Discovering God’s plan for your life!

Life is a journey. You wish to find the direction. You need to find ‘signals’.

Everyone wishes to know about his or her future. It has become a common practise to consult Palmistry / Astrology / Horoscope / voodoo boards. Have you tried to do so? It is detestable to the Lord. If you have done in the past, repent and turn away from that sin. What are the Do’s and Don’ts of discovering God’s plan for your future? Let’s see:

1) If your ways are NOT pleasing to the Lord, He will NOT answer your enquiry

God wishes everyone to ask our living God about their life plan rather than consulting a medium.
Isaiah 8:19,20 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

Deu.18: 9-13 when you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the LORD your God.

1 Samuel 28:6,7 –Enquiring medium/ dead spirits – Saul
6 Saul inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his attendants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her."

God did not answer Saul, because he failed to carry out God's instructions and hence he was delivered to an evil spirit. 1Samuel 16:14-15 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. 15 Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.

2) Do NOT ask God for endorsement of your plans

Do NOT build up desires and fantasies in your heart; then it will become an idol to you; you will be addicted to it; then do NOT ask God for his will. Only when we are willing to obey He shows us His ways. 100% 'neutral submission' to the will of God is mandatory!
Ez.14:4,5 – 4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Every man of the house of Israel who takes his idols [of self-will and unsubmissiveness] into his heart and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity [idols of silver and gold] before his face, and yet comes to the prophet [to inquire of him], I the Lord will answer him, answer him according to the multitude of his idols, 5 That I may lay hold of the house of Israel in the thoughts of their own mind and heart, because they are all estranged from Me through their idols- Amplified Bible.

3) God’s MAIN plan for humanity

A) Salvation – thru his spotless blood
B) Sanctification – thru Holy Spirit Eph.1:4 for He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. God can NOT make you holy without your submission. He wants you to work with him on a daily basis.
C) Sprit led life - Be filled with Holy Spirit everyday, WHO will display not only the Gifts but also the Fruits.

4) God’s plan for one person may not be the same for the other person

Blind man 1 – John 9:6,7 – saliva + mud ==> eyes + wash in pool of Siloam
Blind man 2 – Mark 10: 46-52 – WORD ==> Go, your faith has healed you

5) God’s plan will be different at different times for the same person

When the SAME problem occurs to us in succession, God will give us DIFFERENT ideas each time! Amazing isn't it!!! For example:
2 Samuel 5:18-25 18 Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 19 so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you." 20 So David went to Baal Perazim, and there he defeated them. He said, "As waters break out, the LORD has broken out against my enemies before me." So that place was called Baal Perazim. 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them off.

22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, "Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army." 25 So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

Moses – God asked Moses to strike the mountain the first time and talk to it the second time.

6) We have to inquire God for EVERY situation ALL the time

Ps.119:105 Your WORD is a lamp unto my feet and a light for my path.

1 Samuel 23:1-4 – God confirmed things twice for David
When David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors," 2 he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" The LORD answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah." 3 But David's men said to him, "Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!" 4 Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, "Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand." 5 So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah.

1 Samuel 30:7,8 David’s neutral mind
7 Then David said to Abiathar the priest, the son of Ahimelech, "Bring me the ephod." Abiathar brought it to him, and David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I pursue this raiding party? Will I overtake them?" "Pursue them," he answered. "You will certainly overtake them and succeed in the rescue."
2 Samuel 2:1 Specific question was answered
David inquired of the LORD. "Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?" he asked. The LORD said, "Go up." David asked, "Where shall I go?" "To Hebron," the LORD answered.
God even gives us the address where we should go!

What are the ways of inquiring the LORD?
1. Go up to the LORD
2. Weep before Him
3. Stay long til evening
4.Fasting
Dan.9:3 I turned to the LORD and pleaded with him in prayer and petition in fasting and in sackcloth and ashes.

Judges 20:23 – 1. Go up to the LORD 2. Weep 3. Stay long til evening 4.Fasting
The Israelites went up and wept before the LORD until evening, and they inquired of the LORD. They said, "Shall we go up again to battle against the Benjamites, our brothers?" The LORD answered, "Go up against them."

7) God does NOT give a full plan to you on the first step

Gen.11:31 Terah took his son Abram,… and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.Gen12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you”.
Abraham’s journey: Ur ==> Haran (STOP)==> GOD ==> Canaan ==> Egypt ==> Canaan; Obedience will reveal the next part.

