Praise the Lord. Wishing all the Rose of Sharon Church members a very happy Church Anniversary. May our Lord JESUS continue to be the Cornerstone of each and every family, and may you abide under His shadow today and always.

Isaiah 59:19 “So shall they fear, the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”

The enemies surrounding us may come as a roaring sea and try to drown us in their own ways, but only our God will help us carry His banner. In the world that we live in, evil can come in any form; but with God by our side, the enemy will not even stand a chance. Moses simply obeyed the Lord’s voice and only put the blood of the Passover on the doors of the Israelites as he was commanded. It was the Lord’s turn then. He came, destroyed the Egyptian’s firstborns, and gave victory to the His people. What we learn from this is that we only need to obey and stand in faith in the word of the Lord, and He will do the rest!

Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” We may be oppressed and confused today, but we have to learn to bring our burdens to our Lord. We may think that we can handle all our sorrows and burdens but that is not the case. 1 Peter 5:7 “Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you.” However large or small our tensions may be, when we give them into God’s hands, He will take charge of our lives and give us victory. In His time, He will set everything right. We must believe in the work of God’s hands, and He will accomplish it successfully. God, Himself is worried about all our concerns. When we give all our concerns into His hands, He will set us free. The Word says, ‘Heaven and earth will pass away but God’s Word will not pass away.’

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” David obtained his victories in the name of God alone. Today, we too may have many enemies, and they will trouble us now and then. But, in His time, God will make all things right. Moses, David, and Daniel were amongst the mightiest men in the Holy Scriptures, yet they too learned this tough lesson, namely, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but only through the Spirit of the Lord,’ will we have victory in our respective lives!

God bless all of you, till we meet again.

Pastor Saroja M

 

Praise the Lord. My daughter had a lot of heat boils on her head for many years. She would apply Shikhakai powder on her head and take bath but still, there was no relief. I then applied the blessed prayer oil on her head and eventually, all her boils got healed, and they disappeared. I thank our dear Lord Jesus Christ for this miracle in my daughter’s life. I also thank, from the Rose of Sharon Church, Pastor Saroja, for the prayer oil and her fervent prayers.

*Sis. Rohini, Gujarat. (ROS TV Program Viewer)

Praise the Lord. I want to thank the Lord for His wondrous miracle in my life. I was nine months pregnant and I went for my check-up. That day, my blood pressure was high, and the doctor suggested I remain under observation for 2 days. I told this to Pastor Saroja, who assured me of her prayers. The next day, by God’s grace, my blood pressure stabilised and it returned to normal; and by the 3^rd day, I was discharged.

I give lots of thanks to Pastor who prayed for me, and millions of thanks to our Lord Almighty who heard Pastor Saroja’s prayers and healed me. Thank You, Jesus!

*Sis. Shelly Pillay, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Praise the Lord. For several years, my brother-in-law was not getting a suitable bride. Many proposals had come, and the girls would meet him, but the match would not materialise due to some reason or the other. Through a friend we got to know about the Rose of Sharon Church and contacted Pastor Saroja, who prayed for my brother-in-law. Now he is engaged and getting married in a few months. All glory, honour, and praise to our Almighty Lord Jesus for this great work. I sincerely thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers for my brother-in-law.

*Sis. Gomathi, Rajasthan. (ROS TV Program Viewer)

Praise the Lord. For a very long time, I was in search of a new job with good emoluments. I had applied to one company, and I received a call from the manager of that company, and soon an interview was scheduled. I informed Pastor Saroja and requested her to keep the same in prayer. By God’s grace, I cleared the interview, but somehow it was on hold for a long time. I told this matter to Pastor Saroja again and requested prayers. By God’s grace and mercy alone, I received a call from the company, saying I was selected with a very good package. I give all glory to Lord Jesus, and also thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers. Thank You, Jesus!

Bro. Hardik Patel, Thane, Maharashtra.

