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by K. Samuel, Editor.
Greetings in the matchless and marvelous name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support to the Bible Beacon, and I humbly testify to the fact that this magazine has been a blessing to the believers and a beacon to the blind folded folks. As you are aware of the fact that this Bible Beacon is an official organ of BBC. The BBC has been committed to train national Christian young men and women for the evangelization of our great land of India.
In the history of BBC October 11th is a special day. Because the founder of BBC was born on the 11th October, and yet his (founder) being born on that day does not really make the day special but the life he lived and things he did bring importance to the day. After his sudden demise on the 3rd May 2002 the Board of Governors of BBC resolved to observe his birthday i.e. 11th October, as the Founder’s Day. As we have celebrated his 73rd birth anniversary, we are reminded once again of his untiring zeal for souls and relentless effort to impart the unsearchable riches of Christ to the Bible students. As many of his students say, he was indeed a passionate Bible teacher, a teacher who held nothing back from giving away to his students and he was uncompromising in his preaching and unwavering in his doctrines, a man who always stood for the truth and fought for the faith. While it was a blessing to be associated with him at the same time it was challenging to accompanying him in the ministry, while it was a pleasure to travel with him, and yet it was painful to answer his questions, he was so informative in that he did not keep any one who was with him idle, rather he kept them busy in discussing, debating on a particular subject. As Apostle Paul commands believers in Ephesians chapter five verse sixteen “redeeming the time, because the days are evil”. He not only did not waste his time, but he also never wanted any one especially his students and colleagues waste their time.
He was so sure of his being called into the ministry and the mission that was set before him to accomplish. Therefore he was never moved in spite of the struggle and strain he had to go through, instead, he became more mission oriented and Bible based Christian soldier. Since he understood God given mission and vision so clearly, he trusted God whole heartedly for the means and provision for the accomplishment of that mission. God, so graciously, as He has always been, provided the means and enabled His faithful servant to accomplish what He intended him to. As apostle Paul acclaims in II Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith.” The same may be said of late Dr. Jeevaratnam Buraga the founder-president of BBC. Indeed he was not only a man with mission but was a man with mission accomplished. As his colleagues here at BBC we resolve to rededicate ourselves by God’s grace to follow and fulfill the legacy that he lift behind so that his vision might continue to be a blessing to generations to come as it has been thus far. May the good Lord continue to do His good pleasure in and through the ministry of BBC.
My Recollections of Dr. J. Buraga - Founder of BBC
Prof. Stephen Schaefer, Lecturer
The first time I met Dr. Jeevaratnam Buraga was in May, 2000, while I was on my second short visit to India. In several places in South India various people had told me good things about Bharat Bible College and its director, J. Buraga, and they had each encouraged me to try to get to know this man. When visiting Hyderabad for the first time, therefore, I was happy when one local pastor offered to take me to the college and to introduce me. Dr. Buraga had just returned from a trip to the USA, and it was night by the time we got to the Bible College, at Dabilpur village road. In fact, the electricity was off that evening, and so my first meeting with that dear man took place by the light of candles in his apartment.
I began by telling J. Buraga of myself and my family, and that we were then living in Singapore, but I would be happy to make future visits to India, and to BBC (if he should like to invite me to come teach sometime). His response? For the next twenty to thirty minutes, he asked me questions as to my associations and convictions, and especially about my doctrine! It was only after satisfying himself about the clarity of my convictions about the Gospel of Christ that he then said, yes, I think we might be able to work together.
Within a few weeks, back in Singapore, I received a letter from Dr. Buraga, inviting me to come to BBC to teach later in the year 2000. I was able to come in the month of November, for about two weeks, and he had me to teach on the subjects of Salvation and Biblical Inerrancy in the Master of Theology program. This, my first time to teach in Bharat Bible College, was a delight to me. During the next year and a half, Dr. Buraga kept inviting me to come back to teach. With his encouragement, I increased the frequency and length of my visits as much as I could. He asked me to teach additional subjects, and to come speak in Spiritual Life Conference.
