February 2012 Magazine |
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"Click here for Hindi Version"
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 | A man went to a barber's shop for a haircut and shave. He started chatting with the barber attending to him. They talked about various things and got around to discussing God. The barber said "You say that God exists but I don't believe that" "Why do you say that ? " ask the client . "Well it's so easy you just have to step out in the street to realise that God does not exist. Tell me if God was there would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed there would be no suffering nor pain I can't think of a God who would let all these horrible things happen. "The client taught for a while but chose not to respond because he did not want to get in a argument. |
The barber finished his job and the client walked out of the shop. As he walked down the street he noticed a young man with long hair and beard it seemed he had not had a hair cut or a shave for a long time and he looked rather unkempt and disheveled.
The client walked back to the barber's shop and said rather nonchalantly to the barber "Know what? Barbers don't exist." "How can you say such a thing ? " asked the barber . " I am here and I am a barber. " He told the client in a challenging tone "No! " the client exclaimed . " They don't exist because if they did, there would not be people with long hair and beards like that man I just saw in the street." "Of course, barbers exist, what happens is that people do not come to them. "Exactly!" affirmed the client. "That's the point. God does exist what happens is people don't go to Him and do not look for Him that's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."
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Message delivered by Pastor Saroja M
Wait upon the Lord
Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint". In our lives, if we need to reach great heights, it is very important to wait upon the Lord. We must wait upon the Lord in prayer. When we do that, Our God will lift us up to great heights. Psalm 37:34 "Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it". We must wait always upon our Lord in prayers that is when our Lord teaches us His laws and the wicked are cut off from our lives. In the Bible, we have read of great servants who have achieved great things by waiting upon the Lord in prayers. Our wisdom, knowledge, strength, family or wealth cannot help us serve the Lord. To serve the Lord, His Grace and plans alone is sufficient for us. We can take help of different people to do different jobs on this earth. But, when we wish to work for Lord we have to wait upon Him in prayers. Only then God can lift us up. Yes, our enemies will fall before us and we will see. When will this happen? Only when we wait upon our Lord in prayers.
Jesus' teachings to his disciples too was the same. We see in Acts 1:4 "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me". The disciples waited upon the Lord in prayers, at that time Lord's great blessing was poured down upon them. What is the promise that Jesus gave His disciples? In Luke 24:49 "49And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high". The disciples waited patiently upon the Lord and God's mighty anointing was poured down upon the disciples. In our lives too, when we wait upon the Lord and obey what God's chosen servants tell us, we will also be blessed like the disciples received their anointing when they obeyed Jesus. Isaiah 64:4 "For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him". When someone believes in God and waits upon Him, they can understand how God blesses them with eternal blessings. To receive this eternal blessing, we need to wait, obey, and pray at Lords' feet.
When we obey God's command in small or big things, we receive our blessings. Especially in small things when we obey God, He knows that we are prepared to take on bigger challenges for Him. Thus, we can enter His kingdom. Everyone's capacity is different, every believer has different strengths and talents. Remember, when we are faithful in small things, God will lift us up for bigger things. Mathew 25:21-23" His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. 22He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. 23His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord". We see here in the passage, Jesus has given some four talents and some two talents, Yes, He has given them according to their capacity. God knows that is exactly what we can fulfill and He blesses us accordingly. Where is our place of peace - His kingdom. When we wait upon the Lord, He will give us the strength in all things we do for Him. We must always give God the time due to Him, because in that alone we have peace and happiness. If we earn a lot, at the end we lose our life unsaved... What use is such a life? Mathew 16:26 "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" to save our souls what can we give our Lord, NOTHING. Our Lord is a good God. He loves every soul, He does not wish that a single soul is perished. In this world, we need to run to accomplish many of our jobs, but to work for the kingdom of God we need to patiently wait upon Him. God loves the humble, and the obedient. We are all sinners and have hurt God at different times in different ways. Yes, we need to be repentant and humble in our hearts.
