Editor’s Note

 

My beloved family of Rose of Sharon, I greet you all in this New Year in the name of Jesus, who is and who was and who is to come. He that was with you in the last year, will be with you in this New Year also.

This God is forever our God.

Apostle John brought to you greetings from the Lord.  Grace to you and peace from Him, who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. Revelation1:4-5John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before His throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.

In the Old Testament, when Moses asked the Lord His name, He said, “I AM, WHO I AM”.  Exodus 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. “I am the Lord, I do not change.” Malachi 3:6For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

In the New Testament, Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 3:8Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

The seasons change, fashions change, people’s characteristics change, villages change to towns, towns change to cities and cities change to metros. In the midst of all these changes, our Lord Jesus says: He changes not.

His love for us never changes, His calling does not change, and His grace does not change.

What He has decided to do through you, will not change. Your past, present and future is in the Lord’s hand.

He who was with you in 2015 will also be with you in this year 2016.

He who was with Moses and Joshua will be with us, this is a great comfort for us.

He who has brought you into this New Year is a true God. What promise He gives you, you must hold on it. Definitely it will be fulfilled. Hebrews 10:23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)

In what things is our God faithful?

            1)   He is faithful to the Father.

Hebrews 3:2 Who was faithful to Him that appointed Him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. Father sent Jesus to the earth, Jesus was obedient in all things, and served Him perfectly in all things and became a witness to the Father. Revelations 1:5And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood.

2) The Lord’s Word is true.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

3) He is faithful to lead you in your lives till the very end.

Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:9God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the God who called our forefathers and led them to win their race of life. In the same way, He is faithful to lead you in your lives till the very end.

So beloved ones, be faithful to the Lord till the very end. Luke 16:10He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Jesus is the first born among the dead, He is alive with us today, so worship Him. Colossians 1:18And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

In the Holy Bible, there are many who rose from the dead. Firstly, the Zarepath widow’s son, but he died eventually. Elisha raised the Shunamite’s son from the dead, but he also died eventually. In the same way, Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, Nain’s widow’s son and Dorcas were all risen from the dead, but later on they all died.

But our risen God will never die again, He is alive forevermore. Revelation 1:18  I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

So beloved ones, do not fear death, Lord has given eternal life. Romans 8:11But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.

So my dearly beloved ones, in this New Year, live for the Lord who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

May God bless you all in this year.

 

Pastor Saroja M.

P raise the Lord!

I firstly ask for forgiveness for giving this testimony late. My younger son has appeared for HSC Board exams this year. I had requested Pastor Saroja for prayers. My son passed with good percentage. After that, to get admissions in a degree college, I had to pay his fees, but due to financial problems I could not pay the same. Again I requested Pastor to pray for my financial problems. Soon his admission was done in a good degree college and also my financial problems got cleared.

I give all glory to Lord Jesus for this mighty work in my life and also thank Pastor Saroja for her prayers and kind advise.

Thank You Jesus!

 Bro. Joseph Arikswamy (Goregoan)

Praise the Lord!

• I teach in a coaching class. One of my student had skin problem over the eye lid. I gave prayer oil to my student and advised to apply over the eye lid. By God’s grace and mercy alone, my student is totally healed of the skin problem. I want to thank God and give Him all glory, praise and honour for healing my student. I also thank our dear Pastor Saroja for praying over the oil.

• We were planning to buy a two wheeler and we asked Pastor Saroja’s advice and she said it was ok to buy a bike. We give God alone all glory, honour and praise for this wonderful gift and for making it possible for us to buy a bike. Thanks also to Pastor Saroja for her advice and prayers always for our family. Thank you Jesus!

Sis. Esther Patel (Goregoan)

Praise the Lord!

For the past one year I was having a lot of problems at work. I shared this with Pastor Saroja and requested for her prayers. Within a month, God has answered Pastor Saroja’s prayer and now I have a new boss because of an organization restructuring which I believe God did for me specially!

All praise and glory to my Lord Jesus Christ and for making the seemingly impossible things possible. Thank you Pastor Saroja for your fervent prayers for me always. Thank you Jesus!

Sis. Sandra Daniels, (Bangalore)

Praise the Lord!

My name is Joy Chandrashekar from Chennai. My grandson Issac Roshan was not able to talk from childhood. I spoke to Pastor Saroja and told her to pray on the phone. The Lord heard Pastor Saroja’s prayer and now by God’s grace my grandson is speaking properly and also can understand the words. Lord has given him understanding. I praise God for it and I thank million times to Pastor Saroja for her prayers. God bless Pastor Saroja. Thank you.

