.
Jukes, Andrew, Types in Genesis, Kregel Publications, 1976.
Lockyer, Herbert, AU The Messianic Prophecies of the Bible, Grand Rapids, 1973.
Sanford, William, Allen, David, William Frederic, Old Testament Survey, Michigan, Zondervan, 1982.
Smith, Dr James, The Promised Messiah, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1993.
Strong, James, The Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible, Ablingdon Press, New York.
Tenney, Merril C., Pictorial Bible Dictionary, Michigan, Zondervan,
The Influence of the Developed World on the Third World
I am from a developing country but as many people in India I was fascinated by the developed world such America and the United Kingdom. Why because the developed world has an attraction of (WPI) Wealth, Power and Influence on the developing country such as India.
India is developing by leaps and bounds but the rich become richer and the poor become poorer due to the corruption and red tapism of the government and people of Influence.
Don’t get me wrong the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is a man of integrity. Yet the country needs help with it’s 1.2 billion population.
Education among middle class families and high class families plays a very important role and there is a brain drain as the smartest doctors, engineers and scientists move to the developed world. Why is this the case? It can be due to the lure of money, a comfortable life and in some cases sans corruption.
India needs to help the people living in the slums to get educated instead of pulling the country down to raise it up.
These are the steps I believe to empower our great country.
Education is the key to the developed country aim for 100% literacy.
Build government housing instead of slums,
Let the people pay taxes which should be used wisely instead of going into the pockets of the people of power and influence.
Encourage family planning.
Encourage National and Multi National Companies as they provide revenue and employment.
Try and stop religious fanaticism leading to terrorism. When our constitution was written one thing that stood out was that it was a democratic country where we are all brothers and sisters of one country. So we must learn to live in harmony.
Small businesses and cottage industries should be encouraged.
India has a lot of positives, it has brain power with colleges like MIT and IIT known around the world. Secondly it has man power with it’s 1.2 billion population and thirdly it has natural resources . It is time India rises up to be one day soon a developed country.
I am proud to be an Indian. Jai Hind !
My Battle With The bulge
I grew up skinny in fact I was just 47 kgs when I was in University but then life changed I left home went abroad then joined my parents in Egypt and when I reached the age of 25 my single life took the Bridget Jones Diary effect and as I was singing” All by Myself” out came chocolates, crisps and coke then by the time I was 26 I was 55 kgs as I was still single at 27 I became 65kgs still singing ” All By myself” Then I married a wonderful man at 28 I became 55 kgs for the wedding but I married a man who loves my cooking and I must admit I am a good cook and then I gave birth to this gorgeous baby girl now my weight is 75kgs. My goal weight is 47 kgs I may never be that weight but my hope is to try to be that weight so instead on rolling along with my pram I can walk and be that coveted yummy mummy that Gok has made so popular.So now I am singing” Ive got rhythm Ive got music Ive got my man I just want this weight of me” So this is my challenge within the next 4 months I hope to be 47 kgs will I achieve it I dont know but I will never know till I try. So counting points from weight watchers and exercising is my journey for this weight loss. Wish me luck
Our Wedding
This was the most special and significant day of my life.
Daddy’s Girl
My baby is daddy’s girl. As soon as she sees her dad her face lights up and her arms stretch up to him. This video says it all. Follow the link to view a photo montage video I made. http://gallery.me.com/mark.alexander#100112
The Word
“Yet not withstanding this, our full persuasion and assurance of the infallible truth of scripture and its divine authority is from the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the word in our hearts.” ( The Baptist Confession Of Faith)
The word is alive, The word is real, The word is Spirit, The word is power.
“ So is my word, that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty but will accomplish that what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” Isaiah 55:11
God’s word came from God’s mouth , The words that came from God’s mouth came from God’s heart, In the heart of God is the spirit of God therefore logically speaking the word of God is the spirit of God in writing.
Now how does the Spirit of God bear witness with the human spirit?
When a person accepts Jesus in his heart the spirit of God comes to indwell his heart and as a born again individual reads the scripture the spirit of word in written form begins to bear witness to the Holy Spirit indwelling the person and reveals the truth of the scripture to him. This enables the individual to grow to a higher level of glory illuminated by the Spirit of God. The spirit of God that is the Holy Spirit is our mentor, our teacher, our guide and also our conscience.
A born again Christian is able to distinguish right from wrong through that inward witness in his spirit. Therefore the individual must store up in his heart and in his mind the scriptures. So if the sub conscious mind is full of the word the individual is able to move to a higher degree of illumination and intimate level of communication with the creator. The word that stood through time, space and history because the word was above the human degree of authorship as it emerged from divine inspiration on earthly vessels as they try to grasp the comprehension of the divine authoritative word. This comprehension is not to be sought by human reason but by divine intervention of Holy Spirit revelation.
The word that came forth from the triune God of Divinity that spoke forth His word in creativity that it brought forth life and still brings forth life spiritually when the word is read objectively with sincerity.
A poem dedicated to my grand mother the mother of my mother Mrs Ranjitham Jeyaraj
She was warm, loving and caring
Her love and sweetness with others sharing
Her simplicity and gentleness endearing
She never asked always gave
Gave of herself to her husband and children
Raising up her children, grand children and great grand children to be strong, intelligent, capable women and men,
Love was her first name,
Humility her second
One day the God Almighty decided to come down and pick a diamond of a man or a woman to place in His splendorous palace,
He picked my grand mother a woman of love, charm and grace
Sangeetha's Weblog this web blog has poetry, stories,music and so much more 