Praise the Lord, dear readers in Christ. It feels the year has just begun, yet we are already in the second month of the year!

Isaiah 40:11 “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young.”

Our God is a loving God who loves us very much. He is a God who accepts us even with our shortcomings. He knows our capacities and our abilities. He knows our achievements and our failures. He will uplift those who are weak and lead them through their lives. He will make them so strong that they can face life and all the trials and tribulations which come with it.

Psalms 32:8 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way; I will guide you with My eye.” But, this blessing for us is only when we abide under God’s shadow and His mighty hand of grace. Each day we should thank our God because He holds our hand and leads us, doing only the best for us. We have to accept every Word of God, joyfully open our hearts, and always have a burning desire to grow more and more spiritually. Only then will God bless us with His divine wisdom to understand the Word. Proverbs 1:23 says, “Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.”

In every work that we do, we should remember that we are God’s chosen. Only those who believe in Him are worthy to call our God, ‘Abba Father,’ and are His sons and daughters. John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” We surely are special people called to do mighty and great works for Him.

1 Corinthians 4:7 asks us, “For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?

What is the reply to this? 1 Corinthians 3:6 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.” What do we have, and, what are we? Without God we are ‘NOTHING.’ We may labour day and night, but it is our God only who blesses us with the fruits of our labour. If God is not with us, everything we do is unworthy and futile. As Proverbs 21:31 says, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance is of the Lord.”

Hence dear brothers and sisters, do not forget to thank God with every breath of your life, neither forget the good works He has done for you, for a grateful heart is the key to receiving your future blessings!

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Saroja M

Praise the Lord. My name is Sarat Chandra. I am suffering from a heart problem, and have a pacemaker inserted in me. Still, I was having heart pain, so I called the Rose of Sharon Church for prayers. From that day I feel more comfortable with the pacemaker and the pain has reduced considerably. Thank you, Jesus, for answering prayers. Thank you, Rose of Sharon, for your prayers.

Bro. Sarat Chandra, Uttar Pradesh. (ROS TV Program Viewer)

Praise the Lord. While returning from work, all of a sudden, my rickshaw driver lost control, and we turned upside down in the middle of the road. The impact of the accident was so severe that one would surely end up being hospitalised. A lady on the road was hit, and even started to bleed, but I had not a single scratch on my body. The moment I managed to get out of my rickshaw, I thanked God Almighty for protecting me and holding me in His arms. It felt as if a pillow was kept on the side, when I banged my head on the ground. Thank you, Pastor, for your prayers for us always. Thank You Jesus for Your love and for protecting me. All glory to Lord Jesus for taking care of me.

Sis. Joy Shalaka Salins, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Praise the Lord. Firstly, I want to give millions of thanks to our Lord Almighty for keeping me and my family safe from Covid-19 since the past 2 years, and I also thank Pastor Saroja for always praying for us during the pandemic.

Secondly, I want to thank my Lord once again for the wonderful work done in my life and my husband’s life. My husband Pramod and I were planning to have a family, and we told Pastor Saroja about our plan. Pastor Saroja assured us of her prayers. By the grace of God, and thanks to Pastor Saroja’s prayer, the Lord has given us an opportunity to become parents. All my tests and sonography results are going well by Lord’s grace. I give lots of thanks to our Pastor Saroja for praying for us. Also, I give millions of thanks to our Lord Almighty for His great miracle in my life.

Sis. Shelly Pillay, Mumbai, Maharashtra. 

Praise the Lord. I am Nenu Subash from Amritsar. For the last few days, I was not getting proper sleep due to scary and bad dreams. I called the Rose of Sharon Prayer Tower. The prayer warrior prayed for me over the phone. The next day itself I got the best sleep ever. I thank and praise God for delivering me from the spirit of fear. I thank the ROS prayer team for praying for me.