 Sis. Joy Chandrashekar – Chennai

 Praise the Lord!

M y name is Rajeshwari from Chennai. I am a widow. Eight years back, I was fasting and praying for 21 days and the Lord appeared to me in a vision and asked me what you want. I asked Lord that I want to build my house, ground floor for myself and upper floor for the Church. But many years passed and it was not happening for building my house. Then I contacted Pastor Saroja and explained her the vision and Pastor Saroja prayed continually for me. This year because of heavy rainfall in Chennai, the rain water came into my house and my full house got spoilt. I called Pastor Saroja and told her about this. Pastor Saroja continued praying for me and also comforted me always. Then suddenly one day, a builder came to my house to rebuild my house for 3 floors. One floor for the builder, one floor for me and one floor for the Church. I heard Pastor Saroja’s message in the T.V. programme, that to give first place always to the Lord. I prayed, let Lord always be the first place in my life and also my house work to get completed.

I give glory to the Lord. I thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers for me and my vision. I thank you Pastor God bless you.

Sis. Rajeshwari – Chennai

   

            Rose of Sharon Christmas Lunches served in Mumbai Slums

On 24^th December 2015, as per the Lord’s bidding, the Rose of Sharon team headed by Pastor Saroja served lunch in the slum areas of Santacruz and Mira Road in North Mumbai. Many weeks ago, Pastor Saroja had received a vision from the Lord to serve food to the less fortunate, the destitute and the poor during Christmas and therein grew the seed which led to this joyous and heartwarming event.

The Lord’s wish was prayed for during the fasting prayers of November and December 2015 and the desire HE placed for this in Pastor’s heart swelled during this time. The Lord provided the resources and able helpers to put together this meal. It was cooked by Pastor and her team of 3-4 selected church members who sat up through the night cooking till the morning.

At 11 am, after saying a prayer, the team of nine including Pastor Saroja left in two cars together from the church, with the hot aromatic food in large deep vessels; and proceeded to the slums in Santacruz. Stopping the car at a strategic location, the slum dwellers were invited to come and partake of a Christmas lunch (or as the slum children themselves excitedly described it – a ‘Jingle Bells Lunch’). The food was ladled out by team members and served to them lovingly by our Pastor herself while the rest of us helped in creating and maintaining the line of hungry children and adults, giving out paper plates, interacting with the slum-dwellers etc.

Thereafter, bidding farewell to the crowd who had fed well on the lunch, we proceeded to Mira Road and visited two slums close to each other. Here also, we called out to the children who came excitedly and thereafter a crowd of hungry children and some parents came running and stood in a line as guided by our volunteers. The food was served in both places and it was only when the last person had been served his plate that we realized the rice had been totally consumed. God is so good that HE ensured the food was given out till the last person!

The majority of the people served were children, some as small as 3 years of age who could barely carry their plate and who were naked, grubby and covered with dust and grime, their faces pink with the cold weather (Mumbai’s coldest Christmas for four decades)and having discharge running down their noses. Pastor mentioned that what was incredible was that though they were dirty and had no opportunity to wash even their hands before eating, they were in relatively good health and this truly is the grace of God. We teach our children to wash up before eating for hygienic purposes, to avoid falling sick – and here are these destitute children who are healthy and happy in their own way. Truly God looks after all His creation wonderfully!

Our children, who have the best in life and lack nothing, must surely give thanks to our Lord for looking after their every need. It is when we visit such areas that we realize our lives are so blessed even as David said in Psalms 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread”

We thank the good Lord for the opportunity given us to be a part of this event and look forward to many more such events led by our loving Pastor Saroja to give praise to God for His awesome kindness and mercy on mankind… exemplified on Christmas day, the day our Abba Father sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to earth, for us destitute children.

Praise the Lord!

Sis. Sandra & Bro. Ramiah Daniels

       

 

 

Become as little children

W e were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly eating and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, “Hi there.” He pounded his fat baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment. I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map. We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. “Hi there, baby; Hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,” the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks,”What do we do?” Erik continued to laugh and answer, “Hi, hi there.” Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, “Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek-a-boo.” Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk. My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skidrow bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments. We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. “Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,” I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby’s “pick-me-up” position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man’s. Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love relationship.  Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man’s ragged shoulder. The man’s eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby’s bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time. I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, “You take care of this baby.” Somehow I managed, “I will,” from a throat that contained a stone. He pried Erik from his chest unwillingly, longingly, as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, “God bless you, ma’am, you’ve given me my New Year gift.” I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, “My God, my God, forgive me.” I had just witnessed Christ’s love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, “Are you willing to share your son for a moment?” when He shared His for all eternity. The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, “To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children.

