Praise the Lord! I personally consider “DECEMBER” to be a month of gratefulness because my Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST has given me the grace to add one more year to my life. I am thankful and grateful for all the wonderful and abundant blessings my Father Lord has blessed me with this year, and I pray that He will continue blessing me in the forthcoming years and using me for HIS glory alone.

Here’s wishing all my brothers and sisters a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS and A BLESSED NEW YEAR ahead.

Leviticus 11:45 “For I am the Lord who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” Our Father God is quite aware that on our own it is quite difficult to lead a holy life. Hence, He sent to us His precious Son, JESUS, so that through His blood each one of us, can lead a holy and righteous life.

The Prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 12:6 “Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion, For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!” When we praise God with our heart, mind, and soul, it is proven time and again that every obstacle and hindrance brought about by the powers of darkness will most definitely crumble under the Holy name of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

1 Peter 1:15 “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” The Lord God came into this world, lived, died, and rose again just for us.  He does not desire that the bond we have with Him be broken (like Adam in the past), due to disobedience. God desires that we lead a holy and righteous life along with Him, in His presence daily. Hence, our Father God keeps repeating time and again, ‘Be holy as I am holy.’

It is very important, that we remind ourselves every day that our God is a great and living God and that only with our faith-filled praises to HIM will:

~  All obstacles in our lives be broken in His name.
~  The Red Sea part and swallow up all our enemies.
~  Miracles and Healings be performed in our lives.
~  Our lives be restored.

May the true Spirit of God lead, guide, and bless each of you and your loved ones in the coming year. Do continue to abide with Him and never ever forget to honour, glorify, and praise OUR LIVING GOD JESUS with every breath of your lives.

Till we meet again,

Pastor Saroja M

Praise the Lord. In the month of July, I was admitted to the hospital, as one morning I had stopped breathing, and my condition was very serious. My son Darrell admitted me to the hospital and after a quick check-up by the Doctors, it was found that my lungs were infected and had shrunk. Due to this, I was transferred to the ICU. My family members panicked and started crying.

My wife Rita called up Pastor Saroja and told her about me. Pastor assured her and kept me in her prayers. After two days in the ICU, the doctors told us that I was normal, and I could now be shifted to the casualty ward. After four to five days, I was discharged from the hospital. Till now, God has kept me in good health. I give all praise and glory to the Lord Almighty, and I thank Pastor Saroja who is as Lord’s Angel, for keeping us close to God through her prayers. Thank You, Jesus!

*Bro. Joseph P. Arikswamy, Mumbai

Praise the Lord. I suddenly fell ill with high fever and vomiting and was so weak that I couldn’t even walk. I somehow managed to go to the Doctor with my wife and son, who, after seeing me, put me on saline in his clinic and advised me to do a blood test. After doing a blood test, I was told that I had dengue, and my platelet levels had fallen drastically. Also, I had swelling in my liver due to dengue. Since my platelet levels had gone down to 13000, I had to be admitted immediately to the hospital where I was given additional platelets.

My wife informed Pastor Saroja and requested her to pray for me. Pastor assured us of her prayers. After two days, my platelets started to increase and came back to normal. Also, the swelling in my liver subsided. I was discharged after a few days of observation. I thank and praise our Lord Jesus Christ for healing me and thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers for me and my family always.

*Bro. Joseph Samuel, Mumbai

Praise the Lord. I got a severe allergy on both my palms due to dish washing liquid used during dish washing. The allergy was so severe that I started getting cuts on my palms, and it was very painful. I couldn’t do my daily work and I was finding it very difficult.

I told this matter to Pastor Saroja, and she advised me to apply prayer oil and nothing else. By God’s grace alone, soon it started to heal, and now both my palms are completely healed. I give all glory to Lord Jesus for healing me, and I also thank Pastor Saroja for her precious advice and for praying over the prayer oil. Thank You Jesus!

*Bro. Hardik Patel, Mumbai.

Praise the Lord. I had breathing issues with a severe pain in my stomach and was unable to eat food. I went to the doctor and took medication. However, there was no relief to my situation.

On certain nights, I would get up with pain and breathing issues. During the Saturday Healing Service, I spoke to Pastor Saroja, and Pastor prayed over me while laying her hand on my stomach.

I stopped taking the medicines, and gradually by God’s grace, I got completely healed. All glory to God alone, and I thank Pastor Saroja for praying for me.

*Sis. Bharti Mohite, Mumbai

Praise the Lord. I suddenly started experiencing severe pain in my left inner ear lobe, and it had got swollen. I applied the blessed prayer oil on the painful area at night and slept.

Next morning the pain had completely vanished and till date there has been no pain. I give all glory and praise to our dear Lord Jesus Christ for touching and healing me.

I also thank our dear Pastor Saroja for praying over the prayer oil and always remembering me in her prayers. Thank You, Jesus!

