Vision Alive

I was born in a Hindu Brahmin family. My mother, Jayanthi, was a pious lady and she religiously offered daily prayers to several images of gods and goddesses in our house. I remember as a little child, I and my sister used to sit beside her early in the Tuesday and Friday mornings, watching her chant the mantras and sing the  bhajans (slogans). We did not miss a single festival – these were times of great celebrations. Our balcony, corridor and entrance were filled with lights – light from the diyas (candles). There was so much fun - new dresses, relatives and friends at home! We had all that we wanted in life. Both my parents were working in a bank. My grandparents took good care of us, when our parents were away at work. We were financially able to look after ourselves in the expensive city of Mumbai. But in spite of having everything and despite persistent prayers, my mom felt something was missing – the peace she was longing for.  Things went on. Amidst several health...

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Proverbs 31:8 Do we really care for the poor and needy children around us? India is home to 400 million children, the largest number in any country in the world. However sadly, one third of the world’s children living in poverty are in India. Childhood is the time when a person needs nurturing, schooling, time to play and explore the opportunity to grow both emotionally and physically. We all say, children are the future of a nation. Yet they have been neglected a lot in India, which is evident from the existence of infant mortality, child morbidity, child malnutrition, childhood disability, child abuse, child labor, child prostitution, street children, child beggary, child marriage, drug addiction and illiteracy. What are we going to do? Are we just going to be mere spectators of things happening around us? Or are we going to raise our voice for their justice? Abandoned children have ...

A small thought: If someone would ask, what is the sin of Sodom, 90% would say homosexuality (with references to Lot). But look at what God says: Ezekial 16:49, 50 Look, this was the iniquity of you sister Sodom. She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; Neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me, therefore I took them away as I saw fit. Look at the little things that God looks? 1. Being proud and haughty 2. Fullness of food 3. Abundance of idleness 4. Not strengthening the hand of the poor and needy How are we? A small thought to reflect upon! - Sunitha Justin

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE: Luke 16:19-31 There are 3 types of people in this world. 1. Rationalist: These are the people who say there is no God. They do not believe in the existence of God. 2. Ridicule: These are the ones who believe in God, but they feel it silly to speculate about spirits being fried in fiery place. They don’t believe in spirits, hell or heaven. 3. Religion: Their main question is ‘Hey man, you worship God of love. How can such a loving God send you to fire? Luke 16:19-31 talks of the rich man and Lazarus. It is believed to be a parable by many. But it is not so. It’s apparently a true incident that took place. Parable never uses any name. Eg., the parable of lost coin, lost sheep, lost son and so on.. Here, from this passage, we can know what is hell? There was a rich man, and another poor man named Lazarus. v 19 says, this poor man ate from the rich man’s table. The dogs licked his sores. On the other hand, the poor man lived a comfortable and luxurious ...