Heb.11:8 – By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Paul was told by God to go to the city as an initial part of His plan. Acts 9:6 what do you want me to do Lord? "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

8) God has a definite TIME frame

Jer.29:10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. v 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Ex.12: 40 now the length of time the Israelite people lived in Egypt was 430 years. v 41 At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the LORD's divisions left Egypt.

Abraham – waited 25 years before the promise was fulfilled.
Joseph waited almost 22 yrs before his dream came true

Things to do:

1. Inquire God at cross roads
2. Praying & fasting
3. Power of waiting
4. Praying long
5. Praying with tears
6. Praying in distress
7. Petition / supplication

Note:Message given on 22.06.07 at Tamil Fellowship, Rayner's Lane Baptist Church.

History Channel - Boards discussion

Re: The Bible as Cookbook Proves the Christian God Doesn't Exist.
-->Posted: Jun 13, 2007 7:02 AM (23 of 23)

http://boards.historychannel.com/thread.jspa?messageID=700204360&#700204360

In respose to the challenge posed by Sidewalker, I've written the following comments:

My Dear Sidewalker,

The BIBLE is NOT a cookbook!

It is a book to reavel God's personality, creative power, compassion, and plans for everyone's salvation.

The BIBLE was written over a period of some 1,500 years, from around 1450 B.C. (the time of Moses) to about 100 A.D. (following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ).The Bible was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by over 40 different authors from all walks of life: shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priests, philosophers and kings. Despite these differences in occupation and the span of years it took to write it, the Bible is an extremely cohesive and unified book.

There are more than 6,500 languages are spoken in the world today and the BIBLE has been published in about 2,167 languages. The Bible is the best selling book of all time in any language. It has sold about 5 to 6 billion copies.Hence we know that there are atleast billions of people in this world who believes in Jesus Christ who came into the world about 2,000 years and ministered onlt for 3 and 1/2 years. No MAN, by his own authority, preaching for only 3 and 1/2 years,could have established his Kingdom on the earth even after 2,000 years have lapsed. It's only by the power of God, His name could be established on all face of earth.

What is the reason for Jesus Christ to come into this world to die on the cross? Here is a simple explenation:
1. God’s love, for all the people in this world is limitless and measureless.
2. There is no righteous, unblemished person in this world. There is not a man in this world who has not committed any sin in his life time.
3. There’s no one in this world whose walk is blameless; All are corrupt; All are sinners. God loves the sinners as well.
4. An innocent / sinless / spotless man's blood has to be shed for the forgiveness of our sins.
5. There was no sin found in Jesus Christ.
6. Jesus died on the cross as atonement (compensation) for the sins of all human beings in this world.
7. Any human being (irrespective of race, colour, religion, region etc.) who cries out to God truly in their heart for the forgiveness of their sins will be forgiven readily (This is know as "Salvation").They will enter into heaven after their death.

Please Read John's Gospel (from the New Testament) to know the Truth! You shall know the Truth and the Truth will set you free! I will pray for your Salvation! This is a challenge for everyone. Cry out to Jesus with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and search the BIBLE, He will definetely reveal himself to you.

Dr.Jeshurun

Crossways

CROSSWAYS

I’m a business man trying to find my way out of my City of STRUGGLE & DESPAIR to the Town of PEACE & SAFETY ……… Can you help me find my way out? I’m at cross ways……

When I’m at cross roads…..
All I can do is one thing only.
I have to choose only one path!
But I keep in my mind:
1) The path I have chosen will take me miles away from the other paths and
2) That I will never be able to return to those other choices!
So, I thought Once……. Twice….Thrice….Four times….
But I honestly don’t know what’s ahead in the path I’ve chosen….
There may be a…..lion ...or an elephant in the path....

or a gift from God or a promotion or a degrees from God.....!

So tell me, which way should I CHOOSE from these CROSSROADS?

Or just tell me…….Shall I STOP all together everything?

Or shall I WAIT ....?

There seems to be MILLIONS of ways to venture…..

But all I need is to take only one way which is the BEST ONE FOR ME.

Will I excel like the DEER in the path I choose?

Who would counsel me to take the right path?
Who will order my steps?
Who will direct me to the straight and best way for me?