Praise the Lord. I was three months pregnant, and unable to do any household chores. The doctor advised me to take complete bed rest. I called Pastor Saroja, who assured me of her prayers, and advised me to drink prayer oil and warm water. Now I can do all my household chores, without the doctor-advised bed rest! Thank You, Jesus! Thank you, Pastor Saroja, for your advice and prayers for me.

*Sis. Silvia, Pune, Maharashtra. (ROS TV Program Viewer)

 

Six-year-old Dan decided one Saturday morning to make pancakes for his parents. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor.

He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor, which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.

Dan was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad. He didn’t know what to do next, whether to put it into the oven or on the stove, and he didn’t know how the stove or the oven worked!

Suddenly, he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of pancake batter, and Dan reached to push her away, knocking the carton of eggs to the floor. Frantically, he tried to clean up this monumental mess, but he slipped on the eggs, getting his pyjamas dirty and sticky.

Just then he saw his dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Dan’s eyes.

All he’d wanted to do was something good, but he’d made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, perhaps even a spanking.

But, his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him lovingly, getting his own pyjamas powdery and sticky in the process.

That’s how God deals with us. We may try to do something good in life, but it may turn into a mess. Sometimes, we just stand there in tears, because we can’t think of anything else to do.

That’s when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him.

Luke 21:36 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” The Word says ‘therefore,’ and in the coming days, we must ‘watch and pray.’ What is the significance of the word ‘therefore?’

Revelation 22:12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” The Lord says ‘Behold, I come quickly and my reward is with me to give to every man according to his work.’ We must be worthy to stand before God when He comes again.

What does it mean to be worthy? In this world, we can vote during elections only after the eligible age of 18 years. A lawyer, however good, cannot operate on patients, for he is qualified only to fight cases in the court of law. Conversely, a doctor cannot fight cases in a court of law, as he is qualified only to attend to, and treat patients medically. Each one is qualified to do their work. Similarly, we must be qualified to stand before God on that dreadful day. To be qualified means that God must see that quality in us which He desires for us. Hence, a law has been given to us, which we read in Luke 21:36 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Only when we are watchful and prayerful can we keep ourselves away from all the plans the devil has in our lives.

In Zechariah 3, Joshua, the high priest, was standing before the Angel of God, and Satan was on his right hand to resist him, pointing out Joshua’s filthy garments. God commanded Joshua’s filthy garments to be removed, and Joshua to be clothed with clean raiment. The Lord told him, ‘I have removed your iniquity from you, and I have clothed you with rich raiment.’ Similarly, in our lives too, we have shortcomings and are filthy. It is these shortcomings that the devil will show to the Lord. The devil knows everything that is happening in our lives and our homes. Just as our Lord knows all things about us, the devil too knows everything that is happening in our lives, and nothing is hidden from him. Satan constantly keeps pointing out our sins to the Lord. During all of this, just as Joshua stood before the Angel of God, we must also be worthy to stand before the Lord. The devil will keep showing our weaknesses to God, and he will keep pointing out our mistakes. Even when we do good, the devil will still try to raise many people to point out our mistakes. But when we do bad things, the devil will joyfully point out our mistakes. The devil will constantly bring pain and sorrow to our lives, he will keep using people of this world to bring unhappiness to our lives. This is the work of the devil. But we, the children of God, must continue to pray as God has commanded. The Lord removed Joshua’s filthy garments, and clothed him with goodly raiment, making him worthy to stand before the Angel of God. Likewise, our God will also show His grace and mercy upon us too, and make us worthy to stand before Him.

Today, the Lord is warning us to keep away from evil times in our lives. We must ‘watch and constantly pray.’ Do not be burdened with the pain and sorrow that evil brings into your lives. Instead, be focused on God and continue to pray. God promises to bring our reward along with Him when he comes once again. Every Word of God is deep-rooted and very clear, there is no ambiguity in the Word. We will surely drown if we are bogged down with the pain and sorrow that the devil brings into our lives, but even then, we must remain focused on God.

