HAS JESUS COMMITTED SUICIDE?
HAS JESUS COMMITTED SUICIDE?
I can able to see your face is changing while just reading these phrases. Yes most of you get irritated, annoyed, attentive, exhilarating, exciting, etc. Let me explain why it is possible, and, in so doing, why caring for those with suicidal mood people as part of the gospel consent given to us.
Yes.. Suicide (Latin suicidium, from sui caedere, "to kill oneself") is the act of a human being intentionally causing his or her own death.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16.
Self-sacrifice for others is not always considered suicide, as the goal is not to kill oneself but to save another; however, Émile Durkheim's theory termed such acts "altruistic suicide." It shows, Jesus committed himself to suicide in order to show his love towards humanity. The obedience of Jesus is clearly shown in the crucifixion stake; Jesus identifies himself with a sinful world (including the scandal of my sin). He was seen to be cursed by God (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13). This is why it seemed so reasonable to the shouting crowds to curse him as a false Messiah, because only those rejected by God would ever be hanged on a tree. And that's why the apostle Paul had to repeatedly insist that he was not "ashamed" of the cross. At Golgotha, Jesus became sin (though he never knew it himself) by bearing the sins of the world (2 Cor 5:21). Now that's scandalous. God rejected Jesus in Calvary; hence it considers “altruistic suicide”. Bearing the sins, means suicide is also a crime in common law, hence it is 100% sin. But at last, He proved Himself as God by resurrecting in the third day.
Yes. Yes, he became a role model for us to bear the pain, stress, nakedness, hunger, and thirstiness, not succeed, suicidal mood, joblessness and imprisonment of His suffering brothers and sisters around the world. No need to kill our self, since Jesus died on the cross for us. Instead we can call him to pull through from the danger with faith by saying “With God everything is possible”.
He's given us rest as Bible says: "…. Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.'" Matthew 11:28.
He's given us family: "God sets the lonely in families ..." Psalm 68:6
He's given us wisdom: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5
He's given us peace: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you." John 14:27
He's given us joy: "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." 1 Thessalonians 1:6
He's given us a personal counselor: "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you." John 14:16
He's given us an inheritance: "...you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." Colossians 3:24
And He's given us freedom: "God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom." 1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV)
In return for all these glorious gifts, God simply wants us to receive and respond with thankfulness and a heart that is ready to emulate His gracious nature. I can't think of a better time than now to respond with gratefulness and enjoy the act of giving and receiving - Merry Christmas & a Prosperous New Year 2011!
"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others" (Phil 2:4).
TN tops in suicides due to love failure and exams:
The Hindu CHENNAI, June 26, 2013
Tamil Nadu has recorded the highest number of suicides by accounting for 12.5 per cent of the total cases reported in 2012. When it comes to specific issues like ‘love affairs’ and ‘failure in examination’ that led to suicides, the State has again topped in the south.
Among the metropolitan cities, Chennai topped others with 2,183 suicides closely followed by Bangalore with 1,989. Tamil Nadu is among the five States that have consistently registered higher number of suicides in the last few years.
While family problems, illness, poverty, unemployment and passion-related depression were among the major reasons for suicides, a new trend seemed to be emerging out of ideology causes/hero worshipping. The number of suicides due to this reason increased from 41 in 2011 to 176 the next year……
News from India: One suicide every 8 hours in Maharastra:
One suicide in every eight hours and among the people who committed suicide in the past year, more than 50% were between 20 and 45 years of age (their most productive years), according to a study by the Sakal Newspapers Limited of the two districts, Amravati and Yavatmal in Maharastra, India says “Right age, wrong step”.
South India: World's suicide capital
- Out of every three cases of suicide reported every 15 minutes in India, one is committed by a youth in the age group of 15 to 29.
- In the Union Territory of Pondicherry, every month at least 15 youths between the ages of 15 and 25 commit suicide.
- In 2002, there were 10,982 suicides in Tamil Nadu, 11,300 in Kerala, 10,934 in Karnataka and 9,433 in Andhra Pradesh.
- In 2003, the largest number of farmers -- around 175 -- committed suicide in Andhra Pradesh.