When God asked Noah to prepare an ark, what did He tell Noah? To keep a pair of every animal in the ark. All the animals and birds were humble. Imagine , on TV when we watch the Discovery channel, we have seen how the Lion catches his prey and eats it, sometimes he leaves a part of his catch for bear or fox to eat and finish the same. But in Noah's Ark, all the animals were humble. Imagine what would have happened if the Lion was ferocious, it would have killed other animals. Also the birds that Noah carried in the Ark, imagine if the wood pecker did its job, would the boat float or sink with a big hole in it? When we keep our focus on God , we will be blessed. In Mathew 16:26 we read "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Thus we know when our focus is on God, he will lead us to His kingdom. We know the story of Lazarus and poor man. The poor man lived in poverty and suffering on this earth, while Lazarus the rich man enjoyed his life on earth. Where did the poor man reach, in the bosom of God. God loves us and will never forsake us. We must remember this, or else Lord's curse will be upon us.
God with great sadness, spoke about his beloved land, Israel. Hosea 4:1 "1Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land". When we love Lord, we desire to learn more about him, we love to hear His word and dwell with Him. All those who love Lord what do they do? Proverbs 19:17 "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again". Those who love the Lord, give the Lord unlimited. In this world alone we have to deposit for Lord's kingdom. Hence, when we give offering to Lord on this earth, we are actually investing in the kingdom of heaven. Remember our God has said, He is going to prepare many mansions for us. Thus, those who fear the Lord, do such good things in their life. Proverbs 11:25-28 "25The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. 26He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. 27He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him. 28He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch". When Lord's shadow falls upon us, we are blessed with His Love. Imagine the life of Jesus Christ, He was God's only son. God loved him very much. But when time came, and sin abounded on this earth, God sent his son Jesus into this world for you and me sinners. Jesus lived on the face of this earth only doing His Father's will and His Father was His constant companion and guide. Ultimately, in the end, according to HisFather's will He gave his life on the Cross of Calvary. Thus, Jesus' name today is the highest name on this earth.
Isaiah 58:7-8 "7Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward". God's grace will always be upon us, when we meditate on His love, word and keep His commandments in our hearts, we can see these great and mighty things in our life. We see the story of Daniel, how he loved God and feared Him. In the book of Daniels we see Daniels 3:30 "30Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon" . Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and Daniel loved the living God, they feared Him and adored Him. We see in versus 17-18 "17If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. They knew that their God is mighty to deliver them, even if God does not deliver then, they still would continue to love him. This was their faith in God. Thus, they did not bow down to the God of King Nebuchadnezzar and was ready to be punished. But our living God delivered them from the fiery furnace. In our hearts, we must have such great love for God. We see further, how King Nebuchadnezzar feared their love for God, we see in 24-25 "24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God". Even today, Lord is seeing our love for Him. He is seeing how we are balancing ourselves in this world. To please the men of the world and Lord, we choose to live according to our own whims and fancies that suits us.
Remember, God has given each of us talent. For the small flame to become great light , we have to work for the Lord. Even if they are small things that we do for the Lord, He knows it and prospers us accordingly. Revelation 3:8 "8I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name". What does Lord say, even if we do little things for Him, He loves us. How we long to love our Lord, He knows and sees. God says, " I know your works and even with little strength" and how we keep His word and follow him diligently, When He opens the doors for us no one can shut it. To reach the heavenly kingdom, we must be diligent for Him. Who is the door for us today - Jesus Christ is the door. Remember how Stephen was received in heaven, Lord welcomed him at the Gate. Also God saved Daniel and his friends from the fiery furnace, and remember how Lord commanded Noah to collect humble pairs of all animals into the ark. He is the same God, who is looking at our hearts. Isaiah 33:16 "He shall dwell on high: his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure". When we do not deny Lord in our small strength, Lord blesses us mightily and He will lift us up to dwell in His high place.
In the holy scriptures, we see many examples of how people crave to claim the blessings of God. We will see one such eg of Prophet Elisha. 2 Kings 2:9 "And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me". Here we see, Elisha's thirst and hope and Faith in God. Elisha followed Elijah...right upto Bethel, Jericho, Gilgal and Jordon. Elisha worked for Elijah for almost 14 years. Thus, Lord saw his love for Him and therefore Lord poured down his double portion anointing upon Elisha. We must have the same desire like Elisha, to serve the Lord. This is what we have read in Revelation, even if we have little strength, we must serve the Lord diligently. He will bless us, God knows each one's capacity.