Remember how Peter was focused on God while walking on the stormy sea? The moment he lost focus, he began sinking; but when he focused on God once again, he crossed over triumphantly by the grace of God.

In this world too, we may be pressed by many trials and tribulations from all sides. It must be our endeavour to remain focused on God alone, or else we will end up with disappointments in life. Through all the trials and tribulations, when we stay focused and cry out to the Lord, His grace is sufficient for us. We may do wrong in this world and we may fall several times. Satan will constantly point this out to the Lord. But remember, if a righteous man falls a hundred times, God will lift him, and fight his every battle.

We must never grumble before God, saying ‘I read the Bible and pray regularly. Even though the Bible tells us good stories and encourages us, in my life nothing is going right, and all is going wrong in life. Though in Mathew Chapter 5, Jesus himself preaches of all wonderful blessings, yet in my life, nothing is going right.’ We must learn never to grumble, rather we must put our complete faith and trust in God alone. He will bless our lives, and in His time, He will make all things wonderful in our lives.

Revelation 22:12 “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”

Luke 21:36 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” 

To be worthy to stand before God when He comes with our reward, we must ‘watch and pray.’ Philippians 3:20 “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” What must be our desire in life? We must desire to wait upon the Lord alone. According to His promise, Jesus has said that He is going to prepare for us many mansions, and He will return to take us along with Him. We desire that we must be found worthy on that day when He comes to pick up His elect. How dreadful will that day be? We do not know, and we cannot imagine that day!

Remember, our citizenship is in heaven, hence our heart’s desire must always be to think about that day when God will come to take us along with Him. In this world, we have to learn to live with the Lord in obedience through His Word, and also in keeping His commandments in our lives; only then we will become worthy of our citizenship in heaven, and our future will be secure in God’s Kingdom. Week after week, month after month, our desire must be the same – to be obedient to God’s Word and command.

If this desire weakens in our lives, then it will become difficult for us. Hence, we need to strengthen this desire in our lives every day. Colossians 3:1 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” Every day we need to desire that we should sit on the right hand of God, even as Christ is sitting today. We see the people of this world doing unbelievable things to achieve temporary happiness. To gain some extra money, they will even lose the little that they have with them; to invest it, for example, in a lottery ticket; with the hope that they will win loads of money in turn. The people of this world invest in all false things, hoping for immediate material gains. But everything fails in the end unless we focus on Jesus Christ’s life and sufferings in this world; and how He overcame this world with victory, and today sits on the right hand of God the Father in His Heavenly Kingdom. Yes, God’s promise for us is that He will come back with our reward and take us along with Him.

When we book a new flat, we are focused on our E.M.I. payments, we ensure not to default on the payments, and then we look forward to when the flat will be ready and we will get its possession. Similarly, we must also constantly be focused on God’s promise for us – that He will come back with our reward, and take us along with Him to His Heavenly Kingdom.

In the Holy Scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments, we see that God called many to do His service. But how many were worthy of His calling, how many responded to His call, and how many carelessly ignored His call? In the Scriptures, we know of Esau’s story; how he sold his birthright for just a one-time meal. Yes, God has called us all, but how many of us will be worthy of this call? Ephesians 4:1-2 “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.” Our God has called us all to be his sisters, brothers, daughters, and sons. Also, with this calling, He wants us to be humble, meek, and long-suffering to bear all that we can and to love one another. But how many of us will be worthy of His call? In the Holy Scriptures, we see God called many by their name, viz. Moses, Samuel, Zacchaeus. To serve Him, God called many to be His Priests, Prophets, and Kings. In the New Testament, we see that God called many to be His Evangelists too. When God calls His chosen ones, He calls us by name to accomplish His specific purpose.