Sis. Nenu Subash, Amritsar, Punjab (ROS TV Program Viewer)

Praise the Lord. Recently I purchased a new phone as my old phone had suddenly stopped working. I had it prayed for, by our dear Pastor Saroja. On Christmas day, as I was coming with my dad to attend the Church Service, without either of us noticing, my phone slipped from my pocket and was left behind on the auto seat.

To my surprise the auto driver called my dad subsequently, and handed over my phone to him. My phone could have gone unnoticed, or the driver could have taken it; anything could have happened that day, but our Lord is so merciful that He doesn’t only care for us, He takes care of our things as well. I would also like to thank our dear Pastor, as it was due to her prayers only that I was saved from such a big loss. Thank you, Jesus.

Bro. Obed Roberts, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

 

A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge. The father was a little bit worried, so he told his little daughter, ‘Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don’t fall into the river.’

The little girl said, ‘No, Dad. You hold my hand.’

‘What’s the difference?’ asked the puzzled father.

‘There’s a big difference,’ replied the little girl. ‘If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let go my hand.’

The essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond, just as in our relationship with God. He is the one holding you right now and He will never let you go.

 

Song of Solomon 1:1 “The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.” Solomon loved the Lord since his childhood. When he grew up, he desired to build a temple for the Lord. The Lord enabled Solomon to build an anointed holy temple for Him. There was immense anointing when sacrifices were made in this holy temple. The Lord also made great revelations to Solomon. One night, God asked Solomon, ‘Ask what I shall give thee.’ 2 Chr 1:7-12 “In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.”

Here we see that Solomon did not ask for wealth or riches of this world, but he asked God to bless Him with wisdom. God blessed Solomon with immense wisdom, and also added all the wealth, riches, knowledge, and honour of this world, that neither any Kings of this world ever had or would ever have in the days to come. God’s grace was immense upon Solomon.

Along with the knowledge, wisdom, and honour that God had blessed him with, Solomon also experienced the love of God, in relation to the Church and its congregation. Hence, he was anointed to write the Book of ‘Song of Solomon’ in the Holy Scriptures. The bible says in 1 Kings 4:32 “And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.” This book that Solomon wrote, came to be known as ‘Song of Solomon.’

When God’s people remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary, they desire to sing praises to Him. When we love God and remember Him with reverence, we feel like thanking Him and singing praises to Him. James 5:13 “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.” 

When we have belief in God, when we remember that God lived and died for us, and delivered us from our sins, we should thank and praise God all the time. Psalm 47:6 “Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.” When we remember God’s sacrifice for us, we will automatically thank and praise God all the time. Solomon was immensely blessed by the Lord, and he wrote the Holy Scriptures in the book of Song of Solomon.

In our lives, we must have reverence for God and continue to sing praises to the Lord. Whether or not she is a good singer or has a good voice, the moment she sings the lullaby, the child accepts her singing and goes to sleep. Likewise, regardless of our voice or whether we sing in tune or not, whatsoever our singing capabilities, God accepts our singing and He rejoices when we sing praises to Him.

In this world, we hear different kinds of songs – gospel, rock, pop, jazz, etc. but we must know that the best songs are written in Song of Solomon. Worldly songs are influenced and written by the flesh for the benefit of music lovers in this world. But, Song of Solomon, written by Solomon, was inspired by the Holy Spirit, and these songs are called ‘Heavenly Songs,’ for these songs have come from heaven.

Job writes about this in Job 22:12 “Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!” Job says that our God lives in the height of heaven, which is much higher than the stars in the sky. The songs written by Solomon have come from the high heaven. Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” Our blessings come from God from the high heaven, and whatsoever comes from this high heaven is very pure. People write songs in this world for each other’s benefit, but the songs that have come from the high heaven are in the purest form.