We will see Joseph's life, how he sold Benjamin more share of food than others, why did he do this? Genesis 43:34 "34And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of their's. And they drank, and were merry with him". Because Benjamin was his brother, His love for him was much and thus he cared for him. Yes, our Lord knows his people and He loves us, like Joseph loved Benjamin. Joseph gave Benjamin five times more than others. Similarly Our Lord too blesses us five time more than the people of this world. We see how the disciples tell Jesus about the man who feared God and did good things for the Lord, he also built a place of worship for the disciples. On hearing this, Jesus blessed him accordingly. Similarly, the people of this world who do good will be rewarded by God. But Lord's children who fear him will receive their blessings 5 times more than the people of the world. Our Lord knows that his sheep will hear His voice and will follow Him. Lets read the story of a potter, who had a pet lamb. He loved his lamb and his lamb loved him. One day the lamb was stolen and the potter found the lamb tied in the neighbors house (he was a wicked man). This man claimed to have purchased the lamb from the potter, while he had actually stolen the lamb. Now the potter approaches the court to get back his lamb. When the judge askes whose lamb is this. Both answer in unison. The Potter explains to the judge that the wicked man has stolen his lamb. Now the judge, asks both of them to call out to the lamb. When the wicked man calls out the lamb shivers in fright. But when the potter yells his name, the lamb jumps with joy. Hence the judge askes the wicked man to return the lamb to the potter. Similarly, Lord knows his sheep and they recognize His voice, and when the sheep hear His voice, they will follow Him.
Revelation 14:4 "4These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb". We can never reach the kingdom of heaven by the ways of this world, but only when we follow the Lamb wherever He goes. We are blessed and redeemed for God. 1 Corinthians 1:2 "Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's". We, the children of God, are separated and sanctified for the Lord . Romans 1:1 "1Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God". We are called to be His chosen apostle, separated for the Lord. Those who know the truth of the Gospel of God and follow Him, will reach the kingdom. God has separated us from the world, we must always be humble before Him and love Him at all times. We must remain entwined with Him. As we have read in Revelation " those who have not defiled themselves and follow the Lamb wherever He goes, will enter the kingdom of God".
May this message bring blessings in our lives.
Pastor Saroja M.
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Rose of Sharon Old Age Home
Mira Road - Mumbai
Welcome back, greetings once again to all our dear readers in the matchless name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus of Nazareth. We at the Rose of Sharon old age home in Mira Road wish one and all a very happy and prosperous new year 2012 in our Lord Jesus Christ. In this first edition of the year, we share with you our experiences on grandpa Anthony Joseph Roach.
Grandpa Anthony is 80 years old and hails from his native town of Ernakulam in Kerala. He was admitted to the Rose of Sharon old age home on 17th June 2010. Grandpa Anthony is a health freak and even at this age, (though he looks 10 years younger than his actual age) is very fit and strong and likes to keep himself active. He ensures that he walks every morning for at least 30 minutes after breakfast. While sitting too, he exercises his neck, his hands and legs and does it very diligently. Grandpa Anthony often reminiscences his days as a young Chargeman in Western railway, when he used to play all the games and represent the western railway football and hockey team in tournaments. Sports and an active life have given him the motivation to remain health conscious even today.
Grandpa Anthony is a complete foodie and loves good food. To name a few of his favorites, he is a great fan of bhajiyas and pattice and enjoys them once in a while. He is not fussy about food and eats all that is given to him, having said that, he is also disciplined on how much he eats and always ensures that he does not stuff himself too much. He respects food and will never waste it. He is also disciplined in his day to day activities and follows a similar pattern of doing things every day.
He is knowledgeable man and often shares his views by his experience, on a specific discussion, may it be sports, politics or purchase and sale of anything.
He is very God-fearing too and you can always hear him saying 'Praise the Lord', 'Hallelujah' or 'Thank You Jesus' at any time of the day. He loves the evening prayer time too and sits down and takes active part by singing songs and clapping hands.