By July of 2001, he was asking me to come from Singapore to India with my family. To stay for months at a time. Even to consider moving to India and working with Bharat Bible College full-time. I took this as a real honour and a compliment from this fine man. Through the blessed times of fellowship we were having together, I was coming to know him as a great theologian. During the many meals we shared, we would talk of many subjects. The memories which impress me the most are the times when, after we’d eaten, and tea was being poured, he wanted to talk for an hour at a time about the Trinity. God’s eternal and Triune being, the relation of the Father to the Son, and the exegesis of important Scriptures (all from memory!) relating to these. I have never met such another man as Jeevaratnam Buraga!
He was most kind and hospitable to me during my visits. He arranged for me to preach almost daily in the college chapel. But, when I was privileged to listen to him preach, I was extremely glad for it. Perhaps the very last time I heard him speak in the college chapel, he spoke on Philippians 1.21: “For, to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” In that message, as I recall, he made a statement which I had heard him say before, and I have since learned that he emphasized to his students many times over: “We must proclaim the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the Son of God.” Such was this man’s conviction about Christ and His Gospel! I was most impressed. For I, too, strongly feel that we who preach God’s Word must have Christ at the very center of our message at all times.
Dr. Buraga complimented me greatly in the presence of the student body, when, at the end of one of my visits to Bharat Bible College, he said that he appreciated me much, and wanted me to come again and again to BBC, especially on account of our agreement on important theological points. By January, 2002, we had agreed together that I would bring my family to India for at least four months so that we could join in the College ministry through all of first semester of the 2002-2003 academic year.
In April of that year, Dr. Buraga was able to pay us a short visit in Singapore, to get to know several of our friends and co-workers there, to meet my family and to make further plans concerning our coming to India as a family. We were very happy to be able to host him for those days. Among the many things we spoke of together, he asked me, once again, would I bring my family to India—even to consider moving to India permanently—to labour in the Gospel in Bharat Bible College? And would I please especially focus on helping to develop the Master of theology program, and to help bring up the standards of the college otherwise? I was glad to say yes to my friend.
Sadly, though, within a few weeks of his return to India from his visit to us in Singapore, we learned of Jeevaratnam Buraga’s going to be with the Lord. In the Lord’s kindness, I was able to arrive in India in time for his funeral, at which there was an amazing outpouring of emotion on the part of hundreds of people, such as I had never seen before. The testimonies given by so very many people, and the many tears that were shed, demonstrated in a much greater way what I had known only in part during my two years’ acquaintance with him: this man was greatly beloved, and he is deeply missed. Those of us who knew him, even briefly, are grateful to God for the privilege of having known such a man. And we hope that the Lord would enable us to honour this dear man’s memory by exalting Christ in all our living and teaching, especially in the Gospel ministry done in Bharat Bible College, which J. Buraga’s, and our, Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ continues to bless.
Dr. Sam Buraga - Director, BBC
The Sovereignty of God in Ethics
A Christian believer ought to realize, that he is being ruled by a sovereign and loving heavenly Father, whose commands and precepts are binding in the whole of his life. The Christian believer need constantly to be living in the light of the reality that God purchased him with the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, that he is God’s possession and that Christ is his Captain and Lord (1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Acts 20:28; 1 Pet 1:18, 19; Galatians 2:20).
Christian believers are to be enabled by the Holy Spirit, to walk worthy of the Lord Jesus in the light of God’s word. This is how believers are energized to surrender their wills to the sovereign will of God. We are in no way slighting the moral responsibility of the believer, who is free to enjoy the liberty of the Spirit within divine restraints. As some one has well said: “let all divine restraints be removed and man be left free to do as he pleases, then all ethical distinctions would soon disappear, the Spirit of Barbarian would prevail universally, and pandemonium would reign supreme.
Christ in the Sovereignty of God:
In His perfect humanity our Lord Jesus Christ himself allowed the Father’s will be done even at the pain of Calvary’s death. It was the Triune God’s will that the Son of God should die on the Cross for man’s sin (John 1:29; II Cor. 5:21; 1 John 2:14; Isaiah ch. 53 etc), and the Son was totally yielded to the Father’s will – Luke 22:42; John 4:34. Jesus wasn’t going to run away from the Cross that was set before him, for He knew perfectly and fully well that His death on the Cross and third day’s resurrection from the dead were vital for man’s salvation. Jesus’ committal of his spirit into the Father’s hands at His death (Luke 23:46) shows that God was over all that transpired in and about the life of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, Christian believers who claim to have the mind of Christ, and who claim to imitate Christ (I Cor. 11:1; Philip 2:5) ought to consider it a blessing to belong to and to be possessed by a Sovereign God. God has set the rules for His people and his people will find joy and fulfillment, besides much needed security in this turbulent world. God revealed his sovereignty in His mighty creation, in the making of man and woman with a free will (which they exercised to disobey God and consequently came under the bondage of the serpent (the Devil). God continued to act in his sovereignty by sending his beloved son to save lost sinners. Salvation is God’s gift in Christ (Rom. 6:23) and man’s response is to receive it freely (Eph. 2: 8,9), and live morally and spiritually responsible lives.