Pastor Saroja M

Accept the Light of the World and be changed

 

Psalms 104:30 “Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.”In the beginning this earth was without form and empty, darkness was upon the face of this earth. Genesis 1:2-4 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.” God moved His Spirit upon the earth, He created light and then separated the light from darkness.Similarly in our lives too, our former life was without form, it was empty and darkness had filled our lives. Our life was a barren life before, but when God Lord touches our life, he first blesses it with light, thus separated the darkness from our lives. He is a God who brings light into every life. He is a God who shows no partially to mankind. He brings light into every life that He touches and restores peace in every life. John 1:9 “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”Our God is a God who will light up the lives of every man that comes into this world. The God who filled the void of this earth when it was empty, gave it a form and filled it with light. He also separated the light from darkness. The same God also restores the lives of us sinners, whose life once upon a time was without form, empty and filled with darkness. God lights every man that comes into this world. John 8:12 “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”. God says here that “I am the Light of the world, those who follow Him shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life”. Even in our life we will enjoy a complete and everlasting life when we let God into our

lives. God knows that the beginning of our life without Him is unimportant to Him. Just as when He saw this world for the first time, He saw that there was no form on this earth, it was void and darkness filled the earth. There was no benefit on this earth. But God desired to give His light into the world, give it a form, filled it and separated the darkness from this earth. He blessed this earth to prosper and be fruitful. Likewise, today He also desires the same for us mankind, He wants to change our lives and prosper it for the better and make it fruitful. Unless we are born again of Jesus Christ, unless we accept the light of this world into our life, we will continue to be barren and live a life without blessings and lead a dark life. God is the light of this world, thus He says “Those who follow me will never remain in darkness, but lead a life full of light”. After we have accepted this ‘Light of the world’, let us read Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The gentiles of this world will see and glorify the Father God in Heaven. Whether big or small, whether it’s a small program or a big play whatever we do to bring joy into people’s lives; through all this God the Father alone is glorified. We may not even think of our contributions as they may be quite small, but God has seen it all, our God has given us His grace, good health and the time to perform all the singing, praise and plays. This is a good thing for God’s glory, remember it is God who has made us worthy to be His vessel to perform even this small part. It is He who have given us a form, filled our emptiness and separated the darkness from our lives. We must always glorify and magnify His mighty name. But those who do not participate in anything, their lives are moving from darkness into deep darkness towards hell fire. Remember, God separated the light from darkness. Once God touches our lives, our life is filled with light and there is no darkness within us. Thus we need to submit our lives into God’s hand and separate our life from the sins of this world. Our Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to save such perishing souls. Ephesians 2:1 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;”If we do not separate ourselves from the sinners of this world, we will trespass. These are the people who have not been separated from darkness. Remember, God has come to separate our lives from such sins and iniquities. God has come to give our life a new form and fill it with light. Man’s deeds are evil and sinful, thus man is afraid to come into light, lest he be exposed. John 3:19-20 “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”When we are in the light, we shall not be moved and we shall not perish. It is because of our own sins and evil deeds, we are afraid to come before the light of this world, before God. As we stand at the twilight of the old year and are about to dawn in the New Year, let us check out all the sins in our lives and also if there is darkness covering our lives, whether there is there no form in our life. Today, God is once again ready to enter our lives, if we permit Him to come light up and bless our lives. It is only God who can touch our lives and prosper it and bring it into light. God can transform a cursed life into a life of blessing. Isaiah 60:2-3 “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. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” Though the people of this world will be in deep darkness, those who have received the light of the world will display the glory of God upon their lives and the Lord’s name will be glorified above all names. It is thus important for us to accept the light of the world for we are the chosen ones, we have been chosen and given a form and our lives are filled and blessed. We are the ones who have received blessings from God and by His blood we have become His family. Our God has given His life for us, He has shed His blood for us and has given us His light. In the bible, there is story of a King who did not fear God nor loved his people. But one day a widow goes before him and asks him for judgment. A man who did not fear God nor respect man; since this lady persisted with him for judgment, pitied her and finally gave his judgment. But imagine our God who loves us very much; thus when we ask of Him, perhaps today or tomorrow He will surely concede to our request and grant us our desires. If we don’t realize this, one day we will struggle and die as a fish out of water and at the end our struggle will be useless. Just as a newly sown seed, which when it starts sprouting and does not receive water, it withers and dies, so too our end will be in a similar manner. Imagine what will happen to our lives if we do not get God’s grace one day in our life and God turns His face in anger from us for that one day. Let us just think about it! Hence it is important for us to show the people of this world the light that we have received from Him.

