Editor’s Note

 

Greetings to all our readers in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. God is good all the time, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. His grace is new for His people everyday.

Psalms 46:5  says – God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

I remember, during my childhood one afternoon I saw a dog chasing a chick. The chick could not run away so it came into our house. I lifted and held the chick in my hands and chased away the dog. I saved the chick from the poisonous teeth of the dog. When the helpless chick was in my safe arms the dog could not harm the chick. Whenever I remember that incident I think of myself as the helpless chick. I think of myself as safe in the arms of Jesus, so that no unclean spirits or diseases or enemies can touch me, because He has redeemed me. If God is for us, who can be against us?

King David who seeks for rest in the Lord says in Psalms 42:1 – As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

There are three reasons for the deer to desire the river of water. Firstly, the deer cannot bear thirst. Secondly, it cannot bear the heat of the wilderness. Thirdly, the fear of death from the hunting hounds. When the deer comes to the rivers of water, the hunting hounds cannot smell it, so they lose their tracks. The waters of the river is a safe place for the deer. So similarly, when many problems beset you, come to Jesus and rest in Him, He is the river of life. David says in Psalms 63:1 – O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Since God’s grace is new every morning, David says, I seek Him early in the morning, Psalms 57:8 – Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awakeearly.

A braham had a habit of rising early in the morning. Isaac and Jacob also had the same habit. Many of the saints of God sought God early in the morning and honoured Him.

I used to hear the call of the Muslims to prayer early every morning and I had decided that I should get up before that and seek my Lord. Our righteousness should be more than their righteousness. Matthew 5:20 – For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Beloved children of God, so be alert early in the morning everyday to receive the manna of God. Proverbs 8:17 – I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. Our tearful prayers are valuable. Look at a child – if it is hungry or if it falls down or if it has any pain, his cries will alert his mother of his needs. When the child cries, the mother will come and fulfill its needs.Isaiah 66:13 – As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 49:15 – Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

David called out to the Lord because He is a hearer of prayer. Psalms 65:2 – O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. He not only hears prayers but comes and gives the answer. Tearful prayers touch the heart of our Lord.

I n the month of July, I was in the USA. After the meeting, a few people were praying in the prayer room. There I saw the Pastor’s wife known as Ammachi praying with tears and a broken and contrite spirit and with great zeal. I was moved and it touched my heart to see the zeal of Ammachi. I learnt myself that I should also pray like her, according to Psalms 51:17 – The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

I thank my Lord for giving me the wonderful opportunity to go to the USA and share the Word. I also thank the Pastor and the congregation for their hospitality and love. May God bless you. Special thanks to Bro. Rexy Mathew and family for testifying in Dallas – Texas, of the Lord’s work in the Rose of Sharon church in Mumbai, India. May God bless them. Let the Lord use them to testify to many more people.

God bless all the readers. Till we meet again.

Yours in His service.

Pastor Saroja M.

 

P raise the Lord!

Few months ago, I had a heart operation for which the doctors used a nerve from my left leg. Due to that, I couldn’t walk properly and my left leg would remain swollen constantly. I also could not climb the staircase. I attended a Saturday healing service at the Rose of Sharon Church, Kalina and met Pastor Saroja. I explained to her my problem and she earnestly prayed for me. Now, I am completely healed and can walk perfectly alright and also climb staircases comfortably with no swelling or pain in my leg.

I give all glory to Lord Jesus for saving my life and healing me. I also thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers for me.

Thank You Jesus!

Bro. Charles Richardson (Jogeshwari)

P raise the Lord!

I take this opportunity to thank my Almighty God for His mighty blessings in my life. Truly His grace and mercy is new every morning. In anticipation of my yearly appraisal, I requested Pastor Saroja to pray for me. Throughout the year there were lots of ups and downs and whenever I had requested Pastor Saroja for prayers, the situation at work would smoothen down. This year, the Lord has blessed me with a promotion and good perks, well beyond my expectation. Surely God makes impossible things possible and He has done it in my life!

Thank you Jesus! Thank you Pastor, for your continued prayers for me…

Sis. Joy Shalaka Salins (Mira Road)

I had kept a prayer request with Pastor Saroja to own a rickshaw. She assured me of her prayers. By God’s grace we got a rickshaw, but the authorities were delaying to give the rickshaw no. The department wanted my son to come again and again and meet them and submit more documents personally. As my son is abroad, it was difficult for him to come down every time and be present before the authorities. By God’s grace and Pastor Saroja’s prayers alone, our problem got resolved and we got the rickshaw no. Now the rickshaw is running well in Jesus’ name.