God who is sovereign took, in his infinite wisdom and power, man’s responsibility into account in His eternal counsels.
Our attitude toward God's Sovereignty:
a) One of Godly fear Rom 3: 18, ; Ps 103: 13 ; Prov 1:7 ; Isa. 66:2
b) One of implicit obedience, Ex. 5:2; Ps 119:36, 133
c) One of entire resignation, I Samuel 3:18; Job 1: 21.
A.W. Pink refers to an incident in England: "Deo velente" D. V. was omitted in a royal invitation causing postponement of the coronation of a king in England.
d) One of deep thankfulness and Joy, Eph. 5:20; Rom 8: 28; Phil 4:4; Heb 5:7.
e) One of adoring worship; John 20:28; "My Lord, my God!"
" true worship is based upon recognized greatness" and greatness is superlatively seen in sovereignty and at no other footstool will men really worship" (J. B. Moody)
Value of this doctrine:
1. It deepens our veneration of the divine character of God. Rev. 4: 11; I Cor 8:6.
2. It is the solid foundation of all true religion.
3. It repudiates the false teaching of salvation by Works, Rom 9: 16 4. It is deeply humbling to the creature, John 1: 13 ; Ps 87:7
5. It affords a sense of absolute security, Ps. 4:8 ; Deut 33: 26,27
6. It gives comfort in sorrow
7. It begets a spirit of sweet resignation.
8. It evokes a song of praise, Philip 4:4
9. It guarantees the final triumph of good over the evil, Job 23:13
10. It provides a resting place for the heart, I Tim 3 : 16;In Defense of the Faith
Late Dr. Jeevaratnam Buraga, Founder of BBC
SECTION SEVEN: EVANGELISM
Chapter 2: Easy Believism and Cheap Salvation
In some context that I do not quite remember, a Christian leader of some standing in the U.S.A once remarked to me, rather melancholically, “Brother, an evangelist in this country is a man in the show business.” My first reaction was that the statement was uncharitable and a bit too sweeping. Well, as I have thought over it, it seems to me that statement was not too far from being true. And, I think, the same could be applied in varying degrees, to many instances in India too.
Our methods of evangelism are artificial and our criteria of success in it largely commercial. We tend to reckon too much with organization, publicity and funds. Statistics is our success. We take altar calls for granted and decision cards as final. We parade our preachers, celebrate our singers and direct the counsellors to count our converts. We have rejected the sovereignty of the Holy Spirit and have, somehow, made ourselves believe that we can use and control God as though He were an IBM machine. Superficiality has invaded our missionary program. We have the form and feel that God is obligated to supply the content. We have the techniques of conversion and have forgotten the travail of the new birth.
In India we sheepishly imitate the West. We have borrowed their pulpit mannerisms and their evangelistic jargon. “Smile Jesus loves you, decide for Him, join His side, stand for Him” is the kind of language we often hear from the pulpit. Everybody wants to be a Billy Graham. If he has preached to more than a hundred at one time, he becomes a “convention speaker.” If he is invited out as a preacher a few times, he poses he is too busy and cannot accept invitations unless they come with atleast six months notice. And when he begins to sense his popularity, he feels it is time he formed an evangelistic association after his name and appointed a campaign manager and a choir director. It all speaks of the worldliness of our Christianity. Here is A.W. Tozer's assessment of the situation in the U S.A.: “Evangelical Christianity, atleast in the United States, is now tragically below the New Testament standard. Worldliness is an accepted part of our way of life. Our religious mood is social instead of spiritual. We have lost the art of worship. We are not producing saints. Our models are successful businessmen, celebrated athletes, and theatrical personalities. We carry on our religious activities after the methods of the modern advertisers. Our literature is shallow and our hymnody borders on sacrilege. And scarcely anyone appears to care.”
