Praise the Lord, everyone!

On 14th July 2023, we celebrate 19 years of the Rose of Sharon Church, Kalina. Through the years, our good Lord, true to His calling, has been merciful and faithful to me in numerous unimaginable ways. I am ever so grateful to my Saviour Jesus Christ for His Hand of Grace on me and all my Rose of Sharon Church members. Thank you, JESUS!

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus had told this to His disciples, and they knew that without Jesus they could do nothing. This is also true in today’s times, for without Jesus we cannot reach the Father, for the path to the Father is only through JESUS.

While praying on the mount, God the Father revealed to Jesus that His disciples were stuck in a storm. The disciples in the boat were all experienced sailors, but could they stop the storm? No, because the ‘storm’ was not in their control. Likewise, today we may be experienced in all aspects of our family or spiritual life, but can we stop any ‘storm’ in our lives? No, with our human wisdom, we cannot stop any ‘storm’ in our lives, but if Jesus is with us, He alone can be our rescuer in our times of trial and tribulation.

Jesus has said in John 15:4-5 “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”  Even today, no ‘storm’ in our lives can be bound without God’s grace. He alone can rescue us from all types of ‘storms’ in our lives. The disciples knew that they could do nothing without Jesus Christ. Likewise, today, we should also trust and believe in Jesus’ words, and proclaim, ‘Yes! Without Jesus, we can do nothing!’ Only when we are with Jesus, will our lives be safe and prosperous.

Mathew 14:28-29 “And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water. So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.” Peter loved Jesus very much, and though he feared the storm, he immediately jumped off the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus. Why? Peter had complete ‘trust,’ that if Jesus called him, He would take care of him. Hence, a person who was so scared of the storm, on hearing Jesus’ voice, blindly walked on water, knowing that He who called him is faithful, and would take care of him. The Word of God says, ‘Where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty from fear.’

Hence dear brothers and sisters, in this world, we hear many voices in the storm, but through it all, we must learn to hear, obey, and trust the true voice of God; for only when we hear God’s voice, will we not drown in the storms of this world!

May our Good Lord continue to guide and take care of you and all your family members. Praise the Lord!

Your sister in Christ,

Pastor Saroja M

Praise the Lord. I want to glorify my Lord who helped Irwin and Sara to pass this academic year with good marks. Sara’s teacher had complained at the start of the academic year (after the 1^st unit test), that Sara was not writing, not uttering a single word. If this continued, she would have to repeat her Junior KG class once again. I had told this matter to Pastor Saroja, and she assured me of her prayers. By God’s grace alone, in the finals, Sara scored good marks. I thank and praise God Almighty for this wondrous work in my children’s life. I also thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers for us.

*Sis. Esther Patel, Mira Road, Thane.

Praise the Lord! This testimony is of my son Joshua. While playing outside, he fell and hurt his nose, which started bleeding. We took him to the doctor who told us he needed to be operated upon as there was a crack within the nose. We called Pastor Saroja and told her of this injury. The operation was done successfully, and by the Lord’s grace, Joshua is fine now. I give millions of thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for healing Joshua, and I also give lots of thanks to Pastor Saroja for praying for Joshua.

*Bro. Robert Francis, Goregaon, Mumbai.

Praise the Lord! I was suffering from severe throat pain wherein I was unable to swallow anything. During the Saturday Healing Service, I told this to Pastor Saroja, who prayed for me and instructed me to apply the prayer oil. I did as Pastor instructed, and within a day my pain completely vanished away! I give thanks to our Pastor who prayed for me and over the prayer oil. I also give millions of thanks to our Lord Almighty for healing me through Pastors’ prayer and the prayer oil. Thank you, Pastor, for always praying for me and my family.

*Sis. Shelly Pillay, Jogeshwari, Mumbai.

Praise the Lord. I have just completed my 12^th standard, and it was a good journey for me. The Lord has helped me to write my board exam, and though some question papers came different from what I had studied, God gave me the wisdom to write them well. I have passed my 12th standard only by God’s grace. I give millions of thanks to our dear Lord Jesus, and I also thank dear Pastor Saroja for all her prayers for me. Thank You, Jesus!