Ephesians 2:7 “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” Where has God seated us? In the heavenly place! Luke 24:49 “And, 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.” Jesus told his disciples to stay in Jerusalem where they were, till they were fully anointed with the strength of God from high above. From where have God’s people derived their strength? From the high heaven above. Great blessings, power, strength, wisdom, and knowledge comes from God above, who is in the heavenly place. Isaiah 33:5 “The LORD is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness.” God’s dwelling place is the heavenly place, where He dwells and judges us. We are blessed and anointed from above. Our God makes great plans for His children from His heavenly place.

In the Bible, we see many have written praises and sang songs for the Lord God. They were all spiritually anointed and wrote songs for the Lord. Moses, Miriam, David, Deborah – they all wrote songs for the Lord, but the Song of Solomon is the most important of all songs written, for they are ‘heavenly songs.’ Moses wrote a song for the Lord God in Exodus 15:1 “Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.” This is the song Moses wrote and sang along with the Israelites to God, after crossing the Red Sea triumphantly.

We also see that Miriam sang a song for the Lord in Exodus 15:21 “And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.”

David too wrote songs and sang them to glorify God. 2 Samuel 22:1 “And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.”

Deborah wrote and sang a song for the Lord God in Judges 5:1-3 “Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying, Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves. Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.”

In the Bible, we have seen many songs being written by servants of God, and praises sung unto God, but the highest amongst all songs in the Bible is from the book ‘Song of Solomon,’ known as ‘heavenly songs.’ Moses wrote songs as per the situation in the life of the Israelites and sang praises to the Lord. Miriam also glorified that day and sang a song for the Lord. David glorified God for the victory God gave Him. Deborah wrote and sang a song to glorify God. But God gave His heavenly secret to Solomon, hence ‘Song of Solomon’ becomes the most important of all songs written for the Lord.

Song of Solomon 1:2 “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine.” The heavenly songs in Song of Solomon are holy songs. When we read the Song of Solomon, we must have reverence for God, faith, belief in God, and the fear of God. With the lust of the flesh on our minds, we can never reach the purity and heavenly meaning of the Song of Solomon. To understand the Song of Solomon, it is very important to have the strength of God, the love of God, and the fear of God. Only then may we derive the true spiritual meaning of the songs written in the Song of Solomon. When we approach the Song of Solomon in a worldly way, it will be a crushing rock upon us, for these are ‘heavenly songs.’ We must have God’s wisdom and knowledge to understand this song, for Solomon was anointed by the Spirit of God to understand and write these heavenly songs. We can freely sing and use the songs of Moses, Miriam, David, and Deborah, but Solomon’s heavenly songs cannot be sung without the love, fear, strength, wisdom, and knowledge of God. When we approach the songs in our flesh, it will be a crushing rock upon us.

Exodus 3:5 “And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.” When Moses approached the burning bush and wanted to speak to God, God told Moses to remove his shoes from off his feet, for the place whereon Moses stood was holy ground. Similarly, the songs from Song of Solomon are heavenly songs. When we read this book, we must be holy and pure in oneness with God, for only then will its true meaning be revealed to us, else we may distort the meaning of the song.

The Holy Bible may be compared to the Holy Tabernacle in the days of Moses. There are three chambers to the tabernacle. Likewise, the Bible may be seen in three parts. All may approach the outer chamber of the tabernacle, where the people can gather and worship God. Just so, all people may read the different books of the bible.

The second chamber of the tabernacle is where only the priests are permitted to approach to minister unto the Lord. The second part of the Bible is where the servant of God alone, is given the revelations of the Bible.

The third chamber of the tabernacle is the holiest and the most anointed chamber, wherein God speaks face to face with His mighty servants. This may be compared to the third part of the Bible, where God reveals His deepest secrets to His servants (as those in the book of Song of Solomon). Only the Spiritually anointed of the Lord can enter the third chamber of the tabernacle. Likewise, only the Spiritually anointed can understand the heavenly songs written in the book of Song of Solomon.