Whence is the craze for numbers in our Churches and public meetings? We always tend to exaggerate out numbers for attendance or decisions. Well, if the numbers are genuine, it is alright; but many times they are fictitious. I believe that if it is good that one person is saved; it is always better that a thousand people are saved. But who cares to go after the one person? We are too busy except to address the big meetings. Why are we not as enthusiastic about personal evangelism as we are about mass evangelism? Have we gotton into the spirit of the age for mass production? We have our assembly line-set up for mass production of converts. We apply our push-button theology in evangelization! We offer the people short cuts to heaven; we expect to instant results.
We have used altar calls and decision cards to advertise our success. We have employed rather deceptive psychological maneuvers of low key music, “all heads bowed” and “all eyes closed” and one more verse of “Just as I am...” to induce the response of raising the right hand or coming forward to meet us at the altar. If our techniques fail to induce the desired response, we cringe and beg the people as though to say “please help out the preacher.” If nobody raised hand or came forward in my meetings I would be afraid that people might think I was no good a preacher or that my host might not invite me again. I believe our altar calls and decision cards have deceived many people into a false salvation. I am not saying that any person who responded to any altar call or signed the decision card was not saved. People are saved responding to the truth not to us and to our techniques. Those who respond to our techniques are synthetic converts, not authentic. I would rather that people storm into my pulpit, screaming “Men and brethren what shall we do,” as they did on the day of Pentecost, or as the Philippian jailor had it: “Sirs what must I do to be saved?"
I strongly feel that our evangelistic behaviour which is so artificial and effeminate, and sometimes, even ludicrous stems from some fallacious theological presuppositions. In preaching faith, we have bypassed repentance. All that people think we are getting at is intellectual assent of the kind that Francis Xavier of the 16th century was satisfied with.
Xavier was prodigious in his efforts to evangelize, pioneering in India and Japan. To him assent to Christianity was sufficient. If whole communities embraced Christianity, then whole communities were sprinkled. (I am convinced that baptism – it does not make any difference whether it is sprinkling or immersion, as long as the person is not saved – has deceived many people, just as decision cards, in to a false sense of salvation and security) We are guilty of toning down sin and God's judgment against it. We are afraid of being called “fire and brimstone preachers” or “dooms day prophets,” We have tried to make the Cross as less offensive as possible so as to elicit easy decisions. We can entreat, reason and plead with sinners on behalf of Christ, The apostles did all this; but he also commanded repentance. And let us remember: there is no true faith without repentance. The Gospel call is “repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I am persuaded that our decisionist approach in evangelization is based on the unscriptural Arminian idea of free-will – that man by exercising his free-will takes the initiative in his salvation. In other words, God's work of saving is dependent upon the sinner's choice. The fact is that man has no free-will. Man has a self will in bondage to sin. The initiative is God's. And man's, response in repentance and faith is only the effect of God's sovereign grace at work in his heart. The late Dr. T.T. Shields of Jarvis Street Baptist Church, Toronto aptly said, “The success of the Gospel does not depend upon the caprice of the human will, but upon the eternal purpose of a sovereign God.”
Decisionism is coupled with public confession which, unfortunately, is made a pre-condition for salvation. Rom. 10:9-11 is very often mistakenly associated with Matt. 10:32,33 and made to teach what the latter does. Sincere, but ill-informed, preachers have coaxed or coerced their hearers into public confession, saying that unless they did this they could not be saved. Rom. 10 does not teach that a sinner must confess Christ publicly to men before he can be saved. What it does teach is that a sinner must confess Christ to Christ Himself. This is made clear by comparing Rom. 10:9 with 10:13. Confessing Jesus as Lord is the same as “calling upon the name of the Lord.” If this happens publicly, it is wonderful and there is absolutely nothing wrong in persuading people to confess Christ publicly; but to say that unless a person confesses Christ openly to men or before men he is not saved, is absolutely misleading. Public confession is for Christians. True Christians ought always to confess Christ and stand up for Him. The testimony of Jesus Christ makes no provision for so called secret believers. The death of Christ did not take place in secret. Why then should a Christian make of his faith in Christ a secret?
