Avatar

Origin: Sanskrit 'Avatar' Origin:1775–85; < Skt avatāra a passing down, equiv. to ava down + -tāra a passing over1. Hindu Mythology. the descent of a deity to the earth in an incarnate form or some manifest shape; the incarnation of a god. 2. an embodiment or personification, as of a principle, attitude, or view of life.

OK People I saw Avatar and it was mind blowing in 3D IMAX, I loved the special effect s and it was a digital treat indeed. David, Sarah and I bundled ourselves at around 10:30 in the night to see this spectacular movie, all done it was 1'o clock in the morning, but the cold, snow and the chilly wind seemed worth it to see something really well done. Though it had some new age-y pagan/love nature/ save the planet themes coupled with oppressive American Govt. /White racial-native American exploitation messages; this was one movie that finally was successful in making an alien world completely different and believable. I thought to myself most of the movies are about alien encounters on earth or about some galaxy far-far away, this one to me was the most realistic in showing scale, flora and fauna of an untouched world . Avatar shows us glimpses of an indigenous alien life-form called the 'Navi' whose planetary resources the humans are trying to overtake. The science program creates 'avatar's' for humans to control a new humanoid species (a mixture of human and Navi DNA) with Navi exo-skeleton to interact with them and persuade a diplomatic solution. The marine in the plot becomes a turn-coat and helps the Navi fight the human race to protect their planet.

I am all for being a good steward of the environment and protecting the resources of our planet and treating other races equally along with the message of protecting the weak and stopping the evil forces, yet one needs to know the motive of our hearts and actions are judged by the one who knows all and has seen the parts we are to play or going to play. Just like Jake in the Avatar story has to make a decision in his heart to give the Navi a fighting chance and do the right thing (saving a race and stop the selfish greedy ambitions of the powerful), we are often at cross roads to fight for the right thing and time and again the stories reveal it is the weaker side, with very little hope of winning.

Avatar is a really cool movie, I highly recommend it.

Blessings,

Mind-Map

I love using mind-map, it's a software we use for high level planning, architecting, project outlining and managing... you name it -you can do it. It is the best and the easiest tool I have used for laying out a big picture scenario and breaking it down to the smallest element. As I hammer my keyboards in the late hours of the night, a thought/question comes to my mind if the efforts that I put into planning project goals, tasks and investments can be mapped out why not the entire journey of our lives?.

Maybe I am taking this to an extreme, but my best guess and sure answer is life cannot be neatly planned or packaged into boxes, departments and small level objectives. To an extent in our professional and personal lives we may be able to do so, but we should remember that we live our stories as part of the grander story God is orchestrating. The story has many twists and turns and most of them are unexpected, not intended and sometimes full of pleasant or (not so pleasant) surprises. Life is a combination theatric of happy, sad, melodramatic, joyous, revelatory, mundane and routine events. I could have added a lot more adjectives but you get the point. We are called to live out our stories, engage and participate in the greatest story of revealing the glory of God in all aspects of our lives. A few weeks back Glen Packiam one of our pastors was giving a talk about 'The Advent', he was relating how the coming of Christ in scriptures prophesied Him as the child who will be responsible of the rising and falling of many. Glen brought some interesting points as he concentrated on the 'falling of many' where he picked up the history of Herod the great who in spite of knowing the signs of the age, powerful, knowledgeable and builder of many things failed to give up control and bring his devotion to the coming of the King of Kings. Herod's life story ends in a tragic death. The man who planned and protected his reign so carefully, brutally murdered children in Bethlehem , wanting to kill the new born King of Israel, his pitiful life came to a sad end. The beautiful relation Glen brought out was sometimes we know all the signs, have all the knowledge and carefully are in control of orchestrating all the events we want to shape and size in our lives...perhaps it is time to give up that control and get in the flow of surrender to the one who demands the government of our lives and then say to Him..."Command Lord and help me execute thy will on earth".

Yeshua said "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

Hard isn't it? I am still trying to wrap my head around this one :)

Blessings,

Sam Kurien

Chapter Outlines Ready!

God is a paradox so is our life. this is to give you a hint about the book I am writing...nothing more shall be revealed on this blog here...however personal things are here. I just finished the chapter outlines for this book I think I know almsot all of the content at a high level. The hardest part is coming up with a good name or a good title...dodging around, the one that is stuck in my head right now is 'The purpose driven Paradox' mind you..its not a spoof of 'The Purpose Driven Life' but it does sound a little bit 'cheezy' does it? OR should I put out some prize money for coming up with the BEST TITLE. Comments anyone?

Blessings,

Carpe Aeternitatem

Continuing my theme on 'Intimacy and Fear', I long to change my every moment awareness of keeping 'Eternity' in view, change that perspective of short sightedness and replace it with a vision of seeing things through heaven's eyes. One of our Vice Presidents has a favorite story from the movie 'Dead Poets Society' where an English teacher (Robin Williams) is whispering to the boys 'Carpe Diem' which means 'Seize The Day', he goes on to relate this with another story with the phrase' Carpe Aeternitatem' which in Latin means 'Seize Eternity' with a resonating question ...why just settle for a Day?.