In the olden times, biblical scholars from Judah and Jerusalem tried to ban this book, Song of Solomon, from the Bible. They interpreted a lusty, worldly meaning to this book, and accused this book of ruining youth and men alike. But this heavenly song could not be touched, for it was sent directly from the high heaven by God, for our sake. All heavenly things are pure and important in our lives. The Lord makes all things heavenly for His children. We can never approach the Song of Solomon in the lust of our flesh, for then the entire meaning of this book will change. We need the Spirit of God and purity of heart, to read the book of Song of Solomon!

1 Corinthians 2:8-13 “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” Only those who are inspired by the Spirit of God can understand these heavenly songs of the book of Song of Solomon.’ Without the Spirit of God, we must never attempt to read this book, for the lust of the flesh will seek worldly meanings of this book. The secret of the heavenly song, God reveals only to His beloved children, even as God revealed to Solomon.

When we believe in the name of God, God becomes our ‘Father.’ When we ask God for His counsel, He becomes our ‘Teacher.’ When we fulfill the law and command of our heavenly Father, God becomes our  ‘Brother.’ When we are prepared to die for our Lord and God Jesus Christ, God becomes our ‘Bridegroom.’ It is with such brides that God reveals the innermost secrets of the Song of Solomon. Unless He becomes our ‘bridegroom,’ we cannot reach this highest level of being His bride; and then God cannot reveal to us the deepest secrets in the book of Song of Solomon.

Ephesians 5:32 “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” This is God’s great revelation for us. Who is the congregation of God? We are the congregation of God. We are those who are washed by His precious blood. We are gathered here in His name alone, to worship and to glorify His Holy name. Hence, we become His congregation. This secret is between God and His congregation. God does not reveal His deepest secrets to the people of the world (worldly people), but reveals them to His very own. It is not easy to understand such deep secrets of the Lord, but we are blessed to be called His own congregation. God has made His secret revelations to us, His blessed congregation.

How can we understand the deepest and purest meaning of the Song of Solomon? Because we are His children, God has revealed this secret for us. God did two things when He opened the windows of heaven during Noah’s time. He saved the righteous and destroyed the unrighteous. Similarly, during end times in the future, God is going to do the same. He will pour down His Spirit upon David’s children and the children of Jerusalem. People will run helter-skelter and moan and weep, and run to the mountains for their safety, but in the end, they will be destroyed. Today, through His heavenly song, God does the same. If we approach the Song of Solomon spiritually, with purity in our hearts, the deep secrets will be revealed to us. If we approach it with the lust of our flesh, it will be a crushing rock upon us. We can sing all the other songs written in the bible – songs by Moses, Miriam, David, Deborah, etc. for they are situational songs made for certain occasions, but Solomon’s songs are ‘heavenly songs,’ which came from the high heaven. It is only revealed by God to His congregation; those who are His brides, those to whom The Lord is their Bridegroom. Only those who are highly anointed with God’s Spirit can understand this heavenly song.

This is a great secret, and no ordinary person can understand it. God has given this great secret to His congregation who have achieved great heights of spirituality and anointing. Only those who are sanctified by His blood are privileged to sit in His congregation.

Solomon, being a King, always had to be attired in a royal robe, and he could not move freely due to the high security around him. One day King Solomon fell in love with a poor girl. Whenever he wanted to meet her, he could not go in ordinary clothes, without security around him. He planned one day to disguise himself as a shepherd boy and went to meet the girl, a Shulamite. He met her and married her secretly. Likewise, our God on High loves us very much, He gave up His heavenly throne, and His kingdom and came into this world, to be born into a carpenter’s family, for you and me. This is the love of our heavenly Father God. The love of Solomon for the Shulamite woman is epitomized as the love of God for us. Solomon gave up his kingship, and in the guise of an ordinary shepherd boy, went to meet with the Shulamite woman, a shepherdess. Since God gave Solomon the heavenly wisdom to write the ‘heavenly song,’ we too need the heavenly wisdom to understand this ‘heavenly song.’

