Not long ago, CNN published an article regarding the cultural emptiness of the phrase “Thoughts and prayers are with you.” Beyond a massive collage of memes equating the phrase with garbage, emptiness, or inaction, the CNN piece argued that — as a phrase — “thoughts and prayers” has reached the point of semantic satiation.

“Semantic satiation is the phenomenon in which a word or phrase is repeated so often it loses its meaning. But it also becomes something ridiculous, a jumble of letters that feels alien on the tongue and reads like gibberish on paper. ‘Thoughts and prayers’ has reached that full semantic satiation.”

The article quotes several people to bolster its contention that the phrase belongs in a linguistic garbage dump. The most audacious quote originates from a comedian who responds to the offering of “thoughts and prayers” with this profane retort:

“‘Do you know what that’s worth? F***** nothing. F***** less than nothing. You are not giving any of your time, your money, or even your compassion.’ The audience roars and claps.”

CNN quotes religious leaders, too, as if to make the case complete. A social media post features the Dali Lama saying, “Although I am a Buddhist monk, I am skeptical that prayers alone will achieve world peace. We need instead to be enthusiastic and self-confident in taking action.” Likewise, Pope Francis posted this: “Prayer that doesn’t lead to concrete action toward our brothers is a fruitless and incomplete prayer … Prayer and action must always be profoundly united.”

In this increasingly skeptical culture, Christians continue to ask for and offer thoughts and prayers. Culturally, the question is fairly posed: What good are these thoughts and prayers when Christians around the world are seeing their daughters kidnapped, their houses burned, and their wives and mothers turned into weeping widows? Are Christians just mouthing empty phrases, deadened by semantic satiation?

To answer the question, Christians look neither to ecumenical religious leaders nor late-night comedians. Rather, Christians tap into a source more durable than social media, seeking voices more enduring than those now glowing in the aura of a merely temporal spotlight. Like treasure seekers, Christians dive deeply into the eternal word of life and grab jewels from God’s own treasure chest regarding the value of prayer.

When Christians agree to “pray for you,” they invoke the power of a personal relationship to the living, trinitarian God of the Old and New Testaments. The relationship is a living interaction with the various persons of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Father establishes and ordains prayer as a means of accomplishing His will, commanding all who are called by His name to engage in the practice (1 Thess. 5:17). The Son acts as a priest, interceding always to mediate our prayers before the presence of God (Heb. 7:25, John 17, Rom. 8:34, 1 John 2:1). And the Holy Spirit comes alongside as a comforter, recalling the words of Christ for us and making sure to empower our prayers so they are received by Christ (Rom. 8:26-27, John 16:13-14).

In short, “praying for you” becomes Christian stenography for trinitarian theology, unleashing the providential plans and power of the living God. Perhaps culturally, “praying for you” has become meaningless, but Christians cannot abide long in the supposition that prayer is “semantic satiation.” For Christians, prayer offers no less power today than in Elijah’s day when that prophet cried for drought and later for rain as a demonstration of the truth James writes about in the New Testament: The effective prayer of a righteous person can accomplish much.

Therefore, Christians pray. And Christians ought to pray. And Christians should pray for their persecuted brothers and sisters worldwide. And when Christians pray, they are not praying in vain. The effectiveness of prayer is displayed by the fact that the first request from those suffering intense persecution is most often “pray for us.”

The apostle Paul taught Christians the importance of prayer early in the formation of the Christian church. In 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, Paul speaks of a time when he and his companions suffered so greatly that they despaired life. Indeed, Paul says, they had given up — assuming this encounter in Asia would be their last on this earth. And yet Paul goes on to report that God raised them from the dead (with Christ’s resurrection power). Paul adds that this resurrection power from God was infused in them to give them new life through the Corinthians’ “joining in helping us through your prayers.” Paul concludes these verses with thanksgiving, noting that “thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.”

Prayer, then, is definitely not nothing. Prayer unlocks the work of God and is instrumental in His accomplishing his will through his people. Prayer is a powerful work. Of course, International Christian Concern engages in many other good works on behalf of suffering Christians, but prayer remains a fundamental service needed (and requested) by those persecuted. So, we pray and give. And both works serve God’s people, accomplishing much.
Sources:persecution

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വാഷിങ്ടൺ: അമേരിക്കയിൽ നിന്ന് അനധികൃത ഇന്ത്യൻ കുടിയേറ്റക്കാരുമായി പറന്ന യുദ്ധ വിമാനം ഇന്ന് അമൃത്സറിൽ ഇറങ്ങും. 205 അനധികൃത ഇന്ത്യൻ കുടിയേറ്റക്കാരാണ് വിമാനത്തിലുളളത്. അമേരിക്കയുടെ ചരിത്രത്തിലെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ നാടുകടത്തിലിനാണ് ട്രംപ് ഭരണഘൂടം തുടക്കം കുറിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്. ഇതിൻ്റെ ഭാഗമായാണ് അമേരിക്കയുടെ നടപടി.

