The recent death of Father Stan Swamy under judicial custody in Mumbai and the demolition of a church in New Delhi attracted the attention of many around the globe. Many see it as a sign of growing intolerance and hatred towards Christians in India. By the way, both the incidents happened under the watch of judiciary.
       Father Stan Swamy was arrested for his alleged connections with a banned outfit. Before the court could make a final judgement on his appeal for bail, he passed away while he was under treatment in a hospital. Regarding the demolition in New Delhi, according to reports it was built on an encroached government property and the structure was pulled down as a result of a court order, that too through the efforts of another Christian. The argument of many Christians in Delhi is that there are many other religious places all over India on encroached land.
       Comparing with many other neighbouring countries, Christians in India are still enjoying much freedom and we must praise God for that. The founding fathers of this nation adopted a constitution that guarantees enough freedom to believe, practice and propagate one’s faith. At the same time, how much of this constitutional right is practically available to each citizen is a different question.
Flawed law
Not only about religious freedom, even on many other matters we can notice that certain people in India act as if they are above the law. They feel free to do anything they want. They don’t fear the law, and the law too often remain silent or lenient with them.
       The result of such selective justice in India is visible in every area of life, like business, politics, religion, etc. It is due to such mockery of judicial system that certain people die waiting for a legitimate bail, while some others easily move around even after having a dozen cases filed against them.
       Same with the encroachment issue; there are people who took it as a business. They grab any vacant land, develop it gradually and sell it off. The law enforcement agencies never see all such illegal activities, especially in the cities. However the same agencies are zealous to act against some others. What does it mean? What can we learn from all these irregularities prevailing in this land?
A Christian response
A true Christian will always to seek to live by the law of the land where he resides. We ought to ->>>More

NTK

Special Note: Praise be to God Almighty who does great and mighty things in and through weak and helpless ones for His glory. It gives us immense joy as we look back to the past 15 years when the Lord graciously helped us to continue to write and post ‘Grace & Peace e-periodical’ for the benefit of God’s people around world. Many in the past wrote to tell us how they benefited from these humble efforts. We are thankful to the readers for their prayerful cooperation so far. Recently we could publish a book entitled ‘Reflections of a Discerning Christian’ which is a collection of articles from this e-periodical revised for the present day reader.       Considering the latest trend of communication, we have been prayerfully considering to change the format of our periodical. However, the html format also will be continued for the time being. Through this periodical as well as the website, gracepeace.net our only aim is to propagate the truth of the word of God that can enlighten, edify and encourage the readers. Expecting your continued support and prayers. Yours in Christ, NTK

Out line:-

Six states of a Christian Colossians. 2:6

1. Received Christ V.6 - conversion-once for all experience.
2. Walks in Him V.6 - Continuous experience.
3. Rooted in Him V.7 - Secret devotional life –sucking the life of Christ.
4. Built up in Him V.7 - Fellowship one with another-as a brick in a building.
5. Established in the faith V.7 - strong in the teaching – Result of constant study of the word.
6. Abounding in thanksgiving V.7 - Praising God for all things, even the smallest.

M.A.J.

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Anecdote: -

Girl Raised By Pigs

Few years ago United Press International reported that a 9 year old girl was raised by barnyard pigs in the Chinese province of Liaoning. The girl had been suckled and raised from infancy by a peasant family’s pigs because her disabled parents could not care for her.
       Like a Chinese version of “Believe It or Not”, the report indicated that the severely deprived child was taught to abandon pig like behavior in favour of acting human. Her counselors said that the child had learned to crawl like a pig and imitate other piggish actions. She displayed fluctuating emotions and tended to want to live in solitude.
       There is something worse than a 9 – year old child who behaves like a pig. It is a child of God who thinks and acts like an unbeliever!

Source: Xinhua News Agency

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Brief Article: -

Christ Our Sympathizer

“Nobody understands me” is a common refrain we often hear. They have their reasons to say so. Physical and mental exhaustion, lack of help and compassion from the near and dear ones, etc. aggravate the feelings of such individuals. Now if we try to give them a word of comfort or an idea to tackle the situation, they will still say, ‘You can’t understand my problem’.
       Generally speaking, it is a fact that often man fails to understand each other.
Not only he misinterprets the words and deeds of another individual even misjudge the silence of others. As a result, there is no mutual understanding or care. Persistent suspicion and mistrust lead to further disagreement and discord. It is such judgmental attitude the Lord Jesus rebuked in Matthew 7:1
       However, in such a painful situation a child of God can take heart; we have a Lord who can sympathize with us. While writing to encourage the depressed Hebrew Christians to continue to hold fast their confession of faith, the writer says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb.4:15) ->>>More

NTK

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Tribute: -

DOUBLE LIFE

Many people today live a double life! One kind of life before the public and another inside. All are very careful to show themselves as decent and well-mannered in their outward dealings. Even if nothing is inside they wear a mask to show that which is not inside. They conveniently forget that God looks not to the outward but the inward. 1Samuel 16:7
       Such show of personality is hypocrisy and God hates it. More than an externally impressive disposition our internal character matters much. It is that which we will be when nobody is around us. Character is the sum of our invisible traits and qualities partially inherited from parents and developed by various lives’ situations. It is formed and moulded by numerous influences, circumstances and practices.
       As far as a Christian is concerned the Holy Spirit brings about divine character in life as he/she yields to Him. So don’t worry about the out-ward expressions, i.e., personality. Be sure that before the penetrating eyes of God our life is pure, holy and acceptable. Yes, the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sins. 1John 1:7, 9. Our Lord can transform any character. Praise be to His name.

Sajith Samuel

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Worthy Quotes:-