No turning back





Have you ever loved anyone unconditionally? I think it’s a very tough question to answer . Do we love ourselves unconditionally. It’s tough but not a very difficult one .

God so loved us that He gave us His only begotten Son , so that who ever believes in Him will not perish but will have everlasting life . John 3:16

Many have understood this unconditional love of God and the goodness of His saving grace . Some have had supernatural encounters with this Living God and have a fire in their hearts for others to experience this love they have found. 

I was born in the northeastern region of India . Here I have seen such passion and love for the Lord . Many tribes who have understood and tasted and seen the goodness of God . The story of Nokseng was such a big eye opener to me personally.  As this martyr from the Garo tribe of Assam , now Meghalaya  was the reason for the great number of people to be added to His Kingdom. 

The region known as Assam comprised of hundreds of tribes who were primitive and aggressive head-hunters. And into these hostile and aggressive communities, came a group of missionaries  spreading the message of love, peace and hope in Jesus Christ. Naturally, they were not welcomed. But it so happened that there was one man[ Nokseng], his wife, and two children who accepted and believed in Christ. Nokseng's faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christ. 

When something like this was happening the village Chieftain called for the family who were the first converts to renounce their faith in public or face execution. Nokseng was so firm in his decision and passion for the Lord , so he said - 
“I have decided to follow Jesus. 
No turning back, no turning back.”

Totally angered and furious that a man could turn down the commands of the chief , he ordered his archers to arrow down the two children. As both boys lay dying on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you now deny your faith? You have lost both your children and if you don’t deny your faith then you loose your wife too.’’

But to this the man replied -
“Though no one joins me, still I will follow. 
No turning back, no turning back.”

The chief gave orders for the man’s wife to be arrowed down. In a moment she joined her two children in death. Now the chief thought probably that this man would not have cared for his children and his wife but must truly care for himself. So the chief gave Nokseng a last opportunity to deny his faith and live . In the face of death the man said the final memorable lines:

“The cross before me, the world behind me. 
 No turning back, no turning back.”

Nokseng too got shot dead like the rest of his family. But with their deaths, a miracle took place. The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man and the family. He wondered why would someone love someone to the point of death . This man had options to renounce his faith and lead a happy life . This thought started to torment the Chief . He wanted to know about Christ . The Chief eventually gave his life to Jesus Christ and because of this the whole village accepted Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Thanks to the sacrifice of Nokseng and his family , many have received salvation.

Sadhu Sundar Singh the famous Indian evangelist , took the martyr’s last words, and put them together and now most of us know the famous hymn - 

I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS , NO TURNING BACK 
https://youtu.be/S8jvfdDtoqY 

People lay down their life for love , take others life for love , lay down their life for their motherland , but “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.” Psalms 116:15

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Matthew 16:25-26


Sometimes we are in this make belief state where we think we belong to this world forever . The sooner we realise that each day is a step closer to the grave [physical death ] may be it will help us think of our life in eternity and help us work towards it . 

God bless you all 🙌








Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Watch Repairer

Image
Couple of my watches required battery replacement …. but oufff the price in this region to change the battery can be more expensive than buying a new watch 🫠 However we figured out the place where we could get original batteries at half price and with a guarantee for 2 years .. woooo that was amazing .  The watch repairer was a very unassuming person who took his tools and carefully opened the side of the watch where the battery had to be replaced.  And boy the insides of the watch looked so amazing … intricately done and it needed someone with precision and understanding to get the watch working again . He also cleaned the inside and reset the time, date and in few minutes my watch was working and looked as good as new with a little bit of cleanup too in the inside and outside !! This got me thinking !! We have been made so wonderfully and crafted so intricately in the inside. When we come to the end of our resources or feel depleted within, come to the Maker. He calls us to draw fro
Read more

I AM NEW

Image
I was in a bit of a hurry when I went to the local supermarket last week. The lady who was supposed to help me with packing the condiments & dips seemed to be from another planet . She looked lost , confused and irritable. I did not have much time to be able to deal with her mood swings.  However something caught my eye. There was a badge this lady was adorning which said “ I am new here". Well that explained it all !!! She was not able to understand things well and might still been trying to navigate her way through.  Suddenly my perspective changed and there was a paradigm shift.  I became more patient and kind towards her in my approach. I bought the things on the list and left the place wishing her all best in her new role ✨!!  I then thought to myself- wish I had a badge on me which would read  “ a sinner , saved by grace alone”, or “ bear with me as I am not perfect “, or “ extend me grace when I fall ” or “ forgive me, I do make mistakes”  May be if I had them on, thing
Read more

What’s your trigger

Image
  When our little dachshund Coffee, was tiny and when we all had to step out , we had to keep her closed in the kitchen . The kitchen has three doors , so it was a bit of challenge to keep her in and have the doors  closed as she would dash out from the other. So we had to strategically close two doors and leave her in and shut the door on her. This was done only for three months period as we then had a help who became available full time. It is now four years and Coffee is also four + , but whenever a door is shut, specially the kitchen door she panics and gets fearful with the thought of being closed up again !! Most of us also get triggered when we are reminded of an event or situation in the past and we feel overwhelmed and fear takes over . It probably may be something we went through as a child or even in our growing up years or even as an adult .  Are we then called to be in that place of fear and anxiety and not move ahead in life ? The answer is NO ! As believers we have been
Read more