I give God alone all glory, honour and praise. Thanks also to Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers for us whenever we need them.

Praise the Lord!

Bro. Subramani Pilley (Jogeshwari East)

Firstly I ask God for forgiveness for giving this testimony late.

Few months ago I had a severe headache and even after taking medicines it did not subside. During the Saturday healing service I informed Pastor Saroja about this. She assured me or her prayers and also advised me to apply prayer oil. By God’s grace, by the time I reached home from church the headache had vanished.

Thank you Jesus for healing me! I also thank Pastor Saroja for her sincere prayers

Praise the Lord!

Sis. Esther Patel (Goregaon East)

In my house, a big TV is placed high above the bed. My children always play on the bed. Few weeks ago, suddenly the TV fell on the bed and though my son Ahaz was playing on the other side of the bed, he was not hurt at all.

I give all glory and praise to our Lord God for taking care of my son and also thank Pastor Saroja who always prays for my family.

Thank you Lord! Praise the Lord!

Sis. Lalita Robert (Goregoan)

Few days ago my right knee and right side waist was paining. I applied the blessed prayer oil over my knee and waist and thereafter the pain vanished and I was completely healed.

I give millions of thanks to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for this healing and also thank Pastor Saroja for praying over the oil

Thank you Jesus! Praise the Lord!

Bro. Dinesh Patel (Mira Road)

Pastor Saroja’s USA Trip

Praise the Lord!

I and my family were eagerly waiting for the day when Pastor would arrive in Dallas. On the morning of 20^th July, Pastor Saroja arrived in Dallas. God wonderfully arranged a helpful co-passenger to be with Pastor from Mum-Dubai-Dallas. Praise the Lord!

I t was a wonderful moment to receive Pastor Saroja at the DFW Airport. She was also very happy to see me. After 35 minutes drive we reached home. Abiud & Priscilla also were very excited to know that Patti is visiting us from India. Their joy knew no bounds as they saw Patti arriving at home. Priscilla immediately started with her story telling, which she had promised Patti over the phone that she would share with her once she is here.

A fter settling down, we began to discuss the agenda for the next few days. We had the itinerary ready for Pastor’s visit to Dallas. From 21st – 23rd July we will be attending the Annual Convention in Maranatha Full Gospel Church at Mesquite, Dallas. Then on 24th July, Pastor would attend the Women’s Conference organized by the Esther Prayer Group of Jesus Calls International. We also planned to have a day of City Tour to be organized on the 25th July.

W e left next day morning for the Convention, the kids were also very excited as they would be getting to attend the VBS for the next 3 days and get to meet all their friends from the Church. The Convention was scheduled from 9.30am to 9pm everyday with break fast, Lunch & Dinner provided by the Church all the seven days. Pastor Saroja shared the Word of God, on the morning of 22nd July. Pastor Saroja shared a wonderful message in English, which was translated into Spanish and Malayalam. Many people were blessed by the Word of God shared by Pastor Saroja.

The next day, 24th July we attended the Women’s Conference organized at Jesus Calls International. Sis Evangeline Paul Dhinakaran was the main speaker for the Conference. Pastor Saroja also shared the Word of God briefly and gave witness to all about the wonderful testimony of her life, how o ur Almighty God healed her and then anointed her with the Precious Holy Spirit to establish Old Age Homes and Churches across the length and breadth of India.

I t was a very busy week for Pastor the entire week as she had travelled from India on the night of 19th July and arrived in Dallas nearly after 20 hours of flying across the Atlantic Ocean and having been in the Convention & Women’s Conference & the City Tour back to back. So after attending the concluding day of the Convention on Sunday 26th July at the MFGC Church, we decided to have a day of rest on Monday for Pastor. However, she did not rest, as she was busy preparing for the Word to be shared on the 28th July in our House. This was the 1st time we were actually having a house prayer meeting in our house in two years. We invited all the Church Families from our Church. Many came and attended and were blessed by the Word of God shared by Pastor Saroja. It was God’s grace that our neighbor who had recently moved next door also attended the prayer meeting and was blessed.