Psalms 104:24 “O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.” Our Lord’s work in this world is manifold and full of His richness. Every work of the Lord is perfect and in wisdom He has made them all. The world is made of His riches in heaven. Thus in the New Year let us give our lives into His hands and glorify His mighty name. We need the Spirit of prayer to pray, for without His Spirit we cannot pray.

Ephesians 3:1 “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.”Paul says that “in order to prayer for gentiles, to bring answers to his prayers for others, He is a prisoner of Jesus Christ for the gentiles”. In the books written by Paul, in many places He says written by the Spirit of God and in many places He says written by Paul. Thus, it is important for us to differentiate the same, where Paul shares his experiences with the congregation according to the time, the situation and the need of the congregation. But when Paul preaches the Word and says so says the Spirit of God, we should understand that very carefully and take it into our lives seriously. In the bible Paul has said that for your good health you can drink a little, but Jesus Christ has said in the Word “Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, do not defile it with any vices, I will destroy you”. Here it is important for us to discern the Word and listen to what God’s Spirit says to us. Paul is an ordinary man like you and me. We have seen in the Word, Moses did many mistakes, so did Aaron commit many mistakes, so also did Paul commit many mistakes. Paul in some books also said that ‘women should not speak in public’, but Jesus Christ said that “I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind. My daughters and sons will prophesy”. Thus many preachers will preach the Word differently, but it is the Spirit of God that will help us discern what is right and what is wrong. When the Spirit of God has given us a form, filled our emptiness and brought light into our lives, the same Spirit of God will not leave us as an orphan but will guide us with the truth of the Word.

L uke 3:21-22 “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”Here we see the experience of Jesus Christ after He was baptized at the river Jordan. There were many people who were baptized on that day along with Jesus, but Jesus prayed and the heavens opened and the Holy Ghost descended in a form of a dove upon Him. Here we see the power of prayer by Jesus. Luke 9:28-29 “And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering.”While praying, Jesus’ form changed and His face was shining with the glory of God.Luke 22:43 “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”Imagine with what burden Jesus was praying in the garden of

Gethsemane; His Father sent Him an angel from heaven to comfort and strengthen Him. It is with power of prayer itself that an angel of God was sent to comfort Him and Jesus’ form was changed such that His face shone with the glory of God. Power of prayer is the key in our lives too and we must seek the Spirit of prayer to pray to God. We must constantly humble ourselves before the Lord to receive this blessing.

W as Abraham given a gift on his 99^th Birthday? We don’t know if Abraham cut a cake with 99 candles or whether he received a gift from Sarah. But God ordained that “from today you will not be Abram but you will be known as ‘Abraham’” and that “Sarah would bear a son”. This was Abraham’s 99^th birthday gift. Why was this gift given to Abraham? It was because He let God walk and lead before Him and He was blameless in God’s sight. Genesis 17:5-6 “Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.” We as mere human beings want God to bless us immediately in our lives and we wish that we receive all blessings from God. We may not even be perfect before Him. The day we become perfect and blameless in God’s sight, He will be ready to bless us abundantly. When we do not receive all that we want from God, we must realize we may not be perfect in His sight; we may lack in our faith, our deeds may be sinful, we may be enveloped in sin and evil deeds. If Abraham waited for 99years to receive His wonderful blessings from the Lord, let us too have patience before the Lord. Genesis 17:1 “And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.” God tells Abraham “I will walk before you and you walk blameless before me”. It was by God’s grace alone that Sarah could bear a son according to His promise. It is also by God’s grace alone, that we are blessed and can walk blameless before Him. The God of Israel does not slumber and sleep, He will cast a hook and capture us. His hand is neither shortened nor are His ears deaf to hear us. Let us turn away from this world and turn to God. Psalms 121:4-6 “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.”We are infants before God, and just like an infant cries for milk and the mother awakes ten times at night to feed it, so also God is alert to our cries. He neither sleeps nor slumbers. He is always alert to His children’s cry and call. On one hand He is like a mother and on the other He is like a Father.

