Editor’s note

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

I greet you all in the matchless name of my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. 

He is the same yesterday, today and forever… an unchanging God. His mercy endures forever and ever. We will love our Lord with all our heart, mind and soul.

The Bible says in John 20:27 “Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.”

The Lord’s expectation from us is that we should be believers and not unbelievers. To create faith and belief in our hearts for the Lord, He has shown many miracles and signs in the bible.In our lives also, the Lord has done many good things and thus increased our faith in Him.

Apostle Thomas was close to the Lord Jesus for three and half years; having seen so many mighty miracles and signs. Yet he did not believe Jesus had risen until Jesus came and showed him His wounded hands and side so as to increase his faith.

Faith has power to create, but unfaithfulness has power to destroy and bring hindrance in our deliverance, healing and blessings.The Bible says in Matthew 13:58 “And He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”

Our Lord came into this world to perform great and mighty miracles which one may never have thought could be done. However because of the peoples disbelief, He could not do much. Matthew 13:55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? and His brethren, James, and Jose’s, and Simon, and Judas?”

Many times the disciples could not cast out demons, and when they asked Jesus why they could not do so, Jesus very clearly said in Matthew 17:19,20 “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, “Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

We cannot please God without faith. Hebrew 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

So my beloved readers, remove your unbelief and replace it with faith and the Lord’s presence. 

James writes in James 1:6,7″But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.”

God will fulfill all your needs. John 11:40 “Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”

The Lord has kept many blessings for the believers which they can receive by faith alone.

When you lift up your hands in prayer your blessing will come downfrom our divine God. Mark 9:23″Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”

The just shall live by faith. Jude 1:3 “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”

There are thousands of blessings to be received by faith.Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

So belovedones, read the word of God in faith and exhort others to believe.

May the love, joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you and your families till we meet again.

Yours in His Vineyard,

Pastor Saroja M

We praise God for the wondrous work in our lives. We had many problems which we shared with Pastor Saroja. Pastor prayed for our needs and gave us timely counseling. By God’s grace we have overcome all the problems. We thank the Lord and Pastor Saroja for her prayers.

*Sis.Lilavati&Bro. Mukesh(Ajmer)

Praise the Lord. I had severe pain in my left thumb because of which I was unable to drive my bike. The pain was unbearable when the thumb would move. I told this matter to Pastor Saroja and she prayed for my hand and gave some advice. By Lord’s grace and mercy alone from the very next day the pain vanished . I give all glory and praise to Lord Jesus for healing me and I also thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers and advice.

*Bro. Hardik Patel, Goregaon

I give all the glory to Jesus for this miracle in my life. Sometime back I was suffering from cataract problem. I delayed going to the doctors as my financial conditions was not good .My eyes became very bad and contacted Pastor Saroja.She helped me financially for my operation.

Even after the operation my eyes was very bad. Then pastor prayed for me and now I am completely healed.I see very well now. I give all glory to Jesus and thank Pastor Saroja for her help and prayers.

* Sis Kala (Chennai)

I testify on behalf of my daughter. When she was pregnant she developed some complications doctors were worried as it was a fallopian Tube pregnancy. As she was our only daughter we were worried. I called Pastor Saroja and requested her for here prayers.

After prayers she has a normal deliverya healthy baby boy. Our joys knew no  bounds.We give all glory, honor and praise to God for his miracle in our daughters life.  I also thank Pastor Saroja for her prayers. Praise the Lord.

*Sis Sheila (Bombay)

THE FATHER’S EYES

This teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game. This young man was still the smallest of the class when he entered high school. But his father continued to encourage him, but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn’t want to. But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best at every practice, perhaps he’d get to play when he became a senior.

All through high school he never missed a practice nor a game, but remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on.” Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed.

The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father. His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games.

This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in a game. It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big play off game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became silent. Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?” The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.”

Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well. In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful teammate back so soon.

“Coach, please let me play. I’ve just got to play today,” said the young man. The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game. But the young man persisted.

Finally feeling sorry for the kid, the coach gave in. “All right,” he said. “You can go in.” Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked and tackled like a star.  His team began to triumph. The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this kid intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown.

The fans broke loose. His classmates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you’ve never heard!

Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, “Kid, I can’t believe it. You were fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?” He looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!”

SO-REMEMBER RIGHT NOW:

Someone loves you and gave HIS life for you …

Trust in God – He wants to Bless You

Daniel 4:32 “And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.” World history shows that when mankind increased in this world, people chose leaders to rule over them. Even today,  there is an electoral system to choose  leaders.  Once the leaders are chosen they are given  powers to rule according to the law of the land.  But we must also know that though our leaders are elected by us, they are surely chosen according to God’s will alone.