- Kerala, the country's first fully literate state, has the highest number of suicides. Some 32 people commit suicide in Kerala every day.
These statistics are startling. Southern India is the country's information technology hub. The southern region is competing with northern India to become the country's economic powerhouse.
But south India has another distinction, one that it would rather not have: the region accounts for the world's largest number of suicides by young people, according to The Lancet, the respected British medical journal.
Some 50,000 people in the four states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and the Union Territory of Pondicherry kill themselves every year. This statistic becomes even more alarming when you consider that the total number of suicide cases recorded in the whole of India in 2002 was 154,000.
The Lancet has published an authoritative study on suicides in southern India in its April edition. The study says the suicide rates among young men and women in southern India are the highest in the world.
The study conducted by the Vellore-based Christian Medical College on teenagers in Tamil Nadu, especially in the Vellore region, found that the average suicide rate for women is as high as 148 per 100,000, and 58 per 100,000 for men.
Worldwide, this rate is 14.5 per 100,000. Also, in the West, men are three times more likely to commit suicide than women.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg," says Dr S K Vijayachandran, nodal officer for Kerala's district mental health programme. "It is not youngsters alone. More people in the southern states belonging to every walk of life are killing themselves than in other regions in India."
For instance, the suicide rate in Kerala was about 32 per 100,000 persons in 2002, thrice the rate in India as a whole. "This is a huge problem," Dr Vijayachandran says, "which requires urgent intervention."
Experts like him put forward various reasons for the dismal state of mental health among people in the South. Some of these reasons, which mental health experts term 'acute stress factors,' include:
- Family conflicts, domestic violence, academic failures, and unfulfilled romantic ideals.
- Voracious appetite for high-end consumer goods spurred by moneylenders and hire-purchase schemes.
- The wide gap between people's aspirations and actual capabilities.
- The disintegration of traditional social support mechanisms as was prevalent in joint families.
- Emergence of a trend towards nuclear families, alcohol abuse, financial instability and family dysfunction.
- A growing population of the aged.
- Failure of crops, huge debt burdens, growing costs of cultivation, and shrinking yield.
Two years ago, the National Crime Records Bureau noted that out of every three cases of suicide reported every 15 minutes in the country, one involves a youth in the age group of 15 to 29. 'Youth and middle-aged (30 to 44 years) are the prime groups taking recourse to the path of suicide. Of the total suicide victims, around 37.6 per cent are youths in the age group of 15 to 29 years,' the Bureau said in a report.
Interestingly, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which have much higher populations and far lower levels of literacy, report fewer suicides. In 2002, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar accounted for 4.8 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively, of the total number of suicides in the country.
But not everyone is convinced by these figures. "In northern Indian states, there is low level of registration of suicide deaths in police stations," says Sunder Rajan, a retired Tamil Nadu police officer. "Therefore, no figures about suicides in the country can be relied upon for any scientific analysis of the problem."
On its part, the National Crime Records Bureau has one main reason for the increasing suicide rate in the country: 'Family problems.'
Psychologist Mathew Kurien of the Southern Medical Centre, Bangalore, agrees. "In this modern age," Dr Kurien says, "children are not brought up peacefully. They are under pressure to deliver at school; they are under pressure to appear for competitive examinations. After they reach puberty, no one in the family gives them any advice about the meaning of life."
Dr Kurien's argument is borne out by the fact that every year, when the results of secondary and intermediate school examinations are announced, counselling centres across the country are flooded with distress calls from students. "I get hundreds of calls from students who are contemplating suicide because they could not achieve the good scores expected by their parents," says Elizabeth Vadakkekara, co-ordinator at Thrani, a counselling centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
Vadakkekara says the only way to make India, especially the southern region, less suicide prone is "to make life easy." Of course, that is easier said than done. We can also see such suicidal is going on in Cinema industry frequently, due to ups and downs and crazy.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT...SUICIDE?