The clip below from the 'Dead Poets Society' is where the teacher tells the students we are fodder for worms anyway so we got to seize the day and make a difference in the world. He inspires the boys to make your lives 'Extraordinary'. As a Christ follower how are we to make our lives extraordinary...REPENT, BELIEVE and BE LOST IN HIM.

Dead Poet's Society - 'Carpe Diem' from Sam on Vimeo.

The second clip is from Leonard Ravenhill's famous sermon "The Judgment Seat of Christ" is not a paltry call to mediocrity but a heart-piercing roar for complete and total abandonment to Jesus. This one will terrify as well as inspire you and me to take our lives more seriously ...oh may it be so..."O Lord stamp eternity on my eyeballs and my mind". O transform and renew my mind with the blood of Christ so I can seize eternity with your help.



Enjoy! and be devotinal to HIM with abandonment!

Blessings,

Reflections and Resolutions

The year is winding down and it is time to ponder, reflect and look in the mirror honestly what I have failed to do, what I have done successfully and what the next year's goals and strategies should be. The year personally for me seem to have been a whirlwind as days quickly passed into months and the months rolled away to just a few days that remain into becoming a year.

At work lots of projects have been completed, Nimbusoft continues to be blessed by the Lord with new clients and new ventures and excitingly new possibilities. On the personal sphere Sarah, Hannah and Isaac continue to give me immense joy , laughter , friendship and great moments of being a father and husband. I love it and love you guys a lot. On the spiritual front I have been struggling, a personal observation is I have not been spending a lot of time with the Father and it seems my relationship with Him is always about wanting not waiting. I hope to change that next year in fact 'now'. I long going out for walks into the wilderness, musing below a tree over the running brook or stream. I miss moments of solitude with Yeshua, and these things need to change, I need to get back to that place of longing, roaming and sweet nothings with the Lord. A solid resolution would be for the Lord to help me not to set any idols before me, neither look to the right or left but focus on what He is teaching me on 'Intimacy and Fear'. Another thing I have been missing is writing poetry got to pen some more year in twenty ten, write new songs, psalms and poems. Hopefully even publish something.

Another observation I have to personally make is 'grumbling' on several fronts and not enjoying the moments or the time that has been given and this needs a 360 degree change. Reading lots of books and pursuing knowledge has drained out my time and I need to make an effort to balance that time. I need to set goals of completion coming 2010, things that have been started need to be finished. I need to tap into the reservoir of strength that is in the Lord.

This year has been achievements too..I have completed my comp exams successfully and the dissertation is almost there. 2010 the coveted title of 'Dr.' to my name beckons and of course the not so readiness to pay off those students loans. That brings me the resolution of being a better steward with the wealth and finances God blesses us with, every year has its challenges but I pray that God will continue to enlarge my territory and give me His wisdom to be the better steward of His resources. We have renovated and painted our house plan to finish painting the basement theater room coming year. On the professional front ITIL and PMP, SOA certifications need to renewed. The challenges would be to get new big clients, get into new partnerships for Nimbusoft to develop and launch the product by the end of this year. I am sure will revamp, re-plan and add to this bird's view list and it is a good thing.
I hope I continue to be faithful and have an open mind and attentive ears with a faith to back it up so...Holy Spirit strengthen your servant with wisdom and holy fear to accomplish, complete and encourage others to bring Yeshua the ultimate glory.

Blessings,

Identity

Deep down in each of our hearts is a resonating question "Who Am I?" and "What Am I here for?". These questions how much ever we run, hide, ignore (and even forget) lie in our inner depths singeing a nerve time and again echoing through our core that haunting question which just won't go away. It's a divine hole grafted neatly in our hearts.

I firmly believe one cannot answer those questions unless one knows who God is first, though we cannot define Him, the very fact of knowing Him and believing in Him is the beginning of an understanding of who we are. As we unravel the mysteries of who we are, we slowly also recognize who HE is in us and and who we are in Him. The journey of knowing our identity is so closely related to these ideas that they are also imperative in defining our purpose in life.

To make sense of what I just said, I have chosen one of the best scene's from another movie among my list of favorites -'Gladiator'. The Roman General Maximus was chosen by Marcus Aurelius to be the protector of Rome and entrusted with the task make Rome a republic again. Commodus the immoral son wants to be next Caesar, when he finds he cannot be, he murders his father and wants the allegiance of Rome's most powerful general Maximus. Maximus refuses. We see here two conflicting lives, a man who is not affirmed by his father becomes a ruthless murderer and goes on to be a cruel, foolish dictator; Commodus is a man searching for who he is and is not knowing what he is heading to become. On the other hand we see Maximus is a man who is sure of his identity, his integrity, loyalty and faithfulness all of which win him battles and the allegiance of his soldiers and even that of slaves that fight with him in the sands of the colossieum.