Mathew 9:13 “But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” 

God did not take names here, for He has called all sinners to repentance. He has called us to repent so that we may reach His Heavenly Kingdom. Today, we may be pressed from all four sides with various problems, and our sins may be heavy within us. But God is giving us a clear call so that we repent and gain His Kingdom. Our God is merciful and gracious; He does not wish that even one soul perishes in this world. As we have seen in the Old Testament, He has called people by their names. In the New Testament too, He has called people by their names. But today, He is calling all of us sinners to repentance, so that we will all be saved by His grace and mercy alone. He has come for us and is ready to save us from our every sin. Hence, we must continue to be watchful and prayerful. God will remove our sinful garments of iniquity and adorn us with new garments of righteousness to make us worthy for His Kingdom. God loves us sinners but hates our sins. When we have accepted our Lord as our Saviour and God, we must be prepared to forsake everything of this world to gain God’s love within us, keeping Him first in our lives. Even at the cost of losing our lives, we must never forsake our Lord.

Jesus chose His twelve disciples and also washed their feet. But Peter said ‘Lord you cannot wash my feet,’ to which Jesus replied, ‘If I do not wash your feet, then you have no part in Me.’ Immediately, Peter replied, ‘Lord, wash my whole body.’ Likewise, if we are not washed by Jesus’ blood, then we can never become His children. Hence, we must surrender ourselves to the truth of the Word, and be washed by His blood, to obtain deliverance from our sins.

Mark 1:20 “And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.” 

Mathew 4:21 “And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.”

Here we see that Jesus did not call the wise and learned to do His works, but chose humble fishermen. God called James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and they immediately left their boats, and their father’s business, and followed Jesus. We have also seen that their mother was a God-fearing and righteous woman. She told Jesus to keep her sons on either side of Him, one to His right and the other to His left. The entire family was God-fearing, and the parents never questioned the sons as to why they left their fishing business and followed Jesus. This means that the entire family had accepted the Lord, and hence they joyfully followed Jesus Christ when He called them. We know that till the end their mother was with Jesus. Even at the Cross, she was with Mary, the mother of Jesus. On the third day after Christ’s crucifixion, she was there amongst the three women who went to see Jesus’ tomb and found His body missing from the tomb. This family’s love for Jesus was deep-rooted.

Similarly, if our families are deep-rooted with the Lord, they will grow strong in the love of God. It is important that if we want our children to stay in the fear and love of God, we as parents must be an example for them to follow. We must live our lives according to God’s will and plan. We must fear the Lord, read God’s Word daily, and have regular family prayers. We must never live our lives without God’s fear and love. Families, whose names are recorded in the Bible are recorded because they truly loved God; and by His grace alone, their names appeared in the Holy Bible.

Our desire should be that our family’s names are written in the ‘Book of Life.’ We must be worthy before God, for He has given His life for us sinners. God has come to deliver us from the proud and the haughty of this world. We must continue strongly in our prayers. A good prayer warrior in a family can win many victories for the family. Our God sees our tears, He will never let them go wasted. He collects our tears in a bottle and will bless our family with every tear dropped in prayer. The Lord says, ‘I will come soon and bring a reward according to your works, hence, watch and pray.’

2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”

God commands that whether people are around us or not, we must continue to preach the Word in boldness and truth. Whatever Word the Lord God has revealed to us, we must preach and teach the truth of that Word to the people. This Word is for the preacher first. We should not preach to please and keep the people happy. We must preach the truth, convict the people of every wrongdoing, and then wait on the Lord to fulfill the Word. Our hope and trust must be in God alone. If God comes tomorrow, we should be sure that we will go with Him. Never fear men and wonder what they will think of us and our preaching.

Moses always lifted His hands and praised the Lord. Exodus 9:29 “And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD’s.” In this passage, Moses says ‘when I lift my hands and praise God, the thunder will cease and there will be no more hail and we will know that the earth is the Lord’s.’

When we sing the song ‘Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest,’ our praise and our soul must reach the Lord on high. We may physically be here, but our praises and our souls must reach the ‘highest’ Heaven.