"Do not be a fool--why die before your time?" (Ecclesiastes 7:17b)
Almost everyone would agree that life is the most precious gift that human beings have been given. Just the chance to be alive on this earth and play a part in the grand scheme of God's eternal plan is a privilege indeed. Yet, despite this, there are times when life becomes so difficult or unbearable that many have, at one time or another, wished they were dead or had never been born. For some, these feelings linger--and if they linger long enough, suicide seems to be the only escape. In fact, in the United States, India, etc. (and stats are similar in countries around the world) the suicide rate has tripled among teen and young adults in the past 40 years.
Yes, we are the Temple of God as Jesus said. Hence, it is every creation's liability to maintain or preserve our physical body in good shape for the sake of our creator. We are having no right to destroy or demolish (suicide) the temple of our creator. You are not your own, you belongs to God (Creator). But it is our responsibility to surrender our self totally (100%) to God to act on His own. Then God will take care of our life flourishingly. He doesn’t allow His people in the hands of evil.
: When the a missionary E. Stanley Jones met with Mahatma Gandhi he asked him, "Mr. Gandhi, though you quote the words of Christ often, why is that you appear to so adamantly reject becoming his follower?". Gandhi replied, "Oh, I don't reject Christ. I love Christ. It's just that so many of you Christians are so unlike Christ." “If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today,” he added. We can see so many secret Christians are found in all over India, amidst the religious/other extremist are against them. Most of the Indians are sentimental idiots. They fear on God and as such superstitious believes. The suicidal evil spirit is playing on their lives often. As a child of God, we have to fight against such evil and get victory in the name of Christ, since He died on the cross for our sins. Life belongs to God, since He is our creator.
Dear parent, you want your children to become a Collector or Engineer or Doctor, etc as you wish according to your longing and fancy. But are you ready to help and grow your children with God?. Your child should know that “With Christ everything is possible” which has to be practiced in life from their childhood. Sins like suicidal, etc. will be gone away from your house, when you are with Christ in the right manner. It is necessary to go to Church regularly, read Bible regularly, sing and preach the gospel of God, but it is more necessary to live as a role model to your children. Jesus said, you are the “Temple of God” hence; our body should be preserved for God, who is our creator. A model parent should follow these simple instructions in their life:
Healthy Food --Body – Practice it from the childhood with controlled diet, it is necessary
to observe “fasting & praying” at least once in a month.
Healthy Thoughts –Mind - Moral instruction and Religious instruction will lead your
children to avoid illegal practices. A father who is smoking is not
able to instruct/advice his child “not to smoke”. Create good atmosphere.
Healthy Environment – Eradicate Superstitious believes and observe Faith & Prayer. Maintain
Clean & eco environment. Mind and outside locality should be
preserved hygienic.Clean & neat your body and your surroundings.
Healthy Body & Mind -In this juncture we need regular physical exercise & Prayer (meditation) with Bible reading will help your children from growing Obesity & slenderness, etc and in order to get ride of diseases. Spare time with your children and share your views to stress release on both sides. Allow your children to speak freely in order to know them fully; otherwise, they will conceal something in their mind and going panic someday or other.
In most forms of Christianity, suicide is considered a sin. In Catholic doctrine, the argument is based on the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" (made applicable under the New Covenant by Jesus in Matthew 19:18- “Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder,…..), as well as the idea that life is a gift given by God which should not be spurned, and that suicide is against the "natural order" and thus interferes with God's master plan for the world. However, it is believed that mental illness or grave fear of suffering diminishes the responsibility of the one completing suicide. Counter-arguments include the following: that the sixth commandment is more accurately translated as "thou shall not murder", not necessarily applying to the self; that taking one's own life no more violates God's Law than does curing a disease; and that a number of suicides by followers of God are recorded in the Bible with no dire condemnation. So, after the suicidal effort made by sinless Jesus, no human should die by this sin ‘suicide’.
Judaism focuses on the importance of valuing this life, and as such, suicide is tantamount to denying God's goodness in the world. Despite this, under extreme circumstances when there has seemed no choice but to either be killed or forced to betray their religion, Jews have committed individual suicide or mass suicide (see Masada, First French persecution of the Jews, and York Castle for examples) and as a grim reminder there is even a prayer in the Jewish liturgy for "when the knife is at the throat", for those dying "to sanctify God's Name". (See: Martyrdom). These acts have received mixed responses by Jewish authorities, regarded both as examples of heroic martyrdom, whilst others state that it was wrong for them to take their own lives in anticipation of martyrdom.