T he days were just passing by so fast we could not believe that it was already time for Pastor Saroja to return back to India. Abiud & Priscilla had such a wonderful and blessed time to be able to spend time with Patti with whom they would always only speak on the phone since the last two years. As I look back, I remember the promise that the Lord had given to our Pastor Saroja in a public meeting by Late Dr. DGS Dhinakaran, “The Lord will take you from one continent to the other & you will share the Word of God and be a blessing to many.” All your hearts desires will be fulfilled. Pastor had just mentioned that she was planning a trip to Dallas and everything else fell in place. She was able to attend the Annual Convention and share the Word in the Convention, she was able to attend the Jesus Calls Women’s Conference at Jesus Calls Prayer Tower and share the Word, and also be a blessing to us by sharing the Word of God in our house. We were indeed blessed to have Pastor Saroja in our home and be with us for 10 days. Thank you Jesus!

Praise the Lord!

Bro. Rexy Mathew

Dallas – USA

Arise and live for the Lord !

 

I saiah 51:9 “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?”Through this word Prophet Isaiah awakenshis people, those who are sleeping and lazing around. If we read the Holy Scriptures in Isaiah 52, 60, 64, our Lord God awakens His people who are sleeping and He is making a way for them to come to Him. We see in the above verse, Prophet Isaiah says twice “Awake, Awake”. What does this mean? It depicts a great sense of urgency. Isaiah awakens his people several times. In the scriptures we see that Lord God always does His Work with great urgency. I Samuel 21:8 “And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste”. Here we see that when Lord called David, he rushed immediately and David says that “Lord’s work needs to be done with great urgency and that is why I forgot to bring along my sword, bow and arrow.” Similarly Prophet Isaiah once again awakens his people saying “Awake, awake”. People should do the work of the Lord with great zeal and speed. Jeremiah 48:10 “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood”. Lord’s work should never be done lazily – cursed is he who does the Lord’s work deceitfully. We also see in the country of Sodom & Gomorrah, how Lot’s family were too lazy to leave their dwelling place and go away. They did not have the inclination to

l eave the place. They were hoping that God would change His mind and save this country from destruction. But we see that the angel sent to rescue Lot and his family, held them by hand and pulled them out of this place and took them away, because God’s grace was upon them. Genesis 19:15-16 “And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city”. Remember always, Lord’s work needs to be done with great zeal and enthusiasm, whether it is reading the bible or praying or singing praise and worship to the Lord. In every work done for the Lord God, we must be zealous. This is the time of grace for us. The grace door is still open for us. In every work done for the Lord there must be a sense of urgency.

W e see in the Holy Scripture how God’s grace was immense upon His people. When the multitudes stayed with him to listen to His preaching three days and nights, Jesus had compassion on them. He did not let them go hungry, but He fed the 5000 with two fish and five loaves. Once He had done that, He told His disciples that they must immediately leave this place and go away. Matthew 14:22 “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away”.Here we see Lord Jesus preached the Word to the multitudes day and night; He also fed them for they were hungry. But when the time came to leave, Jesus immediately departed along with His disciples, in great urgency. Jesus’ work should always be done with great zeal and sense of urgency. We must never be lazy. We know the story of Zacchaeus; when Jesus approached the Sycamore tree, He looked up and said “Zacchaeus make haste and come down, I will visit your home today” Luke 19:5 “And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house”. Lord Jesus did not say: Zacchaeus come down slowly or else you will fall; take care. But rather, He told Zacchaeus“Make haste and come down”. Imagine Zacchaeus’ happiness when He heard Jesus speak to him. Yes, likewise even today, God awakens us and asks us to do His work quickly and in haste. We are still in His grace period. We know the story of Noah’s Ark; God chose a pair of every species on this earth to enter the Ark along with Noah and his family. But

d o you know who came crawling slowly, and was the last to enter into the Ark? A pair of tortoise and snail. Both these species are very slow in their walk, but Lord God warned them to move quickly and get into the Ark before it is closed. Are we like the tortoise and the snail today? Are we crawling towards Lord God? This is a warning for us. Be quick, be fast for the Lord for we are still in the grace period and the door of grace is open for us. It is more than 2000 years now, and we may be like the tortoise and snail still crawling, but the Lord is warning us today “Awake… Awake… the end times is close at hand”. Isaiah 51:9 “Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?” Lord God says to those who have the strength and might “Awake… Awake” Isaiah 52:2 “Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion”. God says shake off the dust from oneself. What is the dust in our lives today? Our small sins, small lack and small mistakes that takes us away from God. We must dust away these small sins from our lives and cleanse ourselves once again and become whole with God. Remember, when we sow good things in life, we will always harvest good things in return. But if we sow bad things, we will indeed harvest bad things in return. From time to time, Lord will reveal all our inner filth and we must cleanse ourselves. In each one’s life, there is some kind of dust which we must dust off from our lives. Yes, this is a grace period in our life and we must not take God’s love and grace for granted.