Maximus the Roman general, becomes a sold slave, a slave who becomes a gladiator and a gladiator who finally defies the emperor of Rome. Maximus doesn't know what he can do to save Rome or avenge the murders of his wife and young son, but eventually we go on to see the brave warrior come through. He openly defies the emperor in the Colossieum and when asked about his name and identity he bravely answers "I am Maximum Decimus Meridus, Commander of the Armies of the north, general of the felix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor Marcus Aurelius, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife and I will have my revenge in this life or the next".



Oh what beautiful lines!....he is a man who knows who he is and is defined by the purpose that is closely associated with his identity. The stunned emperor cannot make a decision, he is swayed by a confused counsel and a dark mind. Maximus on the other hand has won the heart of the crowd and the men who fight along with him. He stands tall among men. It is also fascinating to understand though Maximus's life plans of settling and having a life with family have not gone according to a time table or neatly laid scripted out success story, but he lives his life with a purpose of integrity, love and faithfulness. He defines the moments of his life for a larger purpose, though it ends in his death it brings great honor and saving of an empire from a wicked king. The princess comes down into the Colossieum and says "Maximus was a soldier of Rome and he gave up his life for preserving the idea that Rome once was of free men and freedom and he is worthy to be honored". Truly - the lines that say "What we do in life will echo in eternity" is how Maximus lived and that's how we are to define our actions.

Love and Blessings,

Sam

You got to give a little more than you take!

The story of Joseph is a close one to my heart just because of some painful events of my life, I find strength and hope in revisiting this story from time to time. The animation movies 'Joseph King of Dreams' and 'The Prince of Egypt' are my all time favorites, there is something special of how they dramatized it with songs and weaved the story to capture its essence and I think they did a great job with it. I can never stop crying seeing these movies even when they are just animations (its the true stories that reveal the deeper issues of our heart and bring real healing).

We all know the story of Joseph one of the 12 sons of Jacob the Patriarch. He was a special child and had some unique gifts God had given him, mistreated by his brothers he is sold into Egypt. The turn of events in Egypt brings him before the Pharaoh's throne and he becomes second in command, his wisdom and knowledge saves Egypt from disaster and God orchestrates the events of his life to ultimately save his own family. Joseph was only seventeen when he left his home, sold into slavery, almost 15 years of slavery, false accusation, a prison sentence transforms the boy into a man. I like the Bible verse that says "In all that Joseph did, everything prospered because God was with him".

I picked two songs from the movie which resonate so much with what I am becoming and want to become. The first one is the transformation of Joseph in prison, knowing and understanding God knows best and at any given time he knows better than I and I can take rest for He is in control. The song and the visuals will explain the rest.



The second clip is one from when Joseph is now second in command in Egypt and is entrusted the herculean task to save Egypt with skill, conservation, planning and strategy. I love it when Joseph tells the Pharaoh "Answers and wisdom come from God". Joseph's life has been transformed, he sees himself as a small player in the grand scheme and working of Yahaweh and he wants to give his best, contribute to what God has called him for, fulfill what he is to become a saving hand for millions. Joseph rises up to the challenge and ends up saving not only Egypt but the surrounding nations and his own family. When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers his greatest response is "God send me ahead of you all to save us all". Enjoy the clip.



Thanks to kalilahka2007 for uploading these videos on Youtube.

Blessings and Shalom

Intimacy and Fear

This topic has been on my mind for quite some time now, as I run through the mundane routines of managing a business, job, family and completing a PhD program, this theme echoes in the back of my mind, as to how am I to live a life of intimacy and fear of the Lord.

Yeshua said “Above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23). I have for quite some time explored the concept of holy fear of the Lord, some of my favorite passages here reflect its utmost importance in the life of one who is in an intimate relationship with the Lord. The holy idea of the “fear of the Lord” is mentioned about 27 times in the scriptures and there are dozen more passages that relate to the fearing of God. Some of my favorite ones are right below:

Deuteronomy 6:24
The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.

Deuteronomy 9:19
I feared the anger and wrath of the LORD, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again the LORD listened to me.

Joshua 24:14
"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

Job 28:28
And he said to man, 'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.' "

Psalm 19:9
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous.

Psalm 25:12
Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

Psalm 25:14
The LORD confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.?
Psalm 27:1[ Of David. ] The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 34:7
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.

Psalm 115:13
He will bless those who fear the LORD— small and great alike.

Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Obviously the “fear of the Lord” is not something that is just trembling in the presence of an angry dictator or person in power but it seems to be much more, it is coupled with meanings I just can’t explain but can attribute things likes holy reverence, holy praise, holy devotion, complete surrender and complete trembling(real fear) at the awesomeness and power of being before the most Holy God just because you know who He is and your heart knows deeply that He is worthy for it. Holy Fear from the believers heart to Yehovah brings with it great merits like friendship with God, beginning of knowledge and wisdom, instruction, discipline and way to righteous living. The Scriptures makes it to point that fear is also closely related to intimacy with God and hence my topic. How can you be intimate with God and at the same time be in trembling Holy fear? What is the balance of these attributes and how are we to walk this balance before a awesome, consuming fire God. A intimate relationship is not something that happens instantly, it takes time, spending time and investing time. Fortunately for us God in His mercy took the first step and He remains waiting on His throne and even sometimes knocking on the doors of our hearts for us to respond.