1 Samuel 2:7-8 “The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD’S, and he hath set the world upon them.” We know that King Saul was chosen by the Israelites to rule over them. But there came a time when God’s  hand fell upon him and it was time for him to be replaced. God replaced King Saul and made David, a shepherd boy, the King of Israel. The ruler of this world is neither Satan  nor the people’s leader, rather it is our Lord God who reigns over the world and rules us. King Nebuchadnezzar took seven years to realize the authority of God. Daniel 4:25-30 “That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility. All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?” Nebuchadnezzar had pride in his heart that everything he made was made by him alone. With this thought, he retired to bed. It is at that time that he dreamt a dreadful dream. God showed him before hand about his downfall in the dream, hence Nebuchadnezzar was worried and fearful. He called the wise Daniel to interpret  his dream. Daniel 2:38-40 “And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.  And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.“  In vs. 42 it says “And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.” When Nebuchadnezzar saw this dream he was very fearful and worried. Daniel 2:34-35 “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” We see in the verses above that the statue was built of iron and clay, and such a strong structure was razed to the ground. A giant stone rolled down from nowhere and destroyed the statue. Then a  mighty wind was sent by God from above and even the remains were razed off completely. What was this stone? This stone was not a man made stone but rather it was our Lord sent from above, for our God is the cornerstone.   Jesus Christ was sent by Lord God from Heaven.  Though Jesus was born in this world, He was directly sent from heaven by God. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of this world. Prophet Daniel explains this in Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.“ This stone was God sent from Heaven  i.e. Jesus Christ. He was sent to destroy the ills of this world and ensure that God’s reign will be from everlasting to everlasting. However much the people of this world will try to institute leaders at the helm of this country, still it is God alone who chooses them to rule over us. This is true, and from the beginning of mankind this has been going on. We know that Nebuchadnezzar had great pride in his heart for the empire he had built; and when he went to sleep with the same thought, God awoke him a terrible dream. God had shown him very clearly in the dream how he would fall, how his kingdom would collapse and how he would be destroyed. Prophet Daniel explained the dream clearly to King Nebuchadnezzar. The statue was made of iron and clay, but God sent a giant stone from heaven to destroy this huge statue and crumble it into a powder. After that a great wind was also sent to wipe away the remains and ruins, so that there would be no remains of the statue. Such was the anger of God upon Nebuchadnezzar. Our Lord God is not man-made or elected by any man;  Jesus Christ was sent by Father God from Heaven for our sakes.

Mathew 21:42-44 “Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.” Thus, however much men fight elections for their nominations as leaders, it is God’s  plan alone that they come into power. God will choose only those who He knows will rule fearfully and with a right heart.   We know that Jesus Christ was born of Spirit,  not by the will of man. Jesus Christ is our Father God’s gift to us on this earth. Daniel 7:27 “And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.” This prophecy was written for the end times. However much people of this world wish to nominate leaders, we must remember that leaders will be elected only by His will and plan alone. Finally, God will bring everyone in this world under His control alone. Today, there are a lot of in-party fights amidst the ruling and opposition parties, but all this is futile, for this world belongs to God alone. It is only for a certain time that God has allowed rulers to rule in this world. God loves His people and His mind is stayed on them. From time to time, He will change rulers for our good alone. It is for the sake of the righteous who love Him that God sends rain in it’s season. In this the unrighteous are also blessed along with the righteous. On this earth there are many righteous people. Even in a family, if one has received the gift of salvation, the entire family will be saved and blessed. In this world there are preachers, evangelists, priests, prophets and servants of God, because of which this world also receives God’s grace and blessings;  thus making the world a safer place to live in.

Revelation 11:15 “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.“ Wisdom, strength and glory belong to God alone. If we forsake this truth and give into the clutches of the evil one, our lives will be destroyed. Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.“ We must put our faith and trust in our God who reigns forever on this earth. If we do, we will live in peace in this world. If we put our faith and trust in men, we will lose our peace, for a leader may be there today but gone tomorrow. Hence, let our faith be in God alone. Our God is the King of Kings and God above all Gods. He is preparing us a wonderful world to live in, after the earth is destroyed. So let our minds be stayed on Him alone, and we will have perfect peace and lack nothing in this world.  People change from time to time and reign from time to time too. It is God alone who will institute them, and God will remove them when He wishes. In the end, it is our King of Kings, Jesus Christ who alone will reign on this earth. He is in our midst even today. If we see King  Nebuchadnezzar’s life, he was a great King, but when pride entered into him, he ordered that a huge statue be made of him and that people in Israel should worship him. But we have also seen how the huge statue crumbled down when God sent a giant stone to destroy it, such that even it’s remains could not be found and the dust also disappeared in thin air. Similarly in this world too,  all law has to come to an end. Kings and rulers will  also die and be buried some day. After that there is another death for us righteous people; and our Lord Jesus Christ who was sent into this world to save us, will rule over us. If our faith and trust is in Him alone, we will continue to live peacefully. Psalms 144:13 “That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:” Our Lord God blesses His people abundantly, and there will never be lack once God fills our storeroom. God has come to bless His people, to deliver us from bondage, to deliver us from our sins, to heal the broken hearted, to set people free from darkness and bring them to light. Hence, God has blessed different people differently. He has healed people in different ways. He blesses the righteous and overfills their storeroom and homes too.