Ezekiel 44:1-2 “Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut.” The Prophet Ezekiel prophesied that following Jesus’ ascension to heaven, the sanctuary gate would be closed ever since. Jesus will surely come down at the same place and open the gates once again. Our Lord God alone can open the closed gates, and no man can do this. When you visit Israel, you will see how the main temple gates are closed, even today. People can only fight around that holy place and claim it is theirs, but the truth is that the main gate will be opened once again only on Jesus’ second coming. This has been prophesied by the Prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 14:4 “And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.” At that time, the temple gates will break open. It is then that all will know God’s mighty power and strength.

When Jesus walked on the face of this earth, He preached the Word to everyone. Even today, the hidden truth of the Word must be preached to sinners and lost souls.

We know how Jesus wept on seeing Jerusalem. Today, our Lord Jesus is crying for us because everything will come to pass in this world as recorded in the ‘Word.’

In Isaiah, we have read of the Potter and the clay. The Israelites were considered clay, and Jesus, the Potter who moulded them.

One day the clay came running to the Potter and told him to mould him into a beautiful pot. The Potter began shaping the clay vigorously with water, but the clay got upset, as the rigorous massage hurt him; so, in anger, the clay told the Potter, ‘I do not want to become a beautiful pot.’

After this, another piece of clay came and told the Potter that he wanted to become a beautiful pot, and he did not mind being vigorously shaped even to the point of hurt. The Potter repeated the same process and put the clay on a wheel, and began rotating it. No sooner did the wheel start rotating, than the clay felt giddy, and he asked the Potter to stop, saying that it did not desire anymore to become a beautiful pot.

Now the third piece of clay came to the Potter and said, ‘I don’t mind being massaged vigorously and being put on the wheel, but I want to become a beautiful pot.’ The Potter repeated all the steps. When he reached the stage of being cut and separated from the clay on the wheel, the clay screamed in pain, ‘what are you doing? Do you want to cut and kill me? I don’t want to become a beautiful pot anymore.’ He then ran away.

Along came the fourth piece of clay who told the Potter, ‘You may vigorously shape me, spin me on the wheel, and cut me. I have no problem with that, but I do want to become a beautiful pot.’ The Potter repeated all the steps as before. Now, after cutting it from the wheel, he needed to put it in the furnace for baking, wherein the clay shouted out, ‘I don’t want to be baked,’ and ran away.

Unless we go into the furnace, we can never become a beautiful pot for the Lord! To become the Lord’s beloved, we need to surrender ourselves completely into His hands. Only then He can make us beautiful pots for His glory.

We may love our God very much, but for sure, our God loves us a hundred times more than we love Him. Hence, to become a beautiful pot, we must go through every process of pot-making thoroughly. To be counted worthy for the Lord, and so that God will find in us all the qualities He wants in His children, God warns us today that we must watch and pray always.

Let the Lord bless each one of us through His Word!

Pastor Saroja M.

Praise the Lord everyone! Wishes and prayers that all are safe and sound by God’s grace!

The monsoon season has started and all our Rose of Sharon Old Age Home residents are feeling good seeing the rains and greenery all around them. The weather keeps changing and the residents enjoy every season in their own ways. The last month they had mangoes to their heart’s content and enjoyed every bit of it.  It is really God’s grace that He provides everything for his children in a timely manner.

All glory and praise to our Lord Jesus for taking care of the health and needs of the residents daily.

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

Pastor Saroja M

Praise the Lord! The school holidays have ended and our Sunday School children are back to school. The kids were given little tasks to be completed during their vacation, and they were asked to memorize the verses in Psalm 51:1-6.

Of all the children, Priscilla, Stephen, and Joel outperformed and recited the memory verses completely.

We also had some fun activities where the junior kids were asked to colour the images given, while the other kids were given various puzzles to be solved.

Of the lot, David, who has recently joined the junior class, coloured the images beautifully. David is quite an introvert, but his colouring skills are amazing, and he surely did surprise us with his skill.

This is how blessed and talented each one of our children is, and it is truly amazing to see how God has blessed each of our children with different talents.

Surely, each child is blessed and talented, and we pray that they continue to learn the Word of God. Let them abound and use their talents for God’s glory in the coming days.