The response is what I am interested in, the invitation of being in a relationship with Him is open to us. For some of us we may be far ahead than others in the or for some we may never have been in a relationship with Him and again for some it has been a lukewarm for some time. Nevertheless wherever we are in whatever stage of that relationship, our response to Him is of paramount importance and I think one of the favorite way He takes pleasure in is for us (be it in the role of children or that of a bride) is coming before Him with a response of “Intimacy and Fear”.

In the journey of Exodus the children of Israel camp at Mt. Sinai, they have seen the wonders of Yahweh and His miraculous deliverance, provision and protection but they haven’t still entered with Him into a relationship of intimacy and fear. When God invites all of them to come up to Mt. Sinai, the congregation encourages only Moses the mediator to go up to God on the top of the mountain but they themselves want to remain in the valley and wait for instructions that God will give to Moses. You can read the account in Exodus, it seems the children of Israel are not in holy fear but a natural fear of “we are sinners” and we should distant ourselves from a Holy God, or perhaps the fear was a fear of distrust that a Holy God will destroy them. I personally think the latter is true as they tend to not accept the invitation and persuade Moses to go up to the mountain. They are afraid of the presence of God on Mt. Sinai. Let’s now contrast that with Moses, he has had a relationship, he is been leading the people with God’s help and his personal longing is to be in the presence of the Lord at all times. From scriptures we gather he long to see the form and face of God, to touch Him, obey Him and trust Him. In the tent of meeting this man’s face becomes radiant, the light and the afterglow is on his face long after he stops talking with God. This is a man growing old enjoying intimacy and fear. This is a man with whom God talks like a man would talk to a friend. In this relationship we see God Himself taking responsibility of in protecting Moses' honor, provision, and protection. God transforms the man to become the meekest and the most humble man on the face of the earth, and at the same time radiant, full of wisdom, a great leader who is a friend of God.

I cannot help but think about the relationship between Queen Esther and the Persian king Artaxerxes. I again suspect this book of history God planted in the Bible is for a reason - for us to understand the concept of “intimacy and fear”.

Queen Esther was brought into the Palace of King Artaxerxes and was to be presented before him. She is taken by the eunuchs and palace maids for beauty preparations, preparations that took almost a year. Finally when the queen is brought before the King she stands trembling in fear, anticipation, and expectation. The scepter extended the King looks upon her with favor, but she requests the only thing that is precious to her is his company, his presence and nothing more even when the King promises up to half of his kingdom. Intimacy and fear in action. Esther caught the attention of the King, she not only got his favor but she became his confidant, friend and a queen. Queen Esther is able to save the fate of her people, she grows into the role for time called such as this. I like it when Mordechai her uncle requests her help to save her people from the evil intentions of Hamman to destroy the Jews, he tells her "If you dont speak up to the King...God will bring salvation to His people from somewhere else but you are called for a time such as this" (Paraphrase mine). Queen Esther becomes not only the queen but the saving force God uses in the fate of a nation.

Hannah the mother of prophet Samuel was barren and was mocked in the society of her time for not bearing children. She goes up to the temple in Jerusalem and is standing in desperation before the Lord praying, asking, yearning and above all the Bible re-tells she stood trembling before the doorposts of the Lord so much so that Eli the high priest mistook her for being a drunk woman. Hannah cries out to the Lord standing before the King of the Universe with her request, a child drawn into intimacy and fear is able to stand boldly before the King of heaven to present her request. She too catches the attention of the King so much so the barren Hannah bears a child the following year. As promised and overwhelmed with the graciousness of God she responds by giveing back that child to God for His service, but later on in the story we see Hannah goes on to become a mother of five children for the Lord of Hosts will not be out given.

Intimacy and fear is rare combination of a unique balance, it is something that is given to us as a gift from the Lord and at the same time I suspect it is something we need to nurture over time and space as we delve into, struggle with, tug along, enjoy in Him by living and being with Him in the journey of our life. It’s a combination of not only respecting, revering, obeying and being in the awesomeness trembling fear but it is also being in love, a love that is exciting, adventuresome and that of great hope is its nature.

I could perhaps go on expressing what this all means, but it is time I stop, trying to distill and digest what the Lord is teaching. I am in waiting, in holy fear and in the intimacy of the Lord.