In this world there are various religions viz. Muslims, Hindus, Christians, etc. In no religion do we see that their God has given his life for them. But the truth remains that our Lord Jesus Christ has given His life for us. Those washed and purchased by His blood know His love for them. Hence it is important that His loves reigns in our hearts too. When we know this truth and emulate it in our lives, we will lack for nothing at all. We must live with great zest and zeal for Him. Our God is the same unchanging God; we may forsake Him and break the trust between God and us, but God never changes, for He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Psalms 144:13 “That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets:” We are blessed when we multiply and become fruitful in our lives. Psalms 116:12-13 “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.“ Our God asks us for nothing, for He wants nothing material from us. All He wants is our ‘hearts’ with ‘true praise and worship’ from our lips. David says in the Scriptures that his cup overflowed, because David never shied from acknowledging God and accepting His grace upon him. There came a time when David danced away glorifying God and his clothes fell off; yet he continued dancing naked because through His dance David glorified God alone. His wife was ashamed of Him and asked him why did so. The Scriptures tell us that David’s wife Micah was barren till the end. We must never be ashamed to praise and worship God; for when we are ashamed, God in turn will be ashamed to introduce us to the Father God. God has never asked us for anything, our  wealth or our money; all He wants is truthful praise and worship from our hearts. Psalms 116:12-13 “What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.“ God wants nothing from us – all that we have is given by Him alone. Each one of us  have received our salvation from Him alone. He has touched us and healed us of our sins. Hence God must be magnified and glorified in our praise and worship. We have to thank God for all that He has done for us in our lives and for all that we have in our lives.

It is God who hardened Pharaoh’s heart, thus bringing about God’s curse upon himself and the land of Egypt. Similarly, even today the Lord God has hardened many hearts. Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart? So that the Israelites would teach their children’s children about God’s graciousness upon them and His fear would always remain in their hearts; thus growing God’s love within their hearts. Exodus 10:2 “And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.” God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that the Israelites’ generations would know the great works of God in their lives. Our love for God increases even today when we read this great doing of His. We are strengthened and charged because of this mighty doing of God. We feel proud that we still have a God who will do anything for us. He will destroy all the ‘Pharaoh’s’ in our lives and give us victory. God alone hardened Pharaoh’s  heart, so that He could show His Mighty works to the Israelites. God could have destroyed Pharaoh in no time. In our lives too, we have many who have wronged or harassed us, yet God will not give grace to the wicked and unrighteous, though it is God Himself who has  hardened their hearts. Hence we must give place to God to enter into our lives. David says in Psalms 23:5 “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” David’s enemy were of his own household; his father forgot about him, his brothers were jealous of him and they did not want him to become the King of Israel.  But God held back Samuel in David’s house till he returned home, so that David could be anointed as the King. Hence,  David says in the above verse Psalms 23:5 “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” We must know that God never gives us anything in life measured. How does God give us our blessings? Luke 6:38 “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” God gives our blessings pressed, shaken and overflowing. Genesis 12:2 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:“ God will bless us to be a blessing for others; and in order to get the blessing, the hand of God, His grace, love, mercy, kindness and compassion must always be upon us. Without all this we are nothing.

Let God bless this message. Praise the Lord!

Pastor Saroja M

Praise the Lord!This time around the children learnt about King Solomon. As we all would know whenever we speak about wisdom, the first biblical character that we can think of is King Solomon.  

When Solomon was asked by the Lord what gift he wanted. If we read 1 Kings 3: 9 -14, we observe that Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge the Israelites. He did not ask for riches or fame, accordingly the Lord blessed him with not only a wise and understanding heart but with immense riches.Praise the Lord!This time around the children learnt about King Solomon. As we all would know whenever we speak about wisdom, the first biblical character that we can think of is King Solomon.

There are two kinds of wisdom i.e. God’s wisdom and Man’s wisdom:

• God’s wisdomteaches us to lean on Him, know His word and live a life that pleases Him.
• Man’s wisdom is to get good education, being street smart and lead a successful life.

Having said that, when we lead a Godly life it’s not only His wisdom that is sufficient for us to win the final race, with wisdom the fear of the Lord too is important. Solomon lead a godly life for a long period but post his marriages to the women who worshipped the pagan god’s, Solomon’s heart started to drift away from the Lord.If the fear of the Lord had to continue in King Solomon’s life he would have not worshiped or built altars for the pagan gods. This lack of fear and disobedience lead to Lord’s punishment. 

Of this the children learnt that no matter how rich and full of wisdom we get, the key to life is the fear of the Lord at all times. No matter if our parents, teachers or elders are not around, it’s important that the ‘FEAR OF THE LORD’ should remain in us at all times.

As our kids now enjoy their vacation do uphold them in your prayers.

Joy Salins