D aniel 12:10 “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand”.Lord God knows how to purify His children; He will put them into different types of furnaces of cleansing and cleanse them to make them as pure as gold for Him. But the wicked will remain in their wickedness and they will never understand this. In the Holy Scriptures, when Jesus went preaching one day and multitudes thronged the place, He was surrounded from all sides. No one present there had experienced God’s immense power of healing; but there was a woman having an issue of blood since twelve years and her only aim was to touch Jesus’ robe and be healed of her illness that day. That was her only aim. The moment she touched the hem of Jesus’ robe, He felt the power go out

of H im and He said “somebody has touched me, for I felt the power go out from me”.Luke 8:42-46 “For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him. And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me”. We must not be like the multitudes, but be like the woman; we must aim to touch our Lord Jesus Christ even today. Only then we can experience His Power in our life. Like this woman, we too must have the zeal to touch Jesus Christ through all the multitudes and we will surely be blessed. Let us not be lazy, eat, drink and make merry, but let us be awake for the Lord. Ephesians 5:14 “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light”.

W e read in the Scriptures that Lord has always mentioned those who are dead, as ‘sleeping’. When Jesus Christ visits Lazarus, He said don’t cry for He is sleeping. We also see the widows’ son who Jesus raised from the dead; He also was sleeping. In different situations we see how Lord Jesus raised the dead, but He said that they were sleeping. At the same time what did Jesus say to those who are alive? To the congregation of Sardis, Jesus said in Revelation 3:1 “And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead”. Here Jesus says to the living: ‘You are dead’. In the earlier examples we have seen that for those who are dead, Jesus says “they are sleeping”. Remember; let our lives not be like the dead. Lord wants our life to be ‘awake and alive’. Because this is the time of grace, God is still able to raise us from the dead.1 Timothy 5:6 “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth”. Those who still continue to live their life according to this world, eating, drinking and making merry are dead in this world. Our life should not be like these people, rather our life should be a life filled with the faith and love of God. We should always keep our life first for the Lord and His work rather than to lose it in this world. Many people in this world do not know where they are going

o r coming; they are like the multitudes that fell upon Jesus wherever He went preaching. Rather, our life should be like the woman whose only aim was to touch Jesus and be healed; yes we too must aim to live for the Lord doing His works in this world. Our life must be put in the furnace of cleansing and be purified for His glory.

The clay wanted to become a beautiful pot; it was beautifully made but when the time came to be put in the furnace, the clay ran away from the potter for it did not want to go through the fire. We must not be like this, living a life of fun and enjoyment in this world for our life will be like the dead of the world. At the end, this kind of life is worthy to be put into hell fire and be destroyed. Thus we must watch and pray, we must be zealous to do God’s work, we must be entwined in Him always.

D avid says in Psalms 3:5 “I laid me down and slept; I awaked; for the LORD sustained me”. When we live happily with the Lord, He will save us from going into hell fire. God will protect us always and He will sustain us in this world. David always lived for the Lord for in everything he did, he glorified God. Who did God refer to as dead? Those who say they are living in this world! But those who live for the Lord are His children; they are alive and living in this world carrying His cross every day. We know God loved David very much, and said “He is a man after my own heart”. This was because David only did God’s work in his life and God was glorified and magnified through him. Today, Lord wants us to live our lives like David did. God tells us even today to dust off the dust, our every little sin and lack, and get ourselves cleansed and washed. Yet again, God awakens us “Awake … awake…. the door of Grace is yet open for us today”. God also cautions us against spiritual sleepiness. Romans 13:12 “The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light”.Yes, the night is gone and the day is at hand. We must cast off the clothes of darkness and wear new clothes of righteousness and light. We also know that after the floods when Noah was blessed with the new earth once again, he ploughed the fields, grew vineyards and enjoyed its harvest. He intoxicated himself with the wine and in his house he was found naked. The curse came upon him through his own sons and his family thus became cursed for the Lord. Why? Because Noah ate, drank and made merry. Thus he called a curse upon him and his family. Genesis 9:21 “And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent”.Due to his intoxication, he could not control his own dressing. We also know of Samson’s story; how he was a valiant youth, a powerful and a strong man. God prepared him for great things and sent him to fight

against the Philistines. But because of his s in with the harlot, he lost his strength and power. He was made a joker before his enemies. God chose him to be a powerful and strong man, but because of his sin he slept off and thus lost everything in life. Even today, God awakens us from such sins. He cautions us to shake off the dust and cleanse ourselves. Lord tells us to come out of it. The time is close at hand, we have seen that it happened in Noah’s and Samson’s life; it can happen in our lives too, let’s pay heed to Lord’s awakening!