Love and Blessings,

Sam

Kingdom Of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven is another "Wild At Heart" movie that I love. This one has lot of amazing lines and scenes, I picked two of my favorite scenes;they are shown in the clips below. Before I delve into it I do want to mention how the father initiates his son to masculinity. The father is a Lord who had been away from France for a long time on Crusades to the Holy Land and eventually had become the Baron if Iblin. Many years later he comes back looking for his son, in the course of events that follow his son Bailion at first refuses to join his father back to the journey to Holy land but later catches up with him as he murders the village priest. At an encampment early morning his father throws a sword at him and invites him to defend himself, one of the servant's tries to stop him saying "My Lord his hand is injured" but the Father insists he needs to get up and defend himself. Initiation, teaching and bonding, closing of a wound. There is indeed something profoundly mysterious about the Father and Son relationship. Every man carries a father wound somewhere but smart and wise Fathers realize this and come alongside their sons filling in the companionship and most importantly closing of a father wound. Bailion later on in the movie is knighted by his dying father who won't make it with him to Jerusalem. I love the words of the knighting, "Be without fear in the face of your enemies, Be brave and upright that God may love thee, speak the truth always even it means to your death, safeguard the helpless, do no wrong, that is your oath and that you will remember it" - Rise a Knight.



The second clip is Balion standing before King Baldwin of Jerusalem. The king in this scene tells Balion that though kings and people in power may move pieces on the battlefield of life a man does not truly begin his game till he has started moving himself. The most important lesson here is the final words of the king that one day when we stand before God we are answerable to the Judge and King of all ages for every action we have committed, we then don't have any excuse that we didn't do the right thing because, people in power told us to do so or virtue was not convenient at that time or opportunity was not there...each one of us is answerable to Him for our souls.



Balion in the course of the movie commits adultery with Sybilla the king's sister but redeems himself by remembering these words that he will not be bought off by the world or gain the whole world and lose his own soul. When the King offers to arrange the death of Sybila's husband and promises him the Kingdom Balion refuses, and thus becoming a perfect knight and a better warrior in the Kingdom of Conscience.

Blessings,

Game Theory

A long time ago I wrote a paper on Game theory for one of my PhD courses. Game theory was propounded by John Von Nuemann and Morgan Stanley in the late forties and made an amazing contribution in the field of economics. In my paper I put a slight slant of faith in it and it came back heavily marked with questions but I still managed to get an 'A' for that paper. To summarize the traditional thought among businesses is to maximize their profit in the market share and fight for resources,and controls over their operating internal and external environments. Game theory proposes that in business winning and maximization of profits is not the only way for market domination or ensuring longevity of the business but it is a combination of games that a Business/Organization plays of winning, losing, creating win-win situations and finally even creating lose-lose situations. This might sound confusing for the traditional school of thought but let me explain Nintendo the game console manufacturer has applied game theory since the late seventies and has not only ensured market dominance but high amount of cash reserves. Nintendo operates its game theory in the midst of the following components or players: distributors, suppliers, manufacturing inventory and competitors. Throughout the game Nintendo makes sure they are in control of each of the players or components in the market place. In the eighties when they saw retailers like Wal-mart holding lot of power, they zapped their power by under-supplying games and consoles in the market, resulting in a temporary loss for the company but guaranteeing a high demand was created in the marketplace. During this period of time the competition thought they were making short term quarterly profits but they were losing a strategic battle in the long run against Nintendo. Nintendo stays ahead of the curve by innovation, creating products that are not way ahead of competitors but have a slight differentiation in them making them a niche in the larger market place. With product innovations they release only a few of the features and every two years add on to the feature set of a console or a game thus giving the excuse of increasing prices. The release of the Nintendo Wii is an excellent example of again controlling the buying of the games through its console over the internet again zapping of the power of distributors and giving their customers the alternative of choice. They complete the cycle by creating an entire line of accessories sold separately from the game console. They know families play the game together or have friends over so when they sell the console they only sell one remote with it, the extra remote or remotes have to be bought separately. Nintendo is thus playing the game of controlling the supply chain and the demand chain by bending the ordinary rules of traditional business. No wonder A game console manufacture's profit was three times that of Sony corporation whic is into everything from all kinds of electronics to movies.

Now why am I rambling about business in faith based blog. Continue reading....
After writing about this, that evening I went to church and heard the speaker say how Jesus stood still when the woman with the blood issue touched his Tallith and got healed. Jesus is asking a surprising question "Who touched me?" The disciples tell him "Rabbi, you are surrounded by a thong of crowds and yet you ask ..who touched me?" (Paraphrase mine). Jesus knew who had touched him but He was making a point by bringing the attention to the lowest person on totem pole of the Jewish society of that time "the unclean woman". The woman steps forward and proclaims: "Its me Rabbi, I am healed by touching the helm of your garments". Jesus tell her, "Daughter of Abraham your faith has made you well, Go in Peace".

You may ask what the heck is the connection? Jesus came to save us from the ways of the world to follow Him as the only way to be saved from what I call the Matrix of deception. In the movie Matrix Morpheus meets Neo at the assigned location as they want to free him from the Matrix but still Neo has to make the choice. Here is the clip.

The Blue Pill Or The Red Pill from Mathai on Vimeo.

The clip is fascinating isn't it? I am not saying the world is some computer program or some big illusion far from it, but there is some truth in what Morpheus is saying there is a tug in each of our souls as to there is something more. The conversation ends in Morpheus offering the blue pill and the red pill. If he takes the blue pill he wakes up and goes about his life as if nothing happened and if he takes the red pill he will know how deep the rabbit hole goes. We all know what pill Neo chooses, how he is freed from the matrix and how he comes back with the free to help others to be rescued out of the Matrix. It is interesting to me that Neo and his friends can come back in the Matrix but are no more bound by the rules of the Matrix, they can bend the rules of the Matrix and fight the Agents and rescue others, but at the same time they can also get hurt and even killed in the process. Fascinating!