Suicide is not allowed in Islam; however, martyring oneself for Allah (during combat) is not considered the same as completing suicide. Suicide in Islam is seen as a sign of disbelief in God. But, nowadays, we can see most of the “human suicidal bombers” are Muslim extremists. In the name of allah, they did such sin.
In Hinduism, suicide is generally frowned upon and is considered equally sinful as murdering another in contemporary Hindu society. Hindu Scriptures state that one who commits suicide will become part of the spirit world, wandering earth until the time one would have otherwise died, had one not committed suicide. However, Hinduism accepts a man's right to end one's life through the non-violent practice of fasting to death, termed Prayopavesa. But Prayopavesa is strictly restricted to people who have no desire or ambition left, and no responsibilities remaining in this life. Jainism has a similar practice named Santhara. Sati, or self-immolation by widows was prevalent in Hindu society during the Middle Ages.
IF SUICIDE ISN'T THE ANSWER, WHAT IS?
- The solution to despair and hopelessness is not suicide, but faith in God.
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you (Psalms 33:20-22).
- Christ promises that He will give us rest from our problems.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
- Tell someone. Tell your parents, your brother or sister, your teacher or school counselor, your pastor or youth minister that you are thinking about suicide. If a friend tells you that he or she is serious about suicide, then you need to tell someone who is responsible and can help.
- Accept Christ's free gift of eternal life and salvation, if you haven't already. Romans 10:13 says:
For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
John 1:12 says:
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
- When we accept Christ, God gives us a brand-new life and sees us as completely holy and righteous.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17).
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
- Because of God's salvation through the death of Jesus on the cross, we can have assurance of eternal life with God.
Very truly, I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged/condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. (John 5:24)
………….thanks to christiananswers.net
But what does the Bible say about taking your own life?
- God has a great plan for your life. God has created us in His image (Genesis 1:26-27). He created us for a purpose. God has a specific plan in mind for everyone.
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 (Jeremiah 29:11).
- God's plan is for life, not death. The Bible teaches that both physical and spiritual death is the result of our sin and disobedience to God, but eternal life is a gift to those who receive it.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).
The thief comes only to steal and destroy (John 10:10).
John 8:44 says that Satan is a “murderer” and the “father of lies.” The feelings of despair that lead to suicide are caused by some of his lies.
- Jesus wants us to have life. He said:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10).
- Life belongs to God. It is never our place to take our own life or someone else's life.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
He's given us physical life: "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7 (NIV)
Suicide is not at all a solution. There is no problem so great that it can not be resolved with time and care. This list is meant not as an instruction guide, but a description of the most common forms of suicide. Please remember, no matter how bad things get someone, somewhere is able to listen to you and help you through. I can hear most of the parents, who lost their children, who lost their parents, when they committed suicide for small reasons like marriages against family, lost in education, etc. Later almost all the parents, children says, if we know little earlier, we might have been unit them or solve it. Prevention is better than cure. Even high educationalist parents also forget to teach the tolerance in difficulties in everyday life. The tolerance should be practiced from house, school, colleges and work environment. Most of the schools and colleges the “Value Education” is not properly presented.
Note: The authoritative Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraphs 2280-2283) makes the following points about suicide:
- "Everyone is responsible for his life before God who has given it to him. It is God who remains the sovereign Master of life. We are obliged to accept life gratefully and preserve it for his honor and the salvation of our souls. We are stewards, not owners, of the life God has entrusted to us. It is not ours to dispose of."
- "Suicide contradicts the natural inclination of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contrary to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation, and other human societies to which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living God."
- "If suicide is committed with the intention of setting an example, especially to the young, it also takes on the gravity of scandal."
- "Voluntary co-operation in suicide is contrary to the moral law."
- "Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide."
- "We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives."
What does the Bible say about suicide? How does God view it? Do all those who kill themselves go to Hell?