King Solomon disguised himself as an ordinary shepherd boy and married an ordinary Shulamite shepherd girl. Jesus Christ, who lived in the heavenly kingdom, was sent into this world by His Father God, to do His will. Jesus gave up His heavenly throne and joyfully came into this world as a carpenter’s son to fulfil His Father’s wish for the world. He took all our shame and sins upon Him and finally gave His life for us on the Cross of Calvary.

James 5:13 “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.” We should remember God’s sacrifice and love for us, sing praises to God, and thank and glorify His holy name. Those who are in sorrow must pray, but we must remember the good things God has done for us and joyfully sing His praises and thank Him. We should all sing with great joy and rejoice in God’s marvellous doings in our lives. If we do not realize this, the darkness in our lives will never leave us, and we will never be able to open our hearts and praise God. Unless we know the truth, the truth will never set us free, and we will continue to be in the bondage of darkness. Then we will never be able to rejoice and sing praises to the Lord.

We have to accept the truth that Jesus Christ gave up His heavenly kingdom for us, and that He came into this world to take away our burdens and sins, and died on the Cross of Calvary for us.

The Psalmist said in Psalm 150:6 “Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” They, who are foolish, do not know this truth yet. David said that he loved to go to the temple of God. Why did he say that? Because, in the temple of God there is the Word, happiness, and peace. We must also understand this in our lives. Believe and accept the truth that Jesus Christ died for us, that He rose on the third day, and is now in the kingdom of heaven preparing a home for you and for me. He will surely return to take us to His heavenly home. This is the principal truth for our lives.

Know that the ‘heavenly song’ cannot be approached with the lust of the flesh, but only with the deepest spirituality within us. Even as God warned Moses to take off his shoes from off his feet, as the place whereon Moses stood was holy ground; we too must uproot all our filthiness within us and approach the heavenly song with a pure heart and deep spirituality.

May this message be a blessing for many!

Pastor Saroja M.

 

Praise the Lord, everyone!

I hope all of you are safe and healthy by God’s grace.

As per daily updates, it certainly looks like Covid-19, and its variants, Delta, Omicron, and other emerging variants are here to stay.

But as they say, life has to move on!

Likewise, people all over the world have accepted this phase of life and are beginning to put their lives back to normalcy. The necessary precautions, though, have to be continued with.

During the lock-down, we were receiving quite a lot of enquiries for admission to our Old Age Home, but we were not admitting them. Now we have again started taking residents, but only if certain health criteria are met.

Our first resident this year is Sis. Pakiyathai Selvaraj, who is 74 years old, and hails from Virar, Mumbai.

She comes with her share of age-related illness, but I am sure that now with proper care, timely meals, and medication at our Old Age Home, she will recover from the same.

Do continue to pray for all our residents and take care of yourselves.

Pastor Saroja M

Praise the Lord! We all know that today’s children are the future. Children are like the seeds that we sow today, and in time are the fruits which we wait upon for.

The bible says in Psalm 127:3 “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”

Heritage signifies the beliefs taught to us, that we inherit from one’s family background and traditions. As believers, our children should inherit the faith, trust in miracles, and know not only of the blessings but also of the punishments which come if one disobeys God.

Let us understand this from a short story.

There was once a farmer who always won the award for the best rice grown in his state each season. An elderly lady, seeking to understand the reason for his continuous success, decided to visit the farmer and ask him how he managed to win every season.

The farmer told her that the key was in sharing the best seed with his neighbours. The women asked how he could share the best seed with them when they competed with him each year. The farmer replied, “It is simple. The wind spreads pollen from everyone’s rice and carries it from field to field, including mine. Hence, I need to share the best rice.”

This is similar to our lives and how we must bring up our children.

We need to nurture and bring them up in God’s love and obedience, so that they shine as stars, and spread God’s word through their actions wherever they go.

As our kids abide and grow in God’s fear and love, may they shine forth as stars for God’s glory.