2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” As a Father, He says “My grace is sufficient for you and made perfect in weakness”. However weak we may be, He will strengthen us. Paul prayed thrice to the Father to take away his weakness, But God told him “My grace is sufficient for you”. Thus, in faith we must say as in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

“You can do all things not by strength, not by might, but through the Spirit alone” says the Lord. Psalms 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”God is our strength and very present help in our troubled times. At the same time, God expects from us as in Psalms 119:1 “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.”For us to receive from God, we must be obedient to the Word and walk blameless before God. God says to His congregation “if you have ears, hear the Word”.

A cts 3:22-23 “For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” We must be obedient to the Prophet’s Word, for every soul who does not hear the prophet shall be destroyed from amongst the people. Thus, we must fear God always, for the great prophet Jesus Christ was born in our midst. If we do not live our life according to all that He has taught us, we will be destroyed from the face of the earth. His every desire for us is for our own benefit and it is life for us. God spoke to Moses in the wilderness; He was a pillar of fire by night and cloud of shade by day. If we do not obey God, we too will perish like many did in the wilderness. Even if we fall a hundred times, our Lord’s hand is not shortened to lift us up for as many times we may fall.

As we approach the New Year, just as God gave this world form and filled it and spread His light in it and separated the darkness from light, so also the same God will touch our lives and renew it once again in the New Year.

I pray that this Word will bring blessings to many lives and renew them!

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.

O ur next oldest resident in line is uncle Jerry D’souza who is now 63 years old and has been a resident of Kalina, Santacruz. Uncle Jerry is not married and is supported by his sister in law. Due to a drinking habit, he was not sincere towards his job at a chair assembling factory in Jari-Mari in Kurla. He was left on his own by his family and Uncle Jerry was on the streets in a bad state. At that time, his sister in law kept him in her house and took care of him for 2 years and later decided to admit him in an old age home. He was then brought to our home in March 2012 and will now complete 4 years with us in March 2016. While in the home, uncle Jerry has no desire for drinks and is now residing a healthy and a comfortable life.

In appearance, uncle Jerry remains lanky as ever, he continues to weigh around 45 kgs and has a waist of less than 30 inches. It is surprising that he was body building at one time. He remembers the days how he loved to play football and had to stop playing after having his leg fractured.

Uncle Jerry’s behaviour remains the same overall, he loves to sleep and prefers to sleep the entire day. There is very minimal physical movement from him, primarily due to a mild paralytic stroke which affected his hands and legs. His fingers on both the hands have become stiff and crooked due to the stroke, as a result he is unable to fully grip anything, but his right hand has a better gripping ability than the left. Despite his shortcoming, by God’s grace, he uses the walker to go for a bath and also sits down on his own at meal times and during prayer time. He is a complete introvert, will talk only when spoken to and is gentle by nature and will not trouble anyone.

Foodwise, uncle Jerry eats everything that is served without any fuss, but as all East Indians do, his favorite is fish, specially the dry kind, Bombil and kardi. Misal pav and a few others are also in his list of likes.

To conclude, I would say that God has given good health to Uncle Jerry while his stay here with us at the old age home. May our good Lord Jesus be with him and take care of him even in the days to come as he stays with us in the Rose of Sharon old age home at Mira Road. Praise the Lord!!!

Praise the Lord!

2015 has gracefully passed by with a beautiful December at the Rose of Sharon Church.

It’s been a wonderful action-packed month. The most awaited day for the children was the Christmas Program on 23rd of December. They have been practicing for some time now. The Program that evening started with the children’s dance performance which was very energetic and well performed. Joel and Ahaz were at their best with their first stage performance!

Later the kids were filled with excitement as they got the opportunity to watch all the shows put up by the youths, elders and the married couples.  Of course the most enjoyable moment of the day was the arrival of Santa Claus accompanied by clapping, singing and dancing. 

 Later the Sunday School children were distributed gifts… they were very cheerful while they waited attentively for their names to be announced and scooted to the stage the moment their names were called out to receive the gift from our dear Pastor Saroja, what a prestigious moment!

 As we step into to 2016, one of our students, Kenaz, will move out of Sunday School into the youth group. 

 We welcome the new year in Christ and more of learning and knowledge…. and a closer walk with our personal Saviour Jesus Christ.

Praise the Lord!