ആദ്യഘട്ടത്തിൽ മടക്കി അയക്കാനുള്ള 18000 ഇന്ത്യക്കാരുടെ പട്ടിക അമേരിക്ക തയ്യാറാക്കി. ഇവരെ ഘട്ടംഘട്ടമായി ഇന്ത്യയിലേക്ക് തന്നെ നാടുകടത്തും. രേഖകൾ ഇല്ലാതെ അമേരിക്കയിൽ തുടരുന്ന വിദേശ പൗരൻമാരെ കുടിയൊഴിപ്പിക്കും എന്ന് ട്രംപ് പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചിരുന്നു. ഇന്ത്യയ്ക്ക് പുറമെ ഗ്വാട്ടിമാല, പെറു, ഹോണ്ടുറാസ് രാജ്യങ്ങളിൽ നിന്നുള്ളവരെയാണ് നിലവിൽ നാടുകടത്തുന്നത്.

അനധികൃത കുടിയേറ്റക്കാരെയും വഹിച്ചുള്ള അമേരിക്കന്‍ സൈനിക വിമാനം ഇന്ത്യയിലേക്ക് പുറപ്പെട്ടതായി വാര്‍ത്താ ഏജന്‍സിയായ റോയിട്ടേഴ്‌സ് നേരത്തെ റിപ്പോര്‍ട്ട് ചെയ്തിരുന്നു. സി-7 എയര്‍ക്രാഫ്റ്റിലാണ് അനധികൃത കുടിയേറ്റക്കാരെ പറഞ്ഞയച്ചതെന്നും എന്നാല്‍ 24 മണിക്കൂറായിട്ടും വിമാനം ഇന്ത്യയിലെത്തിയില്ലെന്നും പേര് വെളിപ്പെടുത്താന്‍ ആഗ്രഹിക്കാത്ത ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥനെ ഉദ്ധരിച്ച് ദേശീയ മാധ്യമമായ ഇന്ത്യാടുഡേ റിപ്പോര്‍ട്ട് ചെയ്തിരുന്നു.

അമേരിക്കന്‍ ഇമിഗ്രേഷന്‍ ആന്‍ഡ് കസ്റ്റംസ് എന്‍ഫോഴ്‌സ്‌മെന്റ് (ഐസിഇ) നാടുകടത്തലിനായി അടയാളപ്പെടുത്തിയിരിക്കുന്ന 15 ലക്ഷം ആളുകളില്‍ നിന്നും 18,000 രേഖകളില്ലാത്ത ഇന്ത്യക്കാരുടെ പട്ടിക തയ്യാറാക്കിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. എന്നാല്‍ പുറപ്പെട്ട വിമാനത്തില്‍ എത്രയാളുകളുണ്ടെന്നത് വ്യക്തമല്ല. പ്യൂ റിസര്‍ച്ച് കേന്ദ്രത്തിന്റെ കണക്കുകള്‍ പ്രകാരം ഏകദേശം 7,25,000 ഇന്ത്യക്കാരായ അനധികൃത കുടിയേറ്റക്കാര്‍ അമേരിക്കയില്‍ താമസിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്.
Sources:nerkazhcha

A US military aircraft C-17 carrying around 205 illegal immigrants—mostly from Punjab and neighbouring states—is set to land in Amritsar at 9am on Wednesday, The Tribune reported, citing unnamed sources.

The deportation of Indians comes as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration under Donald Trump’s second term as US President. Trump, who took office on January 20, has toughened immigration policies, leading to large-scale deportations. Many of those being sent back had entered the US through illegal routes, spending lakhs of rupees in the process.

Punjab NRI affairs minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal expressed disappointment over the United States’ decision to deport these people, saying they have contributed to the US economy and should have been granted permanent residency, instead of being deported, news agency PTI reported.

Asked about the reports of the US plane carrying illegal immigrants landing in Amritsar, director general of police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said on Tuesday that the issue was discussed at a meeting, news agency PTI reported.

“The chief minister (Bhagwant Mann) said from the Punjab government’s side, we will receive our immigrants and set up counters (for them) there,” the DGP said.

“We are in touch with the Centre. As and when information comes, we will share,” he added.

Bhagwant Mann held a meeting on Tuesday with Punjab Police officers, including commissioners and senior superintendents of police, to discuss various issues, PTI added.

Dhaliwal dubbed the issue of Indians being deported from the US as “very serious”.

Bloomberg reported that like several other nations, India is working behind the scenes to appease the Trump administration and avoid the brunt of its trade threats. In the last few weeks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has delivered a series of concessions to the White House on issues core to Trump’s agenda. Modi is expected to meet Trump in Washington next week.

The ministry of external affairs did not offer an immediate comment, Bloomberg reported. Earlier, it reported that India was willing to take back 18,000 undocumented Indian migrants from the US.