*Sis. Damaris Patel, Jogeshwari, Mumbai.

Praise the Lord! This testimony is about my son Heresh. Post completing his HSC, he wanted to do audio engineering. Due to unaffordable fees for this course, l was unable to send him to any institute. However, Heresh insisted and kept trying hard to continue his studies in this stream. By God’s mighty grace, he got a full scholarship for a year at a University in Karjat, near Mumbai, and he completed his full term.

Now, for his second term, it was not confirmed whether the scholarship would be continued. Heresh was tense, but our good Lord is alive, and once again He granted another year’s scholarship. This was not possible without our dear Pastor Saroja’s fervent prayers for me and my family. I give all glory to our good Lord and thank our dear Pastor for her heartfelt prayers for me and my family. Thank You, Jesus!

*Bro. Lancelot Lobo, Mira Road, Thane.

There was once a little girl named Jess, who had a younger brother called William. They would go together to the same school.

One day, after returning home from school, they realized they were ravenous and needed to eat something. That very morning, their mother had baked a cake. They opened the refrigerator and saw just enough left to have a slice each.

Her brother William slurped on seeing the piece of cake. He said, ‘Let’s have the cake with some milk. I will slice the cake while you get us two glasses of milk.’

Jess happily went to the kitchen to get two glasses of milk for them, and William began to slice the cake. But the slices were unequal, one being much larger than the other. By now, Jess had come to the table with the two glasses of milk.

William brought the cake and placed a small slice in front of Jess while he took the larger piece for himself. Jess asked, ‘What have you done? You gave me the smaller slice of the cake, while you kept the bigger one for yourself. That is so mean! I would have never given you the smaller piece; instead, I would have taken the smaller piece and given the larger piece to you. I would have thought about you first.’

William felt bad because he knew Jess was hungry, and he was being selfish. ‘I am sorry Jess, here, take some more from me,’ William said. William cut a piece from his slice of cake and gave it to Jess. Jess hugged William. They both began eating their cake and drank up the milk.

Likewise, in our Spiritual lives, in general, people always keep the best for themselves and then contemplate giving the remaining to God.

The Bible says that God considers this as ‘robbing.’ Hence, in whatever we do or say, we should always learn to give the first and the best to God, for He is the one who has given us ALL.

Psalm 121:1-2 “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” In the Holy Scriptures, there are 150 Psalms, and out of these, 3 Psalms are very important in our lives.

Psalm 23:1 “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

Psalm 91:1 “¹He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

All the 3 Psalms (Psalm 23, 91, 121) teach us to live under the shadow and love of God, and are Psalms of praise.

The Israelites would gather regularly on the Mount of Olives, and while climbing up the Mount, the people would sing these psalms of praise. Even Psalms 122 & 124 were sung as praise and worship for the Lord. This brought great joy to the people of Judah.

At one point in time, King Hezekiah was very ill, and God sent the prophet Isaiah to counsel and heal him. King Hezekiah repented, accepting his sinful ways, and God had mercy upon him and healed him, extending his life for another 15 years. At that time, King Hezekiah went up to the temple on Mount of Olives, singing these very psalms of praise. When a person recovers from sickness, he is very weak and cannot walk. But King Hezekiah received his strength from the Lord and could climb up the Mount of Olives, singing and rejoicing for the Lord. By singing praise and worship, he gained strength and power from the Lord. Surely, our help comes from God who created the heaven and the earth. We must always keep our focus on the hills from whence comes our help, for we can gain our strength, power, and love from thence. Psalm 121:1-2 “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”

While our focus must always remain high upon the hills, from where comes the help from the Lord God who made heaven and earth, the enemy will always try to draw our focus to the ground by distracting us. The devil wants to rob us of our blessings, but till our focus stays on the hills, he cannot harm us. However, the moment our focus shifts from the hills, he will attack and weaken us.