*Sis. Evangela Roberts, Mumbai

George worked for the Post Office and his job was to process all mail having illegible addresses. One day just before Christmas, a letter landed on his desk simply addressed in shaky handwriting: ‘To God.’

With no other clue on the envelope besides the sender’s address, George opened the letter and read:

Dear God,

I am a 93-year-old widow living on Pension. Yesterday, someone stole my purse. It contained Rs. 1000 in it, which was all the money I had in the world, with no pension due until after Christmas. Next week is Christmas, and I have invited two of my friends over for Christmas lunch. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with. I have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope.

God, can you please help me?

George was really touched, and being kindhearted, he put a copy of the letter up on the staff notice board at the sorting office where he worked. The letter touched the other postmen and they all dug into their pockets, and between them, they raised Rs.1005. Using an officially franked Post Office envelope, they sent the cash to the old lady, and for the rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of the nice thing they had done in this Christmas season.

Christmas came and went.  A few days later, another letter simply addressed to ‘To God’ landed in the Sorting Office. Many of the postmen gathered around while George opened the letter.  It read,

Dear God,

How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your generosity, I was able to provide a lovely luncheon for my friends. We had a very nice day, and I told my friends of your wonderful gift for this CHRISTMAS – in fact, we haven’t gotten over it and even our Pastor is beside himself with joy. By the way, there is Rs. 5 extra, which I am returning back. Please give it to the one in need, like me.

Thank you, God.

Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

 

 

 

Isaiah 53:11 “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” Because our Lord Jesus Christ carried the Cross, many of us received our salvation, and have been saved from bondage and sin. Having carried the Cross, Jesus Christ has shown us the way to the Heavenly Kingdom. Today, we have hope and grace to reach God’s Heavenly Kingdom. If Jesus Christ had not carried the Cross and washed us with His precious blood, if He had not given us His Strength, His Spirit, and His Word, we would have perished in the wilderness. But, because of His Spirit, Word, and Love, we have His grace in our lives every day. Today, when the multitudes see us, they will be surprised and they will ask, ‘Who are these people, and from whence have they come?’

Revelation 7:13-15 “And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.” We are the ones who are cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb. Our Lord Jesus Christ carried the Cross to show us the way to His Heavenly Kingdom. However much our sins and iniquities, we have a hope to be washed by the Blood of the Lamb.

Jesus Christ carried the Cross His Father God gave Him, with great cheer and joy. Even in our lives, each one of us has our own Cross to carry. We must carry it with joy because of the happiness hidden within the Cross. Whilst carrying our Cross, we must not feel the heaviness, nor see the difficulty of carrying the Cross – rather, we must know the hidden blessings in it. Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” In our lives, God has given us a Cross to carry, and we must not grumble or murmur, but carry it with joy, realizing that there is a hidden blessing in carrying the Cross. Unless we carry our Cross, we cannot fulfill the commandment given by God for us. Hence, we must carry our Cross, win the victory, and be washed in the name of the Lord and by the Blood of the Lamb. Only then can we reach God’s Heavenly Kingdom. 2 Corinthians 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” It is only through our Lord God, and by carrying His Cross, that we can know Him and reach His Heavenly Kingdom.

In a story, a man had a dream, and in his dream, he spoke to God and told Him, ‘I want to see your Kingdom.’ God then gave Him a Cross to carry. There were other people around who also were carrying their Cross. He found his Cross very heavy since it was a large Cross. The man now had to cross a mountain, and he thought to himself, ‘Perhaps when I pass this mountain the Cross will become lighter.’ While crossing the mountain, he met a carpenter. The carpenter asked him, ‘Why is your Cross so long and thick? I will cut it and shorten it and make it thinner and smoother.’ The man thought it was a good idea, so he agreed with the carpenter.

After reducing the Cross, the man felt immediate relief and happiness, as the Cross was much lighter. After the mountain, the man had to cross a river. All the men before him used their respective Crosses to go over the river, but since this man’s Cross was now shortened, he found it difficult to go over the river. He realized his mistake. Standing by the riverbank, he cried out to the Lord, ‘Lord! Lord! Lord.’ The moral of the story is ‘Our Cross will never be too heavy for us to carry, for God gives only that much burden we can bear. He gives us the Cross with only the weight that we can bear.’ We must never rectify the Cross that God has given us. We must be able to bear the burden of the Cross in our lives, for only then can we reach His Heavenly Kingdom. God knows our future, and He knows what each one of us needs in our lives. We must know that the Cross which God has given us in our lives is the correct Cross for us. He alone can give us victory over life when we carry His Cross and live our lives by His commandments.