DEAR GOD, PLEASE HELP ME TO DISCOVER THE BEST PATH YOU HAVE CHOSEN FOR ME! COUNSEL ME, AND DIRECT MY HEART IN YOUR WAYS!!

Wife of Noble Character!

Wife of Noble Character (Proverb 31)

She gets up while it is still dark. (v15)

She prays to the Lord and meditates on his word day and night. (v30)

She provides food for her family and her servant. (v15)

She also feeds the poor and needy. (v20)

Her dress code is gracious and fine. (v22)

She speaks with faithful instruction and wisdom. (v26)

She watches over the household affairs and never stays idle.(v 27)

She saves some money. (v16)

She goes for shopping and brings necessary things for home. (v14)

She never gets tied of work. (v17)

During emergency, she has enough resources to sustain her family.(v21)

She keeps the house clean and tidy. (v22)


Examples:

Sarah – 1Peter 3:6 è Submission to her husband
Deborah – Judges 5:7 è Commitment
Esther – 4:16 è Prayer warrior
Ruth – Ruth 1:16,17 è Determination

Prayer at Gethsemane

Jesus prayed 3 times before his betrayal. If you compare all the 4 gospels and closely observe the words he spoke each time, you will find a revelation in these passages:

Then he said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me." Matt.26:38

Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." Mark 14:35,36

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."Matt.26:39

The first time, he prays like this: “Everything is possible /or/ if it is possible… take this cup from me”. Here Jesus is asking his Father to take away the cup, which is crucifixion.

He went away a second time and prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."Matt.26:42

Watch the above verse very closely. His prayer has changed from, ‘if it is possible’ to ‘if it is not possible’.

So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Matt.26:44

At the third prayer, Jesus has known and accepted the will of his Father to drink the cup, which is crucifixion.

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.Luke 22:43

After making the decision to go for the cross, he was strengthened by the angel.

Jesus, who had said few hours ago, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death”, has now become bold and commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?" John 18:11

From Jesus' prayer at Gethsemane, we learn the perfect submission to the will of our Father in heaven. Submission is a voluntary decision which can be difficult to make and if the submission is according to the will of the Father, it produces fruit for eternity.

Thanks to Bro R Stanley’s message: “How NOT to...” series

A message from a 12 year old boy

In a popular movie, “Home Alone”, the parents forget their child at home and went on a holiday. After a while, they realised that their son was missing!

Like wise, In Luke 2 we read about the distressed parents who left their 12 year old son in Jerusalem and left for their home in Nazareth. They searched for their son and on the 3rd day, they found him in the Jerusalem Temple. His troubled and tormented mother asked him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously.” (v48). The boy gave an astonishing answer: How is it that you had to look for me? Didn’t you know that it is necessary for me to be in My Father's house and occupied about My Father's business? (v49).

Certainly staying in our Fathers House and doing his business is superior to things of this world. Let’s learn this simple principle from this 12 year boy named ‘Jesus’!

“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Ps.84:10).

Be my Valentine!

Dear Jesus,

You left your heavenly home;
To be born in a manger.
You left your Father in heaven;
To become a carpenter’s son.
You left the treasures of heaven;
To make me rich in your blessings.

You were baptised in water,
To baptise me by the Holy Spirit.
You fasted for 40 days and 40 nights,
To proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven,
You showed me the Way, the Truth & Life,
To follow you all days of my life.

Some one can die for a good man;
But you died for me, yet a sinner.
You showed your love for me;
By carrying my cross on your shoulders.
Though I never knew your love,
You shed your blood for me.

You have given me a new life,
A purpose to live.
I love you, Jesus.
Be my Valentine!!!

Your loving son.

Overcomer's Prayers !

Dear Father,

I thank you for the precious blood Jesus shed on the cross. Thank you for giving us the mighty name of Jesus. THANK YOU FOR THE AUTHORITY YOU HAVE DELEGATED TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS AND THE GREAT SACRIFICE HE MADE ON CALVARY. Father, I take upon myself the divine authority to claim and possess all you have granted me. I obey your commands and choose to forgive my offenders. I rebuke every enemy that stood against me-- my body, mind and spirit. I demolish every stronghold that is built in my body-- in every organ and cell, and the spirit of fear and the spirit of infirmity and claim back God's promises of life, abundant life with perfect health and strength. I appropriate Caleb's inheritance of Hebron-- spiritual and material, health and long life that is God's Rhema for my household. Halleluiah. Amen.