King David focused on the hills, praising and worshipping God constantly. But one day he lost his focus. Looking down from his terrace, he was caught in temptation when he beheld another man’s wife, Bathsheba, bathing in her compound. No evil can touch us when we remain focused on our Lord God, but when David lost his focus, he fell into temptation and sinned. 2 Samuel 11:1-3 “And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem. And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Here we see how the devil put David into sin and brought great sorrow into his life. It was not wrong for King David to fall in love with Bathsheba, but the wrong method he used to acquire her, attracted the wrath of God on him. Bathsheba was not only a beautiful woman, she was also very intelligent. Through her came the genealogy of Solomon, whom God chose to build His Holy Temple. 2 Samuel 11:26-27 “And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.” David deceitfully killed Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, and after her mourning period, took Bathsheba as his wife. This displeased God, for David had deceitfully killed her husband Uriah to acquire Bathsheba. This brought the Lord’s wrath upon David.

Always remain focused on the hills where God resides. The moment we shift our focus, the devil will put us into sin. When Jesus Christ fasted forty days and nights, the devil appeared before Him and tried repeatedly to draw His focus away from His Father God. We know that Jesus was always focused on the heavens above, upon His Father God. We must beware of the devil, for he will always try to bring worldly desires in front of us, and we must learn to resist every temptation, for once we lose our focus on God, the devil can bring about our downfall. He will constantly tempt us with carnal desires, desires for wealth, or family – over any desire we may have for God. These worldly desires take us away from God. What did the devil say to Jesus on the Mount? Mathew 4:3-4 “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” The devil told Jesus to command the stones to be made bread to prove Himself, but Jesus replied that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.

Remember the man who was possessed by the devil? Once he was delivered from the devil, he wanted to follow Jesus, because he had tasted and seen God’s love. He realized that while he remained with Jesus, he would always be blessed with good health and sanity. Luke 8:38-39 “Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying. Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.” Jesus told him to stay back in his city and become a witness for him, thereby bringing many more people towards the Mount, from whence comes our help. The same holds good for us too. When we are entwined in God, we will be strengthened and protected by God. What did Zacchaeus do when Jesus met him? He confessed his sins and desired to follow Him. When the blind man was healed, he too wanted to instantly follow Jesus wherever He went.

What did the devil tell Jesus the second time? Mathew 4:6 “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Here, we see how the devil tried to bring Jesus’ focus down to the ground, whereas Jesus’ focus was always on His Father God, high up in the heavens. The devil told Jesus to cast himself down and see if the angels would bear Jesus up, not allowing His foot to be hurt against a stone, as it was written. The devil always tries to bring down our focus from God on high, but Jesus did not for a moment shift His focus from His Father God. Even when Jesus was crucified, the Pharisees and Sadducees said all kinds of things to Him, but Jesus’ focus did not waver from His Father God. Mathew 27:40 “And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

Again, for the third time, the devil tried to distract Jesus’ focus. Mathew 4:8-9 “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” The devil took Jesus to the high mountain and showed Him the world and its glory, promising Jesus all of this, if only Jesus would bow down to him. But Jesus’ focus remained on His Father God.

The devil will try to shift our focus from God, but we must be firmly focused on the Cross of Calvary, and the Mount of God, from whence come our blessings and strength. Colossians 3:1-2 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Never let the devil waver our focus from God. Never be ashamed to do work, whether small or big, for the Lord. The devil will constantly try to waver our focus, but if we have truly been baptized in the Lord’s name, our focus will always stay high up, on Him!

Romans 1:15-16 “So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” We too, must be prepared to work for Christ. Never be ashamed to share the gospel of Christ with the unsaved. If the disciple Thomas had not come to India, would we have known Jesus Christ? Would we have been saved today, if Thomas, when he travelled to India to preach the Word of God, were to have been ashamed to share the gospel of life with us? Similarly, we must be able to share the Gospel of God and the ‘truth of the Word’ with those who have not heard the Word of God. This will be our service to God. For the Lord’s sake, we must be like ‘dustbins,’ on which are generally written ‘use me.’ Likewise, it must be our desire and our motto to be dustbins for the Lord, so that He will use us for His glory!