Very few would argue with the fact that suicide is a direct breaking of the Sixth Commandment which is, "You shall not murder." We are not to murder each other or ourselves. God created human beings in His image and each of us carries within us the potential to overcome the evil in this world, and to rule and reign with Christ in heavenly places. If we are Christians, we no longer belong to ourselves, but to God. We are overseers of our bodies and our lives (which belong to Him), and we are responsible to guard that which has been entrusted to us.
Suicide is a grievous sin that seriously hurts both the heart of God, and those who loved the deceased. The pain of losing a loved one who took their own life is not easily healed, and often isn't fully healed until Heaven. Whether you are contemplating suicide or know someone who killed themselves, God wants you to know there is hope and life for you. He is the great Healer and Restorer of what has been lost or stolen.
Many of the greatest saints and heroes of the Bible faced overwhelming depression and sometimes wrote that they wished they had never even been born. King David, (Psalm 13:2-4), the prophet Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 20:14-18), and Job, (Job 7:15-16) among others, all reached low points where they despaired of their very lives.
Job says, "So that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life. I loathe it; I would not live alway: let me alone; for my days are vanity" (Job 7:15-16).
Yet, each one of these men were blessed of God, and persevered through their trials as an example to us. Though they faced great suffering and injustice, they kept their faith in God and His goodness, and in so doing, were sustained and led into abundant life.
Though we may get depressed from time to time, we believe that the act of suicide never takes place apart from demonic influences driving one to take their own life. Suicide is directly counter to the power of life that God has put so strongly into His creation. Everywhere we look we see life growing, even in the most hostile environments. This "survival instinct" is a gift from God. In fact, if He didn't bestow this gift upon His creation there probably wouldn't be any life on this planet at all! Suicide, then, is directly contrary to the will of God, and originated in the realm of the demonic host, who come only to "steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John 10:10). Though demons may try to tempt us to kill ourselves, as Christians we have power over the devil and he cannot push us to do this if we sincerely call on the name of the Lord! . It is our duty to pray for such Christians, who possesses such stupidity in mind.
We are all in a spiritual battle. The problem is, many of us are not aware of it, and do not know how to protect ourselves against attack.
Do all those who kill themselves go to Hell?
Some people believe that all who commit suicide go immediately to Hell. However, the Bible never says if this is the case. The Bible is silent on this issue. God probably did not address it in black in white for a good reason. If we knew that we would still go to Heaven if we killed ourselves, there would probably be a lot more suicides taking place than there already are. However, if we knew that all who killed themselves were automatically banished to Hell, no matter what their situation, it may be too much for the grief-stricken family and friends to bear. Murder and suicide are not unpardonable sins. The only unforgivable sins are rejecting Christ (Mark 16:16) and blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
(Mark 3:28-29 KJV) Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
All other sins can be forgiven. However, anyone contemplating suicide may be in danger of going to Hell, as their relationship with the Lord is not intact at that point. Those who would consider suicide may have a severed relationship with Christ and therefore they would enter the real Hell--which is worse than the hellish feelings they are experiencing at the moment.
It is so important to remember that God judges each of us individually, weighing all the factors of our lives, our beliefs and our motives. Each one of us is so intricate and complex, only God could really judge us in total truth, wisdom, and without favoritism. The most important truth of all, is that each one of us will stand before His throne and give account of our lives. If we lived intimately with this sobering truth, much of the sin in the church and the world, would immediately be stopped.
If you are contemplating suicide and are relying on God's grace to get you to heaven, PLEASE stop for a moment....God's grace never means that we have a free license to sin! Those who willfully sin after knowing God's grace, are in far greater danger than those who know less. Though you may feel that God is far from you right now, He is much nearer than you think. He may even be speaking to you through these words! Please open your ears and hear Him tell you how valuable your life is. You are needed on this earth and the purpose for your life has not yet been fulfilled. God loves you, and so do many people around you! God would not be God if He could not work this situation (no matter how unbearable it may seem) for His glory and for the good in your own life.