It is time we re-examined our evangelistic ethics in the light of the Great Commission and recognized the sovereignty of God and the need of a well-grounded exegetical basis of the Word of God in our ministry for the Lord.
AND LET DOWN YOUR NETS FOR A DRAUGHT. LUKE 5: 4
Rev. Dr. Jacob Prabhu
INTRODUCTION:
Christ’s disciples are given the Great commission: “Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel…” (Matt. 28:19-20)
Christ commission to His disciples was-Launch out into the deep.
Here are revelation, fellowship, instruction, joy, oneness, power and expectancy
Walking with Christ is revelation, talking with Him is fellowship, listening to Him is instruction, abiding in Him is joy, living with Him is oneness, waiting upon Him is power, watching for Him is expectancy.
Deeper life of the Christian is being filled with the Spirit. How much does the Holy Spirit has of ourselves? Eph 5:18-21 encourages us “…Be filled with the spirit speaking…singing…making melody to the Lord…giving thanks…submitting…in the fear of God.” A person filled with the Holy Spirit is filled with: Comfort 2 Cor 7:14, Joy 2 Tim 1:4, Fruits of righteousness Phil 1:11, the Knowledge of His will Col 1:19, Good things Luke 1:53, all the Fulness of God Eph 3:19.
In deeper life: Christ is the Example, Faith is the Principle, Love is the Motive, God’s Word is the Authority, Holy Spirit is the Power, Goodness is the character, and Evidence of faith in Christ is essential.
LAUNCH OUT INTO THE DEEP
I. The launching out with life’s boat involves: Catching more fish, Going into the deep and Preaching precedes launching
II. The launching out into the deep involves going deeper into a) work of God in creation, b) in Scriptures and c) God’s love in the Gospel.
I. The launching out the life’s boat
A. Catching more fish.
In the context of Luke 5:4, the struggle of catching fish was in vain. Nothing was caught. There were no fish in the sea in that particular location all through the night. But in the morning, there at the same location more fish was caught. The presence of the Lord and obedience to His word made all the difference. The Lord Jesus has already said, “Without Me, ye can do nothing”. With Him and without Him is all the difference in the journey of life in the midst turbulence Jesus said “Abide in Me and be fruitful”.
B. Going into the deep
Go where it is deeper. The famous disciple Peter, weary from a fruitless night’s work, saw little meaning in Jesus’ command but he obeyed. The miraculous catch of fish demonstrates the perfect man’s lordship over the animal creation. He said, “take the boat into the deep water and put your nets in the water to catch some fish”. Catching fish is in the going deeper. Why? Because it is normal that the fish which were netted in shallow water at night would migrate during the day light hours to waters into the deep to reach easily with nets. That is the reason fishermen fish in the night. There is reward for obedience.
Jesus is Omniscient. He knew where the fish were.
There is a lesson to learn: An activity directed by Christ is fruitful! This proves that any activity directed by self is fruitless. We may be diligent, hard working and disciplined too. However, if we don’t do things in God’s way, no amount by hard work will bring the desired results. But as we follow God’s plan obediently and with His gracious help, we will experience the abundant life He promised.
C. Preaching precedes launching
There was first preaching. And then there was fishing. Peter heard Jesus’ preaching. He with Jesus in the launching out. Two boats were filled with fish. The overload had caused boats to sink.
Jesus has demonstrated His dominion over the sea also. Peter gave Him his boat for His preaching. In turn, Jesus gave Peter abundant blessing of more fish. When Peter realized Jesus’ divinity, he falls at His feet and confessed his sinfulness.
Every pulpit is a fishing boat. Pulpit is a place to give out the Word of God and attempt to catch fish. Jesus offers today the same honour to us which He gave Peter. Our lives are His pulpits which He seeks.
Peter did catch men, 3000 souls to Jesus!
II. The launching out into the deep
It can be compared to the longing for God in deep distress. This describes the tonic of faith and the comfort of hope. This is referred to one of the most trying crises in anyone’s eventful life. Ps. 42:7 Deep calleth the deep.