Revelation 19:14 “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.” These are the people from heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, sitting on white horses. We must be of good service to the Lord, not hesitating or being ashamed to work for the Lord. Only then can we reach the Kingdom of God.

If we are focused on this earth, and we love our brethren more than God, one day Lord will say, ‘I do not know you.’ Never let the devil shift our focus from God, or the hill from whence comes our help. Just as Jesus Christ came into this world to serve and perform His Father’s will, similarly, we too must do the will of our Lord Jesus Christ in this world.

Jesus did not hesitate to wash the feet of His disciples, nor did he hesitate to eat with sinners or even an adulterous woman. The Pharisees and Sadducees murmured that if Jesus were God, He would know that these people Jesus was mixing with were sinners. They could not comprehend how Jesus mixed with sinners. Interestingly, while Jesus Christ was never ashamed to dwell amongst sinners, we sinners have no time for the Lord!

Romans 1:15 “So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.” Always be ready for the Lord, to do any work for His Kingdom. What have we done so far on this earth to earn our home in God’s Heavenly Kingdom? 2 Timothy 2:1-4 “Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” The Apostle Paul exhorts us to be strengthened for the Lord, through His grace. In our lives as God’s children, we must constantly fight battles each day. We must win all our battles according to God’s law. Hence, we must keep the law of God. We must belong to God’s army, fighting this world. When God will ask you, ‘Are you the one who was a part of the army fighting for Me,’ what will you say? Can we be good witnesses for the Lord? What will we write against our names? What did we do to reach the Kingdom of God? Where is our name written, and in which army did we fight for the Lord? The Lord will ask us to write what we have done for Him. It is very important to fight in God’s army to get our names written in the Book of Life. We must not live as the blind of this world do.

Some names written in the Book of Life are mentioned in the Book of Revelation. In the Bible, there are many such names: David, Bathsheba, Rebecca, Isaac, Joseph, Daniel, etc. How many names of the Warriors of the Lord are recorded in the Bible?

Will our names ever be recorded in this Book of Life? Unless our names are in this Book, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. Did we suffer for our Lord, and do good deeds for Him? The Book of Life records all the wonderful service that we have done for the Lord. We too may not remember what we have done, but the Book of Life has our complete record. We will be delighted to hear our names if our names are present in the Book of Life. But, if we have done no good works worthy of being recorded, imagine our plight on that day, when reality will stand naked before us.

We must fight wars and become warriors for the Lord. We must become ‘dustbins’ for the Lord, so that the Lord may use us. Else, we will remain foolish individuals. Yes, the people of this earth do not know the truth, and they live their lives in a carefree manner. Remember, many are called, but few are chosen. Who are the chosen ones? They are those who fight wars and win battles for the Lord. Those who keep God’s commands in this world will be made the chosen ones. We are a privileged congregation, for we get good messages every weekend. But what is the use if our lives continue in their sinful ways? Become a ‘dustbin’ for the Lord and let God use you. We cannot get the Crown of Glory unless we fight on Earth for it. We must be focused on the work Jesus Christ came to do on this earth. Hebrews 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.”

Enoch walked with the Lord for 300 years of His life. He served God and walked with Him as a friend. Without such faith, we cannot please God. Hebrews 12:14 “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” We will never know the love of God if we do not become a ‘dustbin’ for Him. We are filled with filth and unclean qualities within us. Even as the dustbin contains dirt from this earth, we must plead with the Lord that He uses us.

Psalm 42:2 “My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?” Do not simply be spectators simply watching the hill, but also gain the experience of climbing these hills. Our desire must always be to reach God’s kingdom quickly. To ascend this hill, we need to undergo the climb. We will feel hungry, thirsty, tired, and even weak, but we must climb the hill and show our love for God, by following Him. Psalm 15:1-2 “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?  He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” David asks God who will abide in His temple, and who may dwell on God’s Holy Hill. When David sinned and lost God’s grace, he cried bitterly when he realized how he had hurt God. It was at that time that he spoke the truth in his heart. When David climbed that Holy Hill, he derived God’s strength, love, and power. Hence, he wrote this lovely Psalm. Every year the people of Israel walked up the holy mountain, and whilst climbing, they sang David’s psalm as a hymn. Will you and I climb up the mountain? We must have a great love for God to climb His Holy Hill. What is righteous within us? What is the truth within us? In the Holy Bible, we have answers to all these questions. We must grow deeper in the Word.