Prayer 1
Father, through the blood of Jesus and His mighty name, you have given me the divine authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the powers of darkness. I praise and thank you for that. I obey your commands and choose to forgive my offenders. So now I rebuke the enemy and claim all my lost territories. I demolish the strongholds built in my body, soul and spirit. Thus I claim my divine rights in faith and praise you. Amen.

Prayer 2
Father, through the blood of Calvary and the power in the mighty name of Jesus, I’ve got power to trample on scorpions, snakes, and to overcome all the powers of the enemy. So in my authority I rebuke the spirit of sadness that has found a stronghold in my spirit. I claim the mantle of joy that is my inheritance in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Prayer 3
Dear Father, I thank you for the blood that Jesus shed on the cross and the power of His name. You have given divine authority in Christ Jesus to overcome the powers of darkness. You have given me the spirit of power, love and sound mind. So I trample upon the spirit of fear of people and the spirit of shame and timidity. I choose to demolish that stronghold in His name by the power delegated to me and take up my inheritance. I am strong in my body, soul and spirit. Amen.

Prayer4
Father, By the precious blood and the mighty name of your son Jesus Christ, you have delegated to me authority and power to rebuke the powers of darkness and to overcome the enemy. I praise you for it and I realize my true position / identity in Christ. I have chosen to obey your commands and to forgive my offenders. Now I claim every inch of my God-given territory in my soul, spirit, and body. No evil power can touch any part of my person or stay in any stronghold inside me. I claim every blessing God gave my in birth and every thing I have developed in course of time through hard work. They are mine. Amen.

Prayer 5
Father, I thank you for Jesus. He is our bondage- breaker. His blood sets us free. Thank you for the power we have in His blood. Thank you for the divine authority you gave us thru His blood and His name. I break all bondages that have held my family and me in so many areas. Your power is limitless. You are our Sovereign God. I keep my people and myself under the cover of Jesus’ name and your mighty wings. I break open for us a new, bright future. Praise God. Hallelujah, Amen.

Prayer 6
Father, I have chosen to forgive all my offenders and myself. Now I come up against the powers of darkness that have erected strongholds in my body, mind and spirit –in my thinking and belief system. Through the blood shed on the cross and the mighty name of Jesus, I have the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and overcome the powers of the enemy. I take hold of every stronghold and every blessing God has assigned to my children and me. Strongholds are down; we always pull them down in His Amen.

Prayer 7
Dear Father, Thank you for the blood of Jesus and the authority given me through Jesus’ name. So in my authority, I rebuke the Spirit of sadness that has found a stronghold in my spirit. I claim the mantle of joy that is my inheritance in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Prayer 8
Father, I believe in the power of Jesus’ name and the blood He shed on the cross. His blood sanctifies me. It is the blood of eternal covenant. Because of His blood I am granted divine power and divine weapons of incomprehensible valour. I thank you, father, for the place of honour attributed to me. I acknowledge my position in Christ with gratitude. I choose to obey your commands willingly and take back all my blessings lost and stolen by the enemy. Now I claim my inheritance – the power of my memory, creativity and fluent speech….. They are mine. God granted them to me. No evil can touch or take hold of it forever. I take them back for the glory of God. The enemy has no hold on them now. I put His blood on every part of my body, soul, and spirit. Amen.

Prayer 9
Father, I thank you for the blood of Jesus. I thank you for His mighty name. I thank you for the authority given to me in His name. I praise you, God, my father for adopting me into His family. I belong to you. Praise God. Now in faith I claim all I have lost………. My memory, retention, my health, … In His name I break every bondage. In His authority I demolish strongholds in my body and soul. I regain all my father granted me. The enemy cannot hold them again. Halleluiah. Amen.

Prayer 10
Father, I thank you for the precious blood of Jesus. Thank you for the name of Jesus you gave me. I have come closer to you now all because of His name and His blood. You have given me the authority to trample on the enemy. I demolish all strongholds built in my thoughts, my emotions and in my will and demolish every weapon forged against me in the precious name of Jesus. I rebuke the spirit of infirmity and fear. I claim every inch of my inheritance promised to my in your Word. What you have promised is mine. I have become an over comer in His name. Halleluiah. Amen.