Proverbs 23:21 “For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags”.Those who are eating and drinking to glory, poverty will soon come to them like Noah and Samson. We should not be like them… continuing to revel in worldly things. Proverbs 20:13 “Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread”.We should not sleep and be lazy, for spiritual sleep is very dangerous; instead we must awake from it and enjoy the heavenly manna. Proverbs 10:5 “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame”. We should sow when it is time to sow, only then can we reap at harvest time.

A wealthy man, once in his dream meets God. God shows him the mansions that are being prepared in His heavenly kingdom. First, God shows him a beautiful palace made for his maid. So this man thinks that if his maid has such a beautiful palace, how much more beautiful will his palace be? Now God shows him a barren land and says this is your place. God told the wealthy man: ‘your maid sowed in my heavenly kingdom on this earth itself, with that I have made this palace for her. When you never sowed in My kingdom while on the earth, how do you expect to reap when you have never sowed? At that time, the wealthy man was ashamed of his behaviour. Remember our possession and wealth will be saved in the heavenly kingdom if we sow on this earth now. Our works done for the Lord through this ministry to take the Word to far off places; for those who come forward to support this cause, it will also be a blessing for them. Thus the seeds sown in faith here on this earth will be accumulated as wealth in the Lord’s heavenly kingdom. We know that through the Word if there is salvation of even a single soul, there is rejoicing in Heaven. The Word is true, the Word is the truth. When we sow the seeds in faith, we will reap in tons. In the villages, farmers sow seeds may be one or two bullock cartful. But during harvesting, they reap in

p lentiful bullock carts… much more bullock carts full than what they have sown. This is similar to works done for the Lord in this world. Only if we sow, shall we reap a plentiful harvest. When we sow the seeds of jowar, we will not reap rice. Nor shall we reap a harvest of Mangoes when we sow seed of Jackfruit. It is important for us to remember this! We will reap what we sow. Galatians 6:7-9 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not”. It is thus important to know that when we sow cheerfully in this world, only then we will reap our blessings in heaven. In the Holy Scriptures, a young Samarian girl helps a leper to go to Jerusalem, Israel after giving him the good news of Jesus Christ. Imagine what a mighty work she has done for the Lord. Her possession is accumulated in heaven with this great deed. We also know the story of Deborah, in Judges 5:12, 7 “Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam. The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel”. You and me as a mother or father and as children of God need to show the way to heaven for our children. Is it that we only make merry in this world and perish, or are we responsible parents today! In the Word it is written that a lazy person is a curse for God. We must be like an eagle for the Lord flying high. Isaiah 60:2 “For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee”. If we are awake and keep dusting off the dust from ourselves, we will always be a vessel that shines for the Lord. Even if there is grave darkness covering this earth, our Lord’s glory will shine upon us. Imagine how we will shine for the Lord. Our Lord will never give us trouble, sorrow and pain. Remember the Zarephath widow’s story where God sends Prophet Elijah to her home to bless her. With the last bit of flour and oil in her home, she was getting ready to bake a cake out of it and feed her son and self and then die; Prophet Elijah blesses this home and the flour and oil never ceased in her home. Though there was famine in her land and King Ahab too may have suffered because of this famine, the widow’s home never lacked for food. This was God’s blessings for her and He wants to give each one of us the same blessings today. Psalms 34:10 “The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek

the LORD shall not want any good thing”.Yes the young lions may suffer hunger but Lord’s children will never have want of any good thing. In everything we do, we must glorify our God alone.Colossians 3:24-25 “Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons”. When we do any good thing for the Lord, we will reap plenty of harvest. At the same time, when we do evil and sinful things for the Lord, we will harvest plenty of sinful and evil things. We have to go through the furnace of cleansing to be purified for the Lord. We must not be like the multitudes that flocked around Jesus Christ, but rather be like the woman having an issue of blood, who yearned and aimed only to touch Jesus Christ and experience His power. We must thirst for the Lord; we must serve Him with zeal and enthusiasm.