Jesus came to do the same, he rescued us from our eternal damnation of separation from God, brought us out of the clutches of Satan and now sends us back into the world but this time we are armed and can bend the rules of the game. In losing life we gain it, we will advance the kingdom of heaven with victory or loss no matter what, we are no longer slaves but more powerful than we can imagine with the power of Christ in us. I hope you are connecting the dots now, game theory, matrix and the reason to our faith. The woman with the blood issue was not a wanted member of an esteemed congregation but she knew if only she could touch his garments she would be healed, she believed in changing the rules of the game, the touch could save her, she braves the crowds, makes her way through and gets what she wants. Nintendo loses the game sometimes to seal the final victory.

The agents are coming....the phone is ringing..."Run Neo Run"...Oh No...wait..."What is he doing?" He is not running...he stops to face the agent, to fight and to bend the rules of the Matrix.

Saturate My Soul

Yeshua alone can saturate my soul, Yeshual alone can fulfill my heart,
The lover calls and beckons me to come, Oh He alone satisfies,
He alone can refresh, He alone can consume and be the King of all my being
Blow upon my garden O North Wind, lover of my soul, let the rivers flow.
------------------------
Song of Solomon is a powerful book in the heart of the Bible, ultimately its reflection is more than the intimacy between man and woman but it is the intimacy with the creator and the created being. The oneness of joining into the “Unio Mystica” That’s what we are called for and that’s how Yeshua himself showed us how he lived. The Cross that he carried to Calvary, the pain, the blood spilled was nothing compared to the agony He went through of separating himself from God. Yet He did it gladly to invite us in to share that level of intimacy, so that nothing else satisfies. Here is another one of my favorite songs sung by Karen Davis a messianic worshiper at Kehliat HaCarmel congregation in Israel taken from the Song of Solomon.

Yerushalayim Shel Zahav

Ofra Hazra one of the first Israeli Pop Singers sings "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" one of my favorite songs. Many will say this is a secular poetry but I find it really hard to separate among the good things God has given to us and term it something as secular.Ofra died at the young age of 42, among various speculations from murder to health reasons, she was one of the jewels in singing voices from Israel.

Hearing this song is an emotional experience for not only the Jewish people but all in the Judeo-Christian faith who understand Jerusalem is the sacred city of the King. It holds a special place in the heart of the believer. Now I know why the ancient singers and poets by the rivers of Babylon couldn't bring their harps and lyre's to sing as they were not in Jerusalem, the city of God. In the final scenes of the movie "Kingdom of Heaven" - Bailion the defender of Jerusalem is asking Saladin the Syrian King..."What is Jerusalem worth to you?"; At first he tells him "nothing" and walks away and then he suddenly turns and says "Everything"!.

Here is Ofra singing "Yerushalayim Shel Zahav". I have provided the translation from Hebrewsongs.com ...Enjoy!

YERUSHALAYIM SHEL ZAHAV Avir harim tzalul kayayin Vereiach oranim, Nisa beru'ach ha'arbayim Im kol pa'amonim. Uvetardemat ilan va'even Shvuyah bachalomah, Ha'ir asher badad yoshevet /nitzevet Uvelibah chomah. Chorus: Yerushalayim shel zahav Veshel nechoshet veshel or Halo lechol shirayich ani kinor. x2 Eicha yavshu borot hamayim Kikar hashuk reikah, Ve'ein poked et har habayit Ba'ir ha'atikah. Uvame'arot asher basela Meyalelot ruchot, Ve'ein yored el yam hamelach Bederech Yericho. Chorus... Ach bevo'i hayom lashir lach Velach lik'shor k'tarim, Katonti mitze'ir bana'ich Ume'acharon ham'shorerim. Ki shmech tzorev et hasfatayim Keneshikat saraf , Im eshkachech Yerushalayim Asher kulah zahav... Chorus... Chazarnu el borot hamayim Lashuk velakikar, Shofar kore behar habayit ba'ir ha'atikah. Uvame'arot asher baselah Alfei shmashot zorchot, Nashuv nered el yam hamelach Bederech Yericho! Chorus...

JERUSALEM OF GOLD The mountain air is clear as wine And the scent of pines Is carried on the breeze of twilight With the sound of bells. And in the slumber of tree and stone Captured in her dream The city that sits solitary And in its midst is a wall. Chorus: Jerusalem of gold And of bronze, and of light Behold I am a harp for all your songs. x2 How the cisterns have dried The market-place is empty And no one frequents the Temple Mount In the Old City. And in the caves in the mountain Winds are howling And no one descends to the Dead Sea By way of Jericho. Chorus... But as I come to sing to you today, And to adorn crowns to you (i.e. to tell your praise) I am the smallest of the youngest of your children (i.e. the least worthy of doing so) And of the last poet (i.e. of all the poets born). For your name scorches the lips Like the kiss of a seraph If I forget thee, Jerusalem, Which is all gold... Chorus... We have returned to the cisterns To the market and to the market-place A ram's horn calls out on the Temple Mount In the Old City. And in the caves in the mountain Thousands of suns shine - We will once again descend to the Dead Sea By way of Jericho! Chorus...