Prayer 11
Father, through the precious blood and the mighty name of Jesus, I take upon myself the divine authority, promised to me in your Word, to trample on serpents and scorpions and all evil powers. Nothing has the power to harm us, because we belong to Him and Him alone. All praise be unto Him. I worship Him. I demolish any stronghold built against me in my own spirit—sense of emptiness, boredom, vacantness, and bafflement and in my soul-- my memory, sharpness of mind, speech, retention, and any weakness or infirmity of body. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Halleluiah!

PRAYER & PROCLAMATION

Father God, I love you because you loved me first; not only that, you have loved me non-stop, continuously, consistently, everlastingly, unfailingly, ungrudgingly, and every moment of the day. You have needed me, Father, so much. I was worthless, you made me worthy, so worthy that I have now begun to feel my worth. I had no esteem of my own. But you have esteemed me so much, having invested in me all the rich heavenly blessings in Christ. I had no significance attached to my person. Life was against me. But you made me significant, giving me people, works and projects, and subduing all evil spirits below my feet. Nothing can harm me. The spirit of fear or the spirit of infirmity or (------name yours) has been defeated through the blood of Jesus Christ. This is what the word of God says of me and I firmly believe in this.

HALLELUIAH!!!!

Special Thanks to: Mrs Caroline Jebadurai

TITANIC

Introduction

Our life can be compared to a ship. The journey we make in our life from birth to death can be compared to the journey in a ship from one destination to another. The real life story of Titanic is fascinating. Let's have a glimpse of the truth behind the story of the Titanic.

The Titanic ship was the biggest ship ever built during 1912. The 882 ft long ship roughly equals the size of the Tower Bridge. The construction of Titanic started in 1909 at Belfast. Total cost of Titanic was $7.5 million (1912). White Star Line owned Titanic and Bruce Ismay was the managing director. It had 16 watertight compartments, which were designed to close automatically, if flooded. Shipbuilder magazine quoted on the construction of Titanic in 1911 that because of the watertight compartments the ship was ‘practically unsinkable’. Though it was made from 46,000 tonnes of steel, people were made to believe that Titanic was ‘unsinkable’.

White star line's vice president Franklin said: “We place absolute confidence in the Titanic. We believe the boat is unsinkable”. A Deckhand quoted: “Not even God himself could sink this ship”. Titanic Captain, Edward John Smith with more than 40 years of experience at sea said: “I cannot conceive any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern ship building has gone beyond that.”

Titanic was described as a ‘Luxury hotel at sea’. The ship contained a swimming pool, gymnasium, squash court and library. The crown jewel of the decoration was the first class grand staircase topped by a massive glass dome. The titanic built for luxury and comfort contained enormous quantities of variety food and drinks. They stored 75,000 lbs of meat, 25,000 lbs of poultry and 11,000 lbs of fish. About 1,500 gallons of milk and 40,000 eggs were stored. The passengers had the option to choose from stacks of beverages (20,000 Beer bottles and 1,500 Wine bottles and more)

The cascade of events:
10th April 1912 – Titanic leaves from Southampton on its maiden voyage to New York.
11th April 1912 – Reaches Ireland and then restarts journey.
12th April 1912 – Smooth sailing through the sea.
13th April 1912 – Temperature is getting lower.
14th April 1912 – 09:00 – First warning about an iceberg.
18:00 – Passengers had their supper, which was their last one.
19:00 – Several warning reports about icebergs from nearby ships (The Baltic, Californian, and Carpathian).
20:00 – All the warning messages were ignored.
21:00 – Moonless night and darkness prevailed all over.
22:00 – Titanic was travelling at about 45 miles/hour.
22:50 – The Californian that sailed close to the Titanic sent a message that they had stopped sailing, because of icebergs.
23:00 – This warning message was also ignored.
23:10 – Journey continued and speed of the ship not reduced.
23:15 – The wireless operator from The Californian switched off his radio, unaware of the danger for the speeding Titanic.
23:39 – Some one spots an iceberg very close with less than 1 minute to respond.
23:40 – Titanic turns to the left, but collided with the iceberg.
15th April 1912
00:00 – Six watertight compartments were flooded.
00:05 – Distress signal “CQD” was sent to other nearby ships.
00:25 – The nearest ship, Carpathian, received it.
00:45 – First lifeboat launched and distress rockets fired.
01:00 – Lifeboats launched, but not filled up to the maximum.
01:30 – The titanic music band (Wallace Hartley & his team) played the song 'Nearer my God to thee'. The band played the music in an effort to keep passengers calm and they continued playing music till the end.
02:15 – The last wireless distress signal, “We are sinking fast...” was followed by sudden loss of power in the ship.
02:18 – Titanic breaks into two pieces and the bow sinks first.
02:20 – The ‘unsinkable’ Titanic sinks after 2 hours and 40 minutes of ordeal. About 1,500 passengers lost their lives.
04:30 – The Carpathian rescues about 705 passengers from the lifeboats and heads towards New York.