A. The depth of God’s work in creation calls to the depth of the human intellect. Ever since the beginning of human history, God’s voice in the universe has been calling to the soul of man. We open our eyes on this wonderful world, its mountains, oceans, forests, rivers, and as we look, we hear a voice calling is something deep within us. When we are true to our own nature, we hear and sense and know that God is Almighty in His thoughts, good in His purpose and all covering in His care.
B. The depth of God’s word in the scriptures calls to the depth of human intuition. Wonderful as is the reasoning faculty in man, there is something deeper and profounder than that in our human nature. There is that in human nature which gives a certain intuitive knowledge of what is true in things moral and spiritual. It may be abused and blurred. But it is there, and without it we should not be human at all. Indeed, this faculty of moral and spiritual intuition is in most reality in our being.
The Bible addresses itself not only to the reasoning faculty, but to the spirit. Therefore it may be tested spiritually, that which is inmost and deepest in man all over the world responds to the spiritual truth of the Bible.
Give yourself time to meditate quietly, thoughtfully, prayerfully on this book, the Bible. It will speak to you about itself, far more impressively than any preacher can.
As you reverently meditate on it, you will find yourself inwardly recognizing the voice of the Eternal.
C. The depth of God’s love in the Gospel calls to the depth of our human need.
The present groanings of the creation are the result of sin. A moral corruption injected by satanic guile into the blood-stream of the human race, away back in Eden.
We human beings now find the excruciating contradiction within ourselves of wanting to escape God, yet at the same time desperately needing to find Him.
Conscious of inward estrangement from Him, we are terrified at the consuming fire of God’s holiness.
That is the glorious Gospel in which the great deep of God’s redeeming love calls to the deep of our human need as sinners. John. 3:16 Matt.11:28
Does not the deepest depth within us call back in grateful reply?
"Contender for the Faith"
Dr. Samuel Buraga, Director - BBC
God's ways are past - finding out! His ways and thoughts are higher than ours, Isaiah 66:8. This precious truth makes us stop asking those battling questions "Why, Lord?" "Why did you take your servant home, when there is so much more of your work to be done?" I couldn't help ask the Lord this question repeatedly at the sudden death of my beloved brother Jeevaratnam Buraga!
Dr. Jeevaratnam was the eldest son of late Mr. & Mrs. Anandam Buraga. He was born on 11th Oct 1935. Passed through Convent High School at Hubli, Karnataka. Used to read the Bible regularly and at the age of 14, he showed keen interest in delving into the truths of the Scriptures. He used to display insatiable appetite in learning God's Word, which after his conversion at the age of 14 lead him to join Hindustan Bible Institute, Chennai. After his graduation from HBI, Dr. J Buraga finished his B.D degree programme at Union Biblical Seminary, Yeotmal. He had returned to HBI in 1958 as a lecturer in Theology along with his Registrar’s post, he proved to be the most capable and loved teacher at HBI at that time. He was married in 1959 and his dear wife Grace the eldest daughter of the well known evangelist late Mr. P. I. Jacob has been a tremendous support to him.
Mr. & Mrs. J Buraga had already been blessed with their 2 daughters Elsa & Alice by 1969; and were later blessed with their only son Daniel Calvin in 1975.
Then came the year 1963 in God's providence he got the opportunity to study at Faith Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA, USA from where he graduated in honors in M.Div degree. He immediately joined Temple University, Philadelphia for MA. He earned his Ph.D from Osmania University, Hyderabad in the year 1999.
While he vigorously pursued his Theological studies, his God-given vision of starting a Bible College in Andhra Pradesh, India in order to train young Indian Christian for evangelizing the country grew larger. The Bharat Bible College became a reality in Andhra Pradesh in the year 1969.
The spirit of God burdened his heart about this college, and it was no easy task. God who has called him in Christ enabled him to share this burden with God's people, with whom he strove together in prayer and I had the opportunity to move with him in the USA.