Grandpa Anthony is Diabetic and is under medications for the same. His blood sugar levels have been erratic at times in the past, especially in his initial days in the home, but now is constant by the grace of God.
Grandpa Anthony is also suffering from Glaucoma (A disease in which damage to the eye (optic) nerve can lead to loss of vision and even blindness) due to which he is partially blind. He can fairly see in the morning hours, but as the day progresses to afternoon, he cannot see anything at all, but again in the evening when there are lights in the room, he is able to see hazily. Many a times, God has allowed us in the home to undergo similar circumstances, and in his own way teaches us to be patient with the weakness of these dear people. Once, while taking bath I applied soap on my face and wanted to keep the soap back in the soap dish, but the dish fell down somewhere close by, having kept my eyes closed, with great difficulty I could locate the soap dish and keep the soap. In those moments, when I was searching the dish, I was constantly getting thoughts about grandpa Anthony and realized how difficult it is to live being sightless and yet be cheerful with all the people around you and still praise God. I must confess grandpa Anthony has been very understanding and cooperative with all of us here in the home. To conclude, our prayer for this dear grandpa is that may our dear Lord Jesus continue to bless him with good health and give him peace, joy and happiness in His sanctuary.nbsp;
** Bro. Moses George
Rose of Sharon Old Age Home, Mira Road.
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Rose of Sharon Sunday-School
Kalina - Mumbai
Just as we do each month, this month too we take pleasure in sharing about one of our special children from the Rose of Sharon Sunday School.
This month we share about Kenaz Gaikwad. Kenaz is a quiet but talented child. In normal interaction with him you will find him shy and quiet. He is diligent in Sunday School work and obedient to us teachers.
Kenaz has a special talent - a God given gift! He is shy as well as quiet ... but give him a script to act and suddenly he will forget all his shyness and bloom into the talented actor that he is. None of us can forget his role as 'Zachaeus' - the little short man that climbed the sycamore tree to see Jesus , or the selfish 'rich man' in the story of Lazarus. He is truly a very talented actor with great dialogue delivery.
Kenaz is also very good at reading the Bible - he reads loudly and clearly. In fact he is the chosen one in Sunday School to read the bible in Hindi. If we are stuck with an Hindi word during Sunday School lessons - Kenaz always comes to our rescue with the perfect Hindi word.
It's amazing to see how the Lord has blessed every child. Every child is special - with a special ability, a special talent. May the Lord's name be glorified through our children.
** Sis.Sandra Daniels
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Rose of Sharon Sunday-School
Bhilad - Gujarat
As all of our little children have grown a year older; we've watched these beautiful Sundays go by under the care and protection of our dear Lord Jesus. We thank Him for His unchanging love and wonderful grace that He bestows on each one of our little ones.
The year has begun with a lot of gusto: with cool winter breeze blowing through; our open-air Sunday-School is even more enjoyable. We reinstated the usual Bible stories session through pictorial presentation on the flannel board after praising, singing and sharing of testimonies are over.
This month, would like to share about our oldest student in the class, Kajal. She is a very a talented girl and loves to dance, sing and enact in skits. While we practiced for the Christmas skit, she was very excited when she was told to play the part of Jesus in the skit. She came to the very next class with all of her dialogues well by-heart. Though, by nature she is a very quiet child but when we ask any questions of the Bible stories studied, she's the first child to raise her hand to answer the questions. She also loves to ask a lot of questions to seek clarity after every lesson learnt. So, she eagerly listens and interacts with great interest.
We thank our Lord Jesus for His love and grace on all our Sunday School children.
** Sis. Mercy Moses
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Every Sunday morning-this is how we sing to Jesus,
Lift our voice so He can hear us. Every Sunday morning-this is how we worship Jesus, Raise our hands so He can see us. Every Sunday morning This is how we welcome Jesus, Ask Him in so He can free us. Every Sunday morning This is how we follow Jesus, Take our cross and let Him lead us. Every Sunday morning This is how we love our Jesus, Help each other like He teaches. Therefore-Every Sunday morning Sing and worship our sweet Jesus, Ask Him in and follow Jesus, Love each other like He teaches, Every Sunday Morning. |
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