I n Mathew Ch 17, Jesus Christ took three of His trusted disciples along with Him to the mountain and showed them the glory of God. They also saw Moses and Elijah standing with Him on the mountain. When the disciples saw God’s glory, they fell at Jesus’ feet in fear. But Jesus lifts them up and tells them “Don’t be afraid, but do not tell anybody what you have seen”. In John 11, the Word says that those who are dead will live and those who are living will also not die. The Word is true and the Word is alive. If we accept it today, we will experience His grace, love and power in our life. It is the foolish who do not understand this. Let us not be like the Pharisees and the Sadducees, still doubting everything. This is surely the end times in our lives. Beware of the anti-Christ; let us not give into the hands of the anti-Christ. Our lives are precious in God’s sight we are washed by the blood of Jesus; we are like the eagles that fly high and mighty for the Lord. We are not people who are sleeping, or dead or lazy, rather we are alive and awake.

If we have dust upon ourselves, let us dust off this dust and enter the door of grace which the Lord had opened for us. Today, we should not be like the crawling tortoise or snail, or like Lot’s family who were slowly and lazily moving around not wanting to leave the sinful place. Once again the Lord cautions us through His Word “Awake… Awake, to live our life for the Lord and sow richly in this world, so that we will harvest plentiful blessings in His heavenly kingdom”.

I pray that this Word will bless each one of us and also bring blessings into the many lives that read this Word!

Pastor Saroja M.

Rose of Sharon Old Age Home

Greetings to all our dear readers in the matchless name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus of Nazareth. Welcome back dear readers to yet another edition of the Rose of Sharon church magazine.

In this month’s edition, we will know more about our 4^th oldest Grandpa (by tenure) viz. GrandpaRamakant Honavar. Grandpa was brought to the old age home in September 2009. This month grandpa completes 6 long years with us. Grandpa is now 88 years old but there has been minimal or no change in his physical condition. By God’s grace Grandpa Honavar enjoys good health and has no major illness and only takes multivitamins and calcium tablets as medicines.

H is short memory still continues to be a problem though, and he just cannot remember what he did 15 minutes ago. I remember during one visiting day, when grandpa’s daughter had come to pay a visit to him; One very close relative of grandpa from their family who was like his son had passed away. Grandpa’s daughter innocently gave him the news. On hearing the news, Grandpa was extremely sorrowful and wept bitterly. I then advised his daughter not to share sorrowful news as it will not make a difference at all and they can hardly do anything to make the situation any better. But I also assured her that Grandpa would soon forget it in no time and be back to his normal self soon. True to that, within 15 minutes, grandpa forgot everything and was back to his normal chirpy self again. As we see, the sickness of forgetfulness is truly a blessing in disguise for this Grandpa.

Grandpa is as strong as ever. He still goes to the wash room on his own and does all his paltry chores by himself.

As all old people do, grandpa spends a major part of his day sleeping or when awake, spends time chatting with his friend Kamruddin Chacha.

A good trait that Grandpa Honavar possesses is that he’s never fussy about food. I’ve never seen him complaining about food in this past six years and is content with whatever he gets; perhaps that is one reason apart from God’s grace why he possesses good health.

Having said that, to conclude, we pray that may our good Lord continues to give him good health and many more years in the Rose of Sharon family here at Mira Road.

Praise the Lord!

 

 

Praise The Lord!

I t’s been another wonderful month here at the Rose of Sharon Sunday School! There were lovely testimonies shared by the little children this month of how they passed their exams with flying colors!!!

It is always wonderful to have new children join Sunday School… for them it is a new beginning and an early induction into Christian life. Our new entrant this year is Ahaz Robert Francis. The first day he entered the class he was a bit nervous, however, by the end of the class, he was very excited! When we asked him how he felt, he expressed a desire to have his own Bible … and he was happily looking forward to the next Sunday school class!

The children learnt a new Marathi action song ‘Abhaari’ this month. The song is about being thankful to Jesus for everything He has done for us. The children enjoyed learning the new song.

We also did the portion from the book of Mathew, Chapter 22 – ‘The Great Wedding Feast.’ We expounded the Scriptures for both it’s literal and spiritual meaning.

This time during one of the Sunday School classes, there was a special intervention by Pastor Saroja, who met the children for a few minutes at the beginning of the class and lovingly explained the scriptures in it’s perfect meaning. The children were really blessed with the Word in Sunday School through this impromptu meeting.

Do continue to pray for our little Sunday School children. Praise the Lord!