What is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ? Is it just two wooden pieces put together? No. The Cross that our Lord Jesus carried for us represents our burdens, our sins, our bondage, our sickness, and our iniquities. Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Our Lord Jesus Christ carried the sins of many of us. Isaiah 53:11 “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

Isaiah 53:3-4 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” On the Cross, God took the sorrow, pain, and sickness of many of us. Never take it lightly and say that ‘Jesus carried the Cross.’ Instead say, ‘He carried our sins, our bondage, our sickness, and our iniquities, though it was not easy for Him to do so.’ Our lives will be blessed if we carry any type of Cross that God gives us. Galatians 3:13 “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Every curse that comes upon us according to His law, Jesus Christ has taken on the Cross for us. He sacrificed His life on the Cross and gave us the guarantee of salvation. From the beginning, we know of the great love with which God created man and woman. He kept them in the Garden of Eden, but man sinned from the beginning. Above all, they did not agree to their sins and instead blamed God and His creation for their sins. Genesis 3:12-13 “And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”

The man blamed God and the woman God created, and in turn, the woman blamed the serpent. They did not accept their sins. Even today, many of us continue to do the same in life. We do not accept our sins, but rather, we blame others for our sins. We have still not changed in our lives. We always think that we are righteous and true in life. But Jesus Christ who was without blemish, quietly and without a murmur, took our sins upon Himself. Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”

From the beginning, we have seen in the Scriptures that mankind created by God, never agreed to their sins. Another example is Cain, who, when God asked him, ‘Where is your brother,’ replied, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ We as human beings mostly never agree nor accept our sins. Remember, our God took our sins on the Cross and made us righteous and sinless. Imagine, if God ever opens His mouth, none of us can ever reach His Kingdom, for our sins are plentiful. Even today, to make us righteous and blameless, God keeps forgiving us. He shows us His grace and mercy even today. But we should not take advantage of His love, and we must try and feel His pain and sorrow. We should think about His grace upon our lives.

If Jesus Christ had not sacrificed His life for us on that day on the Cross, what would be our lives today? Just imagine, we would not have had the hope of salvation. We would have continued in our sins and bondage and perished in this world. But Jesus has promised us, ‘I am going to prepare many mansions in my Father’s home, and I will return to take you there.’ Are we prepared to go with Him to the Heavenly Kingdom where he will make us sit on the right side of His Father? This is why we must know the truth of the Word and seek God every day in our lives.

Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” In this world, husbands do not carry the burden of their wives, and vice versa. Children refuse to carry the burden of their parents, and so also, parents desert the children. There is sorrow and pain in this world. We have all strayed away in life. But it is our God alone who is prepared to carry our burdens and that is why He gave His life for us – to give us everlasting love, joy, and happiness. When the Israelites were in deep sin, pain, and sorrow, they cried out to God, ‘We are clay in Your hands, break us, melt us, mould us, and make us whole once again.’

Through His prophet Jeremiah, God moulded His children. Once, God showed Jeremiah how a potter made a pot from clay. The potter took a ball of clay, mixed it with water, put it on the wheel, and shaped it to make a pot. However, the pot broke while removing it from the wheel. Did the potter throw the clay? No, he took more water, cleaned the dirt from it, and once again put it on the wheel to mould it into the shape of a pot. This time he made a nice, beautiful pot. The Lord told Jeremiah that similarly, He would not forsake His people, the Israelites, because they had sinned. Instead, he would break them, melt them, and mould them once again, washing them with His blood, and making them in His likeness once again. God told Jeremiah, ‘Go and explain to my people why the pot broke. It broke because of their inequities, unrighteousness, and sins. But I will once again mould them, purify them, and purge them of their sins with my Blood.’ God will never throw us away, but it is we who forget our Creator. Our Creator does not forget nor forsake us, yet we forsake Him! Our God gave His life and blood on the Cross to make so many of us righteous and sinless, so that He could break us, melt us, and mould us once again. We are not ordinary human beings, rather we are chosen and blessed ones.

1 Peter 2:22-23 “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:” We know how many people spoke against Jesus on the Cross, how many spat at Him, and how many cursed Him. Yet, our Jesus bore all pain and sorrow without a word or a murmur. He stayed on the Cross bearing it all silently, just for you and me. Why did He do this? So that through Him, we will gain salvation and eternal life in His heavenly Kingdom. He loves us unconditionally, but we, as human beings, do not accept our shortcomings and sins. 1 Peter 1:19 “But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” Our God did not retort to His persecutors, and instead, was crucified on the Cross. He is our God, without blemish and spotless. Jesus Christ’s blood has power, it has the power to heal, and it is Jesus’ righteous blood that cleans us and makes us sinless. It is a great blessing for us. We must remember that we are His privileged children, purchased and washed by His blood. We must therefore carry the Cross that God has given us with great vigour and strength. Unlike Simon of Cyrene, who was reluctant to carry the Cross for Jesus Christ, thereby losing his blessings, we must ensure we do not lose our blessings by refusing to bear our Cross. God has asked us to carry His Cross, and this is the only Cross that we need to carry. When we think the Cross is given by God, we will have great blessings by carrying it, but when we grumble and murmur to carry our Cross, we lose our blessings.