Depression is often anger, and a host of other emotions that have turned inward and become frozen. If you are carrying anger, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, frustration, jealousy, despair, worthlessness, hopelessness, fearfulness, vengeance and/or self-pity in your heart, you can turn these things over to God and begin to receive your healing right now, in faith. If you don't know how to let them go, confess it to God and ask for His help in releasing it to Him. No one can overcome these things by themselves. We all need the power of God to set us free from sinful and hopeless ways of thinking. That is why the Bible tells us that we must be "transformed, by the renewing of our mind (Romans 12:2)." The Holy Spirit is the only One who can help us break free and be healed of these deadly emotions.
Just as ailments in our physical body need to be treated with medicine to be healed, the same is true of our emotions. One powerful way to fight against depression, is to apply and confess God's Word as a healing balm to the places where you have been wounded. For instance, if you have unforgiveness in your heart, begin to confess God's verses for love and forgiveness, even if they don't exactly feel true right at the moment. If you feel worthless, confess the Scriptures of God's great love for you. A rote, mechanical repeating of words may not do much, but if you deliberately take these living words and hold on to them for dear life, you will have the enemy on the run. The devil simply cannot stand against the Word of God spoken in faith. God's Words are like spiritual antibiotics, destroying every germ and unclean thing in their path.
In closing, we would like to pray with you here. We have written a prayer below, and we encourage you to not only read it, but to say it out loud!
PRAYER TO GOD
"Father, in the name of Jesus, I come before You, confessing my need for You, and crying out to you from the bottom of my heart. Lord, You've said that you are near to those whose hearts are breaking and that you give grace to the humble. I humble myself before you now...I cast down any pride or self-justification that I would hide behind, and I present myself to you as I truly am--weak and helpless and despairing of my very life. I know there is no other Rock but You, and I turn to You with all of my heart. Father, please forgive my sin! I open myself up to receive Your cleansing, Your healing, Your forgiveness, and Your faith, hope and love into my being. I receive your love as a river, washing over the dry wasteland of my emotions. I see that in Your river there is life, and that every place your river touches in me is revived. I cast all my cares, my sorrows, my disappointments into that river and I let the current of Your spirit carry them far away. I believe You, when You say that You think good thoughts about me, and that Your plans are to give me a future and a hope. I believe You when You say that You knew who I was even before my mother conceived me--and that You wanted me to be alive on the earth right now. Thank you for giving me life! Thank you for working all things in my life for good! Thank you that I can call on your Name and You will be near me. Thank you for bearing all my weaknesses and diseases on the cross, and healing me, spirit, soul and body."
COMMAND AGAINST SATAN
"Satan, in the name of Jesus Christ, I close every door that I have opened to you and I renounce every activity I have partaken with you. In Jesus name, I submit myself to God. I resist you and command you to flee from me, as it is written in James 4:7! I remind you that you are defeated by the power of the cross--and with the authority given to me by Jesus Christ I command you and force you to leave me right now!"
PRAYER TO GOD
"Father, I receive Your breath of Life into my mortal body now. I lift up my hands to You, to receive it; I fix my hopes on it and turn my life completely over to You. From this day forth I pray that you will give me the grace and wisdom to guard my heart diligently, to obey You and to resist every scheme of the enemy. I commit all I am to You and I have full faith that You are able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all I could ever ask or think. Lord, send me the help I need now. Show me the way.
I thank you for the love that you have lavished upon me and I pray that for the rest of my life, I will show that same love, mercy and forgiveness to all those around me. Amen!" Dear Lord, thank You for Your graciousness towards me. I praise Your generosity! Help me to receive all you have for me in the coming year. And help me to value giving as much as I value receiving, in Jesus' Name, Amen.
Your brother in Christ
Paul Sureshkumar, Madurai, India
+91-9842971959…mail ID: sureshshanth15@yahoo.com or sureshshanth15@gmail.com
References:
Suicides Rise Across India
By Sujoy Dhar
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KOLKATA, India, Jan 7, 2011 (IPS) - "India has become the suicide capital of the world," says Daya Sandhu, a counselling psychology professor at the University of Louisville in the U.S.
As a Fulbright-Nehru Senior Research Scholar at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, India, Sandhu spent five months in India last year researching suicide trends in the country.
