You will agree with me that Discovering God is the ultimate experience you can ever have. We are not just talking about a God but actually discovering and personally relating with God Himself. So take time and patience to read this article especially if you are a Hindu, Agnostic or Atheist. By discovering God you really enter into an ocean of reality. All universe just opens up to you.
Note: All quotations in Red are from the Bible, and all quotations in green are from Hindu Vedas.
Diwali, a festival that is celebrated in India, symbolizes and represents the burning of the evil one or to ward off the evil one. The Bible however warns us that the heart itself "is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9).
Jesus Christ gained victory over the evil one 2000 years back when he performed the ultimate yagna. Being crucified on a tree at Calvary, he made powerless the sting of Satan (the evil one) by striking out our iniquities. The prophesy that God would be born as man to a virgin and would perform this yagna after maintaining a flawless life is mentioned in SAMA VEDA: Livhya goptharam mahakyou dadhina kuryanthi havya yaana parya thaseen (meaning the incarnate will be born to a virgin in a cattle shed); Praja Pathirthe vebhyam athmanaam yagnam kruthva prayaschith (meaning the one who rules the world, in order to atone for the sins of many allowed his body to be crushed and offered it as a sacrifice (yagna). Again in Thanddiya Maha Brahmanam (Second part of Sama Veda) it is said "Yagnova Apathe" meaning, only a sacrifice can save. It is also said in the vedas "Prathamani dharmani" meaning "Sacrifices are the foremost of our first duties." And also the Aryans used to say "Aham Yagnosmi" meaning, unless God the creator, holy of holies offered himself as a sacrifice there is no salvation. There is another sloka in Thandiya Maha Brahmanam: Sarva papa pariharo raktha prokshana mavashakam thath raktham parama thmena punya dana baliyagnam (meaning: if one has to be delivered from all kinds of sins (such as sins committed through hearing, seeing, sinful thoughts, sinful deeds, sinful ideas, sinful conduct) and to be saved, shedding of blood is necessary).
Sacrifice is not a new concept for the Hindu. It is practiced all over India. Yet when it comes to the sacrifice performed by God, we dismiss it of with a lot of ill feelings.
As human beings we do not recognize the importance God gives to SIN. We think that if we do many good deeds God will weigh our good deeds against our bad and admit us into heaven. Or we think as long as we don't hurt others it's OK. But here is the truth: if your hands are dirty, anything you give with those hands will be dirty. To this end prophet ISAIAH wrote in chapter 64 verse 6: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags."
But just think about it: if God thought there was a way out, other than to have his son sacrificed on the wood, why would he take the pains to send His son down to earth to His death in the first place? It would be blasphemy on the part of God the Father to admit someone by the backdoor. It is an insult to Jesus Christ who said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
And moreover we should not compare ourselves with other people. God does not grade us on the curve (relatively). It's His perfect holiness that we have to look into and compare.
The above citations in Sanskrit are just the tip of an iceberg of the book "Proof Exhibitor -- Quest of a Brahmin priest" written by Paravastu Suryanarayana Rao a high priest of Sri Laxminarayana Mattam (Temple) in Andhra Pradesh, India. You may obtain the book from P.O. Box 292, Hyderabad-500 001, A.P., India. Strictly speaking one does not need this book nor the vedas to believe in Jesus Christ.
But it is comforting to know that we were not without God in the first place. Nevertheless the evil one has deceived us by showing us this broad gate of 330 million gods and their idols and we turned away from the true and living God. For Christ says "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." -- Matthew 7:13b,14. And elsewhere again he says, "All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; who ever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." -- John 10:8-11. Just think about it, would you like to have 330 million acquaintances or 1 good friend who would lay down his life for you?
It takes a good amount of humility to see God in Jesus Christ. He is the creator of the universe, God in flesh. Don't let your pride come in the way of discovering the one and true living God. I am not asking you to blindly believe, as is often the case with many "faiths". To believe, it is not sufficient just to know; you will have to experience and get a taste of it. This I assure you, you can have, if you come with a sincere heart and humility. It takes humility to see that you don't have to do anything except believe. God weighs that much, the trust you place in this good man, that no amount of material sacrifice or any great amount of good deeds, can come anywhere close! In fact, a voice was heard twice from the heavens/clouds: "This is my Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17 and Matthew 17:5. The second time, the voice also said, "Listen to him!" Are you willing to listen to Him?