While the total number of undocumented Indian migrants in the US isn’t certain, a report published last year by the Department of Homeland Security pegged the number at around 220,000 as of 2022.

In his first weeks in office, Trump has urged federal and local authorities to ramp up detention and deportations of undocumented migrants, deployed the US military to the southern border and carried out deportation flights.

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It’s easily in the top five of all Christian debates. Maybe even number one.

And sometimes believers get testy when it’s brought up. Arguments ensue that are akin to political or sports team skirmishes where one side can’t fathom why the other side thinks the way they do.

I’m betting the question of whether a believer can lose their salvation will never be firmly settled until Christ returns. And I get why that is.

When we do as the Bereans and “[examine] the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11) we’re immediately met with difficulty because some verses seem to suggest that, once saved, we can’t lose our salvation, while other verses seem to imply we can. Further, there’s the issue of having a false faith and living in actual unbelief, eventually leading to apostasy and a jettisoning of that fake faith (see 1 John 2:19).

Then comes the inevitable accusation from the “can side” of cheap grace with the charge being that an eternal security mindset leads to sinning without limits. This even though the Bible clearly says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Rom. 6:1–2).

On that point, I like what D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said: “You’re not preaching grace correctly unless you’re eventually accused of antinomianism.”

I’ve written in CP before that I fall on the side of the perseverance — sometimes called the “preservation” — of the saints and think that once saved, a believer is eternally secure just as the Westminster Confession of Faith says: “They whom God hath accepted in His beloved Son effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit can neither totally nor finally fall away from a state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end and be eternally saved.”

But the main reason I hold that position is a biblical doctrine that you rarely, if ever, see applied to the question. Follow my train of thought while I do my best to explain.

It’s the justice of God that keeps us saved

I think we’re all in agreement that we’re not saved by anything we do, but instead by God’s grace and through faith, just as Paul writes: “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).

The Bible is clear that salvation is not about trying to be good, just as Lloyd Jones explains: “To make it quite practical I have a very simple test. After I have explained the way of Christ to somebody I say ‘Now, are you ready to say that you are a Christian?’ And they hesitate. And then I say, ‘What’s the matter? Why are you hesitating?’ And so often people say, ‘I don’t feel like I’m good enough yet. I don’t think I’m ready to say I’m a Christian now.’ And at once I know that I have been wasting my breath. They are still thinking in terms of themselves. They have to do it.”

Scripture’s great news is, no, we don’t have to do it; Christ did it for us. No work will ever save us, only Jesus’ finished work on the cross will.

Think of it this way on the faith vs. works front: with Jesus, you belong to God no matter how superficially sinful your life looks, or, without Christ, you don’t belong to God no matter how superficially righteous your life appears.

This brings me to some questions I want you to consider as we work down to the key reason we can’t lose our salvation. The first is: if we’re agreed that nothing we do can save us, then once saved, how can anything we do damn us?

Don’t answer yet — just hold your thoughts.

Let’s now move on to my next question: how many of our sins were in the future when Christ died for us? Some of them or all of them?

All of them, right? Now, if that’s true, and no sin can somehow overcome Christ’s shed blood for us, doesn’t that mean no sin we commit tomorrow, next year, or 20 years from now can separate us from God once we’re under the blood of Christ?

It does. But the million-dollar final question is, why is that?

Here’s the reason that I see no one bring up when it comes to the question of eternal security and the believer: it’s not the mercy of God that keeps us saved, but rather the justice of God.

Now, at first, you may think I’m all wet and say God’s mercy has everything to do with salvation, quoting verses like: “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16) and “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5).

Don’t get me wrong — I’m not arguing God doesn’t have mercy and bring undeserving people to salvation. I’m saying once we’ve been given that gift, we’re “kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:1) through His justice.

John points this out very subtly in his first epistle when he says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

John says that when we admit we “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), God is faithful and … what? “Merciful” to forgive our sins? No. “Just” to forgive our sins.

How is God “just” to forgive our wrongdoings? Because Jesus has already been punished for them, just as someone once remarked, “I am Christ’s punishment.”

God let loose his wrath on Christ for all (not some of) our sins once forevermore, and in the same way our courts have the double jeopardy law that says a person can’t be punished for the same crime twice, God’s justice prevents Him from charging us with the sins Christ took for us on the cross.

This is the key reason we can’t lose our salvation — it’s not us going continuously back to God for more mercy because we keep sinning, but rather us being secured under God’s own righteous double jeopardy justice once and for all and His amazing promise of “[all] their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Heb. 10:17).

So, if you’re in possession of true saving faith and worried today that there’s a line you can cross that’s the point of no return and you can somehow sin your way out of God’s Kingdom, you can’t. God’s justice keeps you secure, which means you can forget about losing your salvation and rest just as the writer of Hebrews says: “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His” (Heb. 4:10).

And that’s a great place to be.
Sources:Christian Post

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