"While I was in India from January to June 2010, I was troubled to read headline news almost on a daily basis about students, farmers, and housewives hanging themselves, jumping before trains, taking poison, and committing self-immolation," says Sandhu.
Beyond the walls of an abandoned factory here, Arun Bag now contends with the tragic memories of his father who killed himself after their farmland was seized to build a plant for the ‘world’s cheapest car’.
"Since his childhood he had only known the field, the plough and the harvest. When the land was acquired forcibly by the government for the Tata Motors car plant he became jobless," says Arun Bag, remembering his father Haradhan Bag of Singur, an hour’s drive from Kolkata, the capital of eastern state West Bengal.
"He had slipped into depression. One day he took his life consuming insecticides," Arun said.
Haradhan Bag, who committed suicide at the age of 76 in March 2007, is one of the thousands of Indian farmers who have taken their lives, unable to cope with economic plight, failed crops, farm debts and displacement.
In India, one farmer committed suicide every 32 minutes between 1997 and 2005, according to P. Sainath, a writer on Indian poverty who calculated the statistic from National Crime Records Bureau figures.
Farmers and students are most at risk.
According to the latest statistics of India’s National Crime Records Bureau, 127,151 people in India committed suicide in 2009. This indicates an increase of 1.7 percent over the previous year's figures.
Suicide is a great social leveller in India, Asia’s third largest and one the world’s fastest growing economies with a projected GDP growth of 8.6 percent from 2010-11.
Displaced farmers like Haradhan Bag of Singur are battling the problem along with debt-ridden farmers of the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra. But middle- class urban families and students at India’s prestigious academic institutions are battling the problem as well.
In the bustling metropolis of Kolkata, barely 40 kilometres away from Haradhan Bag’s village, the media focus is now on the suicide of a 13-year- old student in one of the city’s elite schools.
Rouvanjit Rawla, an eighth standard student of La Martiniere for Boys, hanged himself at home in February last year after he was caned by a teacher at the school.
"I am now fighting for justice and to see that corporal punishment is done away with," says Ajay Rawla, the father of the boy who is waging a legal battle against the school authorities.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has recently ruled that Rouvanjit was driven to suicide by the school which practises corporal punishment.
Sandhu says that though the media highlights the issue, the Indian government turns a blind eye to the problem at all levels - local, state, and national.
"There is no awareness about depression in India," says Sandhu.
Interviewing a large number of students in India, Sandhu found academic pressure, parental expectations, marriage tension and relationships to be the primary causes of suicide among young people.
"I was stunned that all the students I interviewed mentioned that at least 70 percent of them have a prem rog (love sickness) and they live loveless lives," Sandhu said. "They do not feel anchored anywhere. There seems to be no genuine parental love, but only conditional love. They are also strictly prohibited to engage in romantic love, as there is no dating system."
There are very few counselling centres in India, given the number of suicide cases, according to Sandhu.
Lifeline Foundation in Kolkata is the only counselling centre of its kind in a city of 15 million people. It is also the only one in the West Bengal state of 80 million people.
"The parental pressure to excel in academics or jobs is a driver of suicide while it can combine with factors like substance abuse and relationship and family problems," says Jayashree Shome, deputy director of Lifeline Foundation.
The centre offers a hotline and face-to-face support for people who are distressed or suicidal, but not many are aware of its existence.
"People who feel suicidal don't want answers or solutions. They want a safe place to express their fears and anxieties, to be themselves," she says. "We need to understand things from their perspective, not ours."
According to Sandhu, the India Mental Health Act of 1987 is limited only to the treatment and care of mentally ill persons who suffer specifically from diseases such as schizophrenia, bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
"The India Mental Health Act of 1987 is clearly good only at laying down guidelines for establishment and maintenance of psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes… It is limited in scope and services that precludes persons who suffer from numerous other mental health problems such as suicide ideations, alcoholism and substance abuse problems, family, and community violence, anxiety and stress disorders," he says.
Sandhu says there is an urgent need to ramp up mental health counselling in India.
"Most likely with economical help from the government, I would hope that the farmers’ suicide problems can be taken care of very soon," he says. (END)