Lifeboats

Titanic carried only 20 lifeboats, which means that it could take maximum of 1178 passengers, if each lifeboat is filled to the maximum capacity but there were about 2,200 passengers on board. Hence the Titanic should have carried at least 34 lifeboats to save the lives of all people on board. Titanic was loaded with all the luxury items, but it failed to have adequate number of lifeboats. One of the reasons for not having the required number of lifeboats was that those lifeboats would take large amount of space in the ship, which could potentially reduce the number of luxury items they had to carry in the ship. They would have to lose some of their luxury items to accommodate the extra number of lifeboats.

Compared with the huge size, magnificent build and the opulence of the ship, the life boat was very small in size, and none of the items in Titanic were present (no food, no comfort), but the only difference was that the lifeboat was floating on the cold sea at midnight of April 15th 1912 while the Titanic was sinking.

What do we learn from the above true story?

Life as a ‘sinking’ Titanic

The life we live in this world can be compared to the story of the Titanic. Our body is a vessel designed as a ship carrying inside a soul and a spirit. Indeed our mortal body can be a representation of the sinking Titanic ship. If we could count our heartbeats, it would be between 60-100 beats per minute. Our heart has to beat about 100,000 times and pump 7,200 litres of blood in order to live one day on planet earth. On an average, our human body is designed to live for about 70-80 years. Death can occur to anyone at anytime. So, are we prepared to meet death at any time of our life? For some people death is sudden and unexpected (e.g., accident / heart attack / stroke) but for others it could be slow and gradual (e.g., old age / cancer / dementia). The truth is everyone born in this world will die at some time. But we can face death confidently as long as we know where we are going. Not the huge Titanic, but only the lifeboat will save our soul. The only lifeboat is Jesus Christ who promises us eternal life after death.

My dear friend, we may be rich, wearing expensive clothes, driving a luxury car and living in comfy homes. We may be successful persons in every walk of life and enjoying endearing relationships for long. But, Undoubtedly, all of them represent the ‘Sinking’ Titanic. What would be beneficial, if a man owns the whole world, yet he loses his life? The ‘unsinkable’ lifeboat may seem to be insignificant, but it is the one that saves our lives. In this world, Jesus Christ is that ‘Unsinkable’ Lifeboat who saves lives eternally.

Are you willing to get into the lifeboat? It’s your free choice.

Thank you for patiently reading this. If you wish to accept Jesus as you saviour, please say this following prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus,
I believe you are the Son of God. You died on the cross for my sins. I believe you rose from the dead on the third day and you are seated at the right hand of our Father in heaven. I confess all my sins. (List them if you can remember them). Please forgive me. Cleanse me with your precious blood. I proclaim that I am a new creation in Christ from now on. I say this prayer in Jesus name. Amen.

Welcome to the Kingdom of God! Right now, there will be thousands of angels rejoicing over your salvation in heaven, as you have been saved just now. Today, buy a Bible and read Mathew chapters 5, 6 & 7 that gives the principles to follow in our lives. Continue to read, pray and attend a church that belongs to Jesus Christ. God bless you! Amen!

"Nearer, my God, to Thee"

Nearer, my God, to thee, nearer to thee!

E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me,

still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God, to thee,

nearer to thee!

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,

darkness be over me, my rest a stone.

Yet in my dreams I'd be nearer, my God to thee.

There let the way appear, steps unto heaven;

all that thou sendest me, in mercy given;

angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to thee.

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with thy praise,

out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise;

so by my woes to be nearer, my God, to thee.

Or, if on joyful wing cleaving the sky,

sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I'll fly,

still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to thee.

There in my Father's home, safe and at rest,

there in my Saviour's love, perfectly blest;

age after age to be, nearer my God to thee.

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Words: Sarah Adams, 1841