The Battle Cry!

The Battle Cry continues. Let us not give Him rest, Let us be fervent in our prayers, in our desperation for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal and we wrestle not with flesh and blood but against might principalities. Lord we put on the full armor of God and plunge into battle, our answer continues..my answer continues "I will Fight", "I will Fight"....



There is no alternative. I will go to the end...I cannot hold back now.

Wanna come! "I wanna run a rescue shop within a yard of hell" (C.T Studd)

Shalom & Blessings,

Time for waiting is Past.

I really love this from the sayings of C.T.Studd and his passion to inspire men. This gave me goosebumps..."masculine holiness" daring faith in Jesus Christ. God has called us and we are to be part of His campaign against an assault on the enemy, "reckless sacrifices" and "Heroism"...Oh! I love that. Shackles of traditions , laziness, lukewarmness, coldness, nothing I say nothing, should stop us from advancing the Glory of God.



I am reminded of Joshua one of our great heroes of faith. On the morning of a battle against the Kings of the Amorites and the Kings of Canaanites, Joshua lifts up his eyes and sees a man with His sword drawn against him. He runs up to him and asks him if he was for us or against them and He replies "I have come as the Captain of the Lord's Host of Armies". Joshua worships Him and Yeshua replies "Loose thy shoe from your foot...you stand on Holy Ground".

We come to a time where we are on holy ground and the Lord of Hosts himself is drawn His sword to battle alongside with us. Isn't that awesome! Enjoy!, Live Love,Worship and Fight!

This is War

Continuing on the same lines of my last post, I found this and swiped it from braveheartedgospel.com, this is beautiful as it is almost an answer to the previous post. Paul Washer really inspired men here. I will shut up and let you listen to the call, let you listen to the answer we must all respond with.



I love it when he says "there is a place, there is a place where the flag of zion does not fly" ...I want to add.."Let us men not rest till the banners of Zion, the banners of our Lord cover the face of the earth, till in in the triumphant glory the King of Kings takes His throne in Jerusalem.

We are called to pray, to be valiant, mighty, strong and we are called to WAR!

Shalom & Blessings,

Sam Kurien

Will you Fight?

I have been meaning to write blogs on all of my favorite movies and in the tradition of John Eldredge and his famous books love to explain and understand the spiritual truths behind them. Unraveling the greater story from the smaller stories of history. So continuing on the movie lines... 'Braveheart' is another one of my favorites.

Every man deep inside wants to be like William Wallace, in fact God the father has created us to be that. He created us in His own image. God is a warrior God and we are born in the midst of battle, born to fight for good, fight for our families, our wives, our children, be the voice of those who don't have a voice, stand for the weak, poor and the needy. Though fighting takes many forms of courage and diverse forms of battles, it is in knowing that we are bought with a price, the blood of our Lord identifies our true identiy. It is in knowing we are born free and a great price was paid to buy our freedom and to maintain it against the onslaught of the enemy we are called to be defiant, brave and ever depending on the Lord. It is in knowing who He is in us and who we ae in Him.

The snippet here is the Scottish landlords have gathered with their armies to negotiate a deal with the English. Fear strikes the men as they see this vastness of the intruding army, slowly they begin to scatter. It is at this time Wallace arrives on the scene. He thanks the landlords for showing up on the battlefield and then turns to the fleeing men asking the pivotal question "Will you Fight?". They answer is an emphatic "No" as they resound that they will run and save their lives. It is at this crucial point William Wallace gives them the identity as to who they are. He sees and calls them "Sons of Scotland" and a countrymen of free scots who have gathered to give an answer to tyranny, more strongly he teaches them in his speech the value of freedom. He tells them many years from today when you lie on your bed thinking if you had one chance...just one chance to come back here to this day and tell your perpetrators that they can take our lives but they will never be able to take their freedom.



I see a striking parallel with our christian lives as I mentioned earlier, the enemy (Satan) and his allies have launched a tremendous assault on human kind, he can't bear the fact the world has been won over by the blood of the lamb, he has lost but now he is taking the offense and is not only frightening the bride, but tearing her apart with division, murder, injustice, lies and destruction. Bothers... we are born in the midst of war, called to fight, called to take the onslaught of Heaven to the corners of all earth to tell men they are free because of the Lamb of God.

Will you Fight?

If we die, we die, if our life is forfeited then so be it...We will fight!! but our enemy will know he cannot defeat us and neither can he cover our eyes with myopia that we are not really free.

Shalom,

Sam Kurien

The Tales that really mattered.

David my good friend and I love talking about theology, literature, science, software engineeing and most of all the grand storeis. Among them one of our favorite is "The Lord of the Rings" the movies and the books are a matter of many a lunch discussions.