Each of us will do anything for our families, but what are we doing for our Lord? The Lord will never make anything less for us. He will always do much more than we can hope or ask for. God told Noah to build an Ark and He gave Noah all the specifications of the Ark. Similarly, God asked Solomon to build him a Temple, giving him all the specifications for it. But today, for you and me to serve God, He has not given us any specifications. Rather, God has told us to ‘enlarge your place and stretch forth.’ Isaiah 54:2 “Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.” The Lord did not tell man to only stretch this much and not more. This is God’s love for us, where there is no boundary for His love.

God has not given us any specifications to enlarge our tents. When God’s grace is upon us, and when we become dustbins for the Lord and ask God to use us, we can be enlarged with no limitations! What a wonderful God we have. He asks us to stretch beyond our imagination, there being no boundary for our service for Him. Our God is a good God, and He has done a lot for us. He loves us unconditionally. He was born on this earth as a man, and for us He lived and died. Now He has risen and lives forever more. There is a song we sing ‘Mein Masih ka Hoon, hum Masih ke hain.’

Never be ashamed to work for the Lord, for our God has done so much for us. Remember what the Scriptures say about the End Times being at hand? Are we truly the Lord’s children? Or are we simply followers of the Lord God, doing whatsoever we please for the Lord?

Now, as you look up to the Lord, ask yourself – what are you doing for the Lord?

Let this word bless you all,

Pastor Saroja M.

Praise the Lord, dear brothers, and sisters in Christ.

The rains have finally arrived in Mumbai, and all of us are experiencing a sense of relief from the terrible summer since Mumbai experienced extraordinary heat this year!

A discussion with the residents comes to mind while writing this article. During the Church service at the Mira Road Church, we normally do not put the AC on, as the residents feel cold. But this month they requested the AC to be on during church service as they were feeling quite hot.

Our God is so kind that he has provided everything so that the residents are comfortable in every type of weather. Thank you, Jesus!

With the rains comes its share of troubles, but through it all God’s hand of grace and mercy is with our residents, and He takes care of them come rain or shine!

Do continue to pray for our residents and take care of all the elderly at your respective homes!

Pastor Saroja M.

Praise the Lord! It is raining lightly, and the little ones are enjoying it. Just as they are adjusting to their classes in their new standard and enjoying the rain with new raincoats and umbrellas, they are simultaneously growing in the word of the Lord.

The juniors are learning about the unconditional blessing that the Lord can give us, through the story of Elijah and the Widow. The Lord asked Elijah to go to the Zarephath widow and ask for a morsel of bread, though she had nothing but a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar. But, because she obeyed the Lord’s command (through Elijah), the bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry until the day that the Lord sent rain upon the earth.

The intermediate children are learning about the demon-possessed mute man in Mat 9:32-34. He was mute as he was demon-possessed, but the Lord Jesus healed him. He cast out the devil and the man spoke. The multitude marvelled, saying they had never seen such things in Israel. Such is the Lord’s power!

The senior ones are learning about the Ark of the Covenant being brought back to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6. They learned how good it is to have the ark of the Lord in one’s home and how one can be blessed through it, even as the house of Obededom was blessed. David decided to bring the ark to the City of David with gladness, shouting, and the sound of the trumpet. The children learned how we may be cursed, even as Michal, when we may despise praise to the Lord in any fashion. It is better to be more undignified and humbler before the Lord, for then we shall have more blessings.

Do continue to lift our Sunday School children in your daily prayers that the Lord may strengthen them daily in every situation of their lives.

 

 

Kids Corner