There are blessings in carrying the Cross that God has given us. God has promised us rest when we carry His Cross. Mathew 11:29-30 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Surely, His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. We will have joy and happiness when we carry the Cross that God has given us.

When the Israelites crossed the wilderness from Egypt to Israel, they were thirsty at one point. They found water in one place, but the water was bitter. Immediately, they started grumbling and murmuring in anger. God loved them immensely, and He showed them a tree, whose branch Moses cut and put in the well, wherein the water turned sweet, and they were able to drink it. Likewise, God can convert the bitterness in our lives into sweetness.

Jesus gave away his youth – 33.5 years of His life on earth, for our sake. He took away our sorrow and pain. He took away the bitterness in our lives, even as He did with the waters of Marah, making it potable for the Israelites. Always strive to love God and overcome the sins in this world. We need not fight this world, for God will fight for us. He knows our righteousness and our truthfulness, and He will fight our battles and give us victory in life. We need to only stand still and firm in His Promised Word. He will judge, and we need not worry about His judgement.

We know how Jesus the Master became a servant to serve His disciples. John 13:4-5 “He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.” Jesus became so humble that He took the towel and wiped his disciples’ feet. His disciple Peter asked Him in John 13:6-7 “Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” We have no part in Jesus if we do not allow Him to wash our feet. We must become humble for Jesus and allow Him, the Potter, to break the clay, melt it, and then mould it again on the wheel, to form a new pot. Unless we become humble like Jesus, we will not become a part of Him; even as we read in the passage above, where unless Jesus served His disciples, they would not have a part in Him.

The potter cleans the clay once again, pours water to soften the clay, and then puts it back on the wheel. Similarly, Jesus must cleanse us (once again) with His precious blood and sanctify us to make us whole again. Only then can we be one with Him. In John 13:8-10, Jesus told Peter, “Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet.   Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.”

Today, we can sanctify ourselves and our bodies with His blood, for Jesus is ever ready to cleanse us. Judas was one amongst many, and he could have left Jesus and gone away. But Judas remained with Jesus till the end and finally betrayed Him. The Bible says it would have been better if such a person were not born at all, for his existence is a curse for mankind. Even today, we have many in our midst who are like Judas, who remain amongst us, and have not changed their lives. God knows our hearts and minds. He wants to cleanse and make us whole in Him, but are we willing?

As Adam and Eve did, we must not deny our sins before God. We must acknowledge our sins in front of God – only then may we be cleansed from the burden of our sins. God is willing to wash and cleanse us even today. God is not far from us, rather He is close to us. He carried the Cross for our sins and iniquity. We should never behave like saints before God, for none of us are righteous before him. We are filthy rags before Him. We have hurt God many a time with our filthiness. Today, let us ask God to cleanse us, even as Peter did. Let us ask him to wash our entire body, not just our feet, but our hands and heads as well. If we ask Him today, He will surely wash us. Then the multitudes who see us will ask ‘Who are these people, and from whence have they come?’

Yes, today is the day God has given us one more opportunity to ask of Him, and He will make us firmly stand with the Rock of Ages.

I pray that this message will bring blessings to many lives. Praise the Lord!

Pastor Saroja M.

 

Praise the Lord my dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ.

Yet another year has come to an end! 2023 had been a good year by God’s grace.  December, as always, is a month of festivities, celebration, and lots of activity all month around.

The Old Age Home gets a whole new makeover in the month of December with the Christmas Tree set up, and lights and decorations all around. The residents very much also look forward to the Rose of Sharon Church Annual Christmas Program. May the childlike joy and happiness in the hearts of our residents always overflow, today and always.

I am thankful to my Saviour Jesus Christ, for keeping the residents in our Rose of Sharon Old Age Home in good health throughout the year, and may He continue to do so.

Wishing all the readers a Very Happy Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

Do continue to pray for our residents, today and always.

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Saroja M

The month of December is a month of happiness and joy. The Christmas season brings a different type of joy to everyone’s face, from children to elders, for all age groups are excited about Christmas.

Everyone looks forward to and eagerly awaits this time of the year, to thank and glorify JESUS CHRIST, with our songs, dances, and skits, performed during the Annual Christmas Rose of Sharon Church program.

The children are working very hard to please our dear Lord Saviour JESUS CHRIST, who came to give us joy, blessings, and happiness. Santa Claus, who showers goodies on all, is also much awaited.

Seasons Greetings to readers from all the little ones of the Sunday School at the Rose of Sharon Church.

We wish you all a very Joyous and Blessed Christmas.

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