I have added one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Frodo is disappointed, depressed and has given up all hope but his trusted friend Sam, express's a profound truth of the tales that really matter. We are in a fight dear friends, the battle is almost lost, there is sadness, misery and death, there is almost no hope but shall we give up or like Sam shall we stick to the fight...and fight for what is good.

Blessings,

For all your goodness and blessings

Growing up in a  Syrian christian home, I had the wonderful opportunity to sing and listen to some amazing songs that were composed by family relatives that have become famous church hymns. The one in the video espcially  brings a lot of tears and memories whenever I hear this...so I share it here. I will make the best attempt to translate as it is in Malyalam. The translation though not perfect will give you the gist of its richness.
-----------------------
Oh for all your goodness and merices, what can I do for you,
My heart overwhelms with your goodness and your praises resound as songs to you.
You lifted me out of my sins and bore the curse for me...oh my savior
You have led me oh my God all the days of my life, so I worship you with all my being

You have taken the promise to look after me all the days of my life, guarding me from all evil,
You are the only power in my life,
This servant of yours will be always in your presence, praising you and living for my Lord and husband,
Though I was guilty you brought me into the light and made me stand holy in your presence with your strength.
All the days i live on earth I will live praising and worshipping your name always.

Tzitzith - A Thread Of Light

I recently finished reading a book, a jewish book written by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan a multi-faceted, creative and well known scholar. Kaplan had unique perception into Torah and was inducted in the Who's Who of Physics. He died in 1983 at a young age of 48 and is known to have a brilliant mind that contained libraries of books that were yet to be produced by his genius.

Anyway, this book gave me a unique insight on the Tzitzith. You may ask what is a Tzitzith for those not knowledgeable in Jewish or Hebrew culture, it is the tassels hanging on each of the four corners of a Tallith or Tallith Katan. Which then brings up the question as to what is a tallith and a Tallith Katan. A Tallith is covering a jewish man or a messianic jew may wear around his shoulders and head while attending a service in the synagogue. A Tallith Katan is the garment worn underneath the shirt with the Tzitzith hanging on the four corners of this garment. Interesting isn't it?

What are these strange tassels on these strange garments. Many of the Jewish and orthodox Jewry were a spectacle of mystery and weirdness when encountered by other cultures as they often lived differently, wore clothing differently and had strange religious customs and traditions. Nevertheless their difference was marked by a deep relationship between the God of Israel and the Jewish people. The mitzvah of the Tzitzith is very fascinating and worth discussing.

Numbers 15:38 mentions "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them that they make Tzitzith on the corners of their garments for all generations; and they shall place on the Corner Tzitzith a twist (Pethil) of blue [wool]." Deuteronomy 22:11,12 says "You shall make tassels (Gedilim) on the four corners of your garments, with which you cover yourself."

The author goes on to explain in the book the number of threads and knots and how the Tzitzith is made; (which I will delve in my next post) but what captured my attention was the threads were reminders of God's commandments. The Exodus and events surrounding it make Judaism unique among all other religions. Other faiths began with a single individual, but Judaism begins with God. A unique bond was forged at the Exodus between the children of Israel and Yahweh. The Exodus thus placed a very special responsibility on the Jew. God rescued us from slavery , and in a very special sense, became our Master. In the Torah He says, "The children of Israel are My servants, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt - I am God your Lord" (Leviticus 25:25). Therefore, in a sense the Tzitzith was an insgnia that a Hebrew wears, proclaiming that we are God's subjects. The Torah alludes to this in telling us to wear the Tzitzith to be "holy to your God". The word "holy" means two things: First that we are close to God because of His saving and secondly that we are separated from things that are ungodly. The wearing of the Tzitzith is a sign of that relationship of the who has accepted His Torah. God reiterates the concept of this relationship when He says " You shall be holy to Me, for I God, am Holy, and I have set you apart from all other peoples, that you should be Mine" (Leviticus 20:26).

When wearing the Tallith in the synagogue, the following blessing is pronounced "Barukh Atah Adonnoy Elohenu Melekh holam asher kid'sha-nu be-mitzov-thav vertziva-nu al Mitvah Tzitzith" which means:

"Blessed are You God, our Lord, King of the worldwho has made us holy with His commandments and gave us the Mitzvah of Tzitzith.

Shalom,

Well Another Year..Slipped away.

Well its been a busy year and its another excuse for not coming here and hammering (typing) my thougts. Its almost the end of the year and I am in these last two month hopefullly going to make up for the time lost here....
OK the real reason of disappearing
Well blogger has been primarily been on hold from my radar as I have been posting on windows live...again been busy with Business and School

Shalom.

Finally 2009 is Here!!!

Well that is old news...2009 is here!! Its been exactly 303 days that I haven't posted here something. Maybe the new year will usher in a a barrage of posts from this corner of the world.

Its been like the flood and I have finally send out the dove that has not returned with a olive leaf it means now its safe and we have landed.

Well!! I am still here 2008 had a been a very busy busy busy year indeed!!!