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He showered His GRACE (unmerited favor) upon me while I was yet living in sin. As Paul writes to the Romans in chapter 5 verse 7,8: "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." And Christ Himself said "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down His life for His friends" (John 15:13,14). The Bible too has many predictions including about His birth (8th century B.C in Isaiah 7:14 - "Behold a young women who is unmarried and a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel (God with us)") and about His death (Isaiah 53:4 -- "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows and pains, yet we considered him stricken, smitten and afflicted by God. But he was pierced for our transgression, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him and by His wounds we are healed.")
Please do not misinterpret me. This is not hate literature. This is a wake-up call to those, whose houses are on fire. Indeed the whole nation of India is on fire. It is my basic instinct as a human being to warn you. Please do not make me your enemy because I am telling you the truth. I am talking about a God whom I know personally, not just someone whom I read about. And also please don't say: "You have your beliefs and we have ours." This is the most foolish argument I often come across. I beg you to recognize that you cannot believe the devil and his artifacts and go to heaven. Belief in itself doesn't qualify you. It is the object of your belief that qualifies you.
Well I can't help but leave you with these three verses from the Bible: (I thought these verses fit well with the theme of the Festival of Lights.)
"Jesus said, 'I am the LIGHT of the World, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the Light of life.'" -- John 8:12;
"For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life... Whoever believes is not condemned but whoever does not believe stands condemned ALREADY because he has not believed in the name of God one and only Son. This is the verdict -- Light has come into the world but men loved darkness instead of Light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the Light so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." -- John 3:16-19
"The wages of Sin is DEATH but the Gift of God is Eternal Life" -- Romans 6:23.
Please don't reject God if he is speaking to you today through these words I have written you. It hurts when someone rejects your love. How much more hurting is it for God when you reject such a great love he has shown in sacrificing His only begotten Son. There is no room for pride, blind loyalty to tradition, culture or patriotism. This is a matter of YOUR eternal life in heaven or hell. After you die, your country will not save you, not your mother nor your father, not even your religion. This is my appeal to all my fellow countrymen:
1. RESPOND to the love of God that is expressed in the sacrifice of His only begotten son.
2. RECOGNIZE that you are indeed a sinner needing forgiveness and that you cannot attain righteousness of God by yourself or through any other means.
3. RECEIVE Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour by praying to God in your own words the following prayer: Dear God, I am a sinner. Forgive me. I believe Jesus Christ shed his precious blood and died for me as a penalty for my sins so that I do not have to pay it myself. I am willing to turn from sin. Please help me in my understanding and guide me into all truth. I surrender my life to you now. Take full control of me and come into my life. I trust in you.
5. REPENT from your current way of life and lead a life in accordance to the Order set out in the Bible, which is trustworthy.
The Bible is a hidden treasure we in India have not yet harnessed fully. It may appear that we are behind, but take hope dear friends for Jesus said "the first will be last and the last will be first", not for nothing. So let's not think of this as if the British or the Westerners are still trying to rule over us or control us. Nor view this as a winner for the Westerners. It however takes humility to admit that your rival is right. Here are some comforting words from Jesus himself: "Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." -- Matthew 18:4. So put culture and traditions aside and confront the truth squarely but humbly with an open mind and be assured of a place in heaven.
India as a nation was born on August 15, 1947 but she needs to be born-again of the Spirit and water --John 3:3-5. That is, we have only temporal freedom right now but we need to attain to the freedom unto eternal life since the Spirit is eternal. Often times we keep science and faith in separate compartments, afraid that science will quench our faith. While I consider this topic beyond the scope of this letter, I highly recommend viewing Moody Science Classics especially "Facts of Faith". You will find it on http://www.moodyvideo.org/mv/sciclass.htm . The $10 you invest in this is nothing compared to the invaluable facts that you can get out of this video. If you are a strong atheist or an agnostic as I was once before, trust me, this will blow your mind away. Just get it!
Another good reading, my wife tells me is the "Death of a Guru" by Rabindranath R. Maharaj who writes from the perspective of a Yogi --his own experience.
Even though I have quoted several books, there is no substitute for the Bible, the living and active Word of God! May the good Lord God the Holy Spirit guide you into all truth. Amen!
This article was first published during 1999 via http://Softpill.org as Discovering God with an Open Mind. If you are quoting something from this article, please cite the link to this article as well. Thank you.