What we see today is the result of God's working through this man. The Lord has touched hundreds of thousands of men and women throughout India and overseas. The Lord blessed him with a profound knowledge of His Word, with an uncanny gift of discernment. He was very firm, and rightly so, in believing on and holding on to the infallibility and the authority of God's Word for doctrine and practice. He would not sacrifice biblical doctrine for anything in the world. The Lord Jesus and the Word of God were his life's breath “For the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” was the theme of his life. “Evangelism is the touchstone of Theological Education” was his motto of starting the Bible College to train young Christian for the dissemination of the knowledge of God's Word and for the spread of the Gospel of Christ in India. The God who called him and the Lord Jesus Christ whom he had preached were first in his life. Many a time he cared little for the health of his family members including himself. He could say along with the apostle Paul “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
His life and work in and through Bharat Bible College stand as a challenge for the future leaders to continue in the path of whole some doctrine and a life that pleases the Lord Jesus Christ.
Mr. B. Vinay Kumar, Registrar
Dear prayer partner, please PRAY for the following graduates who are serving the Lord Jesus Christ in different capacities, ever since they graduated from BBC.
385. K. Janardhan from AP graduated in the year 1996 with B.Th. Soon after his graduation he involved in full time church ministry as pastor at his local church for more than four years, and then he, served the Lord in surrounding villages as evangelists for more than three years. Then the Lord has led him to start the ‘New Born Ministries” at medipalli, in addition to this he is also given the responsibility of pastor to sever in “India mission Church” at Bonangri. He also runs a magazine called ‘New Life”. (Cell no- 9849872610)
386. G. Dayakar from AP graduated in the year 2000 with B.Th. Soon after his graduation he involved in full time ministry as an evangelist in surroundings villages of Karimnagar District for more than three years. God has been using pastor dayakar has church planter at kattarampur. He stared a Church by name “New life fellowship Church” his ministry is mostly among the Sikh people. As a young pastor he conducts youth retreats every month in his Church. (Cell no- 9963804835)
387. K.T. Rathod from Maharastra graduated in the year 2008 with BD Soon after his graduation he with (C F I ) “Care facilitation International” as full time pastor and evangelist. Pastor Rathod mostly concentrates on Lambada tribe. He said “I want my own tribe must be saved”. (Cell no – 9881135057)
388. Anvahring from Manipur graduated in the year 2000 with MTH Soon after his graduation he stayed right in Andhra Pradesh to sever the Lord instead of going back to his home town Manipur. Though he has language barear yet, the Lord is using him in teaching ministry at ‘New wine theological seminary” vishakapattam. (Cell no – 9951526264)
389.Christudas Earla From AP graduated in the year 1996 with BTH Soon after his graduation he started ministry at his home town peddapally in Karimnagar for two years. Then he joined one of the BBC Church’s as full time pastor at yapral. He served the Lord faithfully for about two years at yapral, then as the Lord led him; he went to his home town and stared ministry called (G A P) “Good News for all people” ministry. Under this ministry he has Church Plating program, teaching program, helping the needy people. (Cell no - 9963804835)
Virgin Birth? – No Problem Says Mathematician
One of the most prolific critics of Dawkins Defends Biblical Account
Oxford (idea) – Jesus was born by a virgin, says the Bible. Many scientists and theologians, however, see this as a myth. But a British mathematician regards the Biblical accounts as trustworthy. Prof-John Lennox, lecturer of Mathematics and the Philosophy of science in Oxford, told the German evangelical news agency “idea” that he has no intellectual problem with accepting the virgin birth, if one accepted God as the creator.
God had “encoded” himself in Mary, and nine months later a baby was born. Lennox is not surprised, however, that theologians and clergy are among those who doubt this biblical message. Zechariah, father of john the Baptist, had also expressed doubt, when an angel announced that that he would become a father at his advanced age. Lennox points out that Zechariah was a priest and not an atheist. “He obviously believed in angels – but not in a miracle brought about by God.”
Lennox is one of the most prolific critics of the atheist and biologist professor Richard Dawkins, author of the bestseller “The God Delusion”. Lennox characterizes Dawkins as a fundamentalist atheist, because he does not appear to take those observations and indications seriously, which contradict his views. Lennox questions Dawkins’ sources of information about Jesus Christ, In important aspects his interpretation of the Bible is not derived from theologians but from a medical scientist….. In the interview with idea the mathematician rejects an atheistic interpretation of evolution. The discovery of efficient mechanisms in nature does not prove that there is no God, says Lennox. “A materialistic theory of evolution cannot give a satisfactory explanation of the origin of life”. (idea no. 1 / 2 2008. June 20)Bharat Bible College - October 2008
