Editor’s Note

I greet you all in the most precious name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God bless you all this Harvest season and let the Lord be with you always even to the end of the age.

The faithful man will be blessed, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. Proverbs 28:20 “A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.”   

 We are living in a world where there is no truth. Wherever we look around we are surrounded by lies, cheating and evil. We are living in the midst of such people. To find truthful people nowadays is extremely difficult. We expect all people to be honest with us, but are we honest to them? We are not examining ourselves as to whether we are honest.

Parents are expecting the truth from their children. Teachers expect truth from their students. A husband expects the truth from his wife. The Bible says in Psalms 12:1 “Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.”

Many years before Jesus’ advent into this world, King David had said the above words. By continuing to speak lies our conscience has been silenced. Proverbs 20:6 “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”

Beloved ones, our lives before the people, before our management and before our Lord should be truthful. When you are truthful, even if all of your enemies come to destroy you, they can do nothing. Matthew 25:21 “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

In my life when I became a believer I did not become a Pastor immediately. There were many senior people before me, many who knew the word of God and many who were anointed. However, they did not receive the post I eventually received… so how much more faithful I should be to my Lord. Since I was faithful over a few things he made me ruler over many things.

Hence do not quench your spirit, for promotion comes from our Lord.

See the testimony of Daniel in his life. Daniel 6:4 “Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; for as much as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”

In the same way the enemy is waiting to find fault in you. Let us examine ourselves daily. The Lord was watching Daniel and He found no fault in him and hence the Lord shut the mouths of all the lions. If similarly the truth is in you, no enemies have right over you. If you are not faithful in small things how can you be faithful in big things? Proverbs 22:29 “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”

So my beloved ones, be faithful to yourselves and to the Lord, and you will receive the best blessings this harvest. May God Bless you.

In the Lord’s vineyard

Pastor Saroja M

Praise the Lord. My wife was experiencing severe pain in her stomach. I was worried as to what to do for she was crying from pain. I thought to take her to the doctor, but then I decided to call up Pastor Saroja and wait on the Lord. Pastor advised certain things to do. I followed the same. By God’s grace she got relief from the pain and slept peacefully that whole night. I give all glory and praise to Lord Jesus for healing her. I also thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers.

Bro. Hardik Patel, Mira Road

Praise the Lord. I am Manjit Singh from Amritsar. My wife was suffering from an itching skin problem since the past six months. After watching the Rose of Sharon TV Program on Shubhsandesh Channel. I requested for prayers for her from the prayer helpline number. God has touched and healed her. I thank Lord Jesus for healing my wife and thank the Rose of Sharon prayer helpline for praying.

Bro. Manjit Singh, Amritsar (ROS TV Program Viewer)

Praise the Lord. My husband was suffering from fever continuously for more than a week. As he could not even eat anything, he was admitted to the hospital and kept on drip. I then called the Rose of Sharon prayer helpline and requested for prayers. The very next day I again called up the prayer helpline number to convey the happy news that my husband on whom we had lost all hopes that he would get alright as he neither was able to get up on his own nor was able to eat food since so many days, has been healed. I thank Lord Jesus Christ only, for healing my husband. I also thank the Rose of Sharon prayer helpline for praying for my husband.

Sis. Sunita Masih, Bihar (ROS TV Program Viewer)

Praise the Lord. My name is Jayshree. I am originally from Assam and I got married into a family in Rajasthan. I was very uncomfortable as our culture and language is different. My in-laws also used to keep themselves aloof from me and they did not respect me. I started feeling quite lonely and unwanted. After watching the Rose of Sharon TV Program, I called up the Prayer Tower. The brother over there prayed for me and assured me of continued prayers. I am very happy to state that today my in laws have accepted me with all respect and honour. I give all glory to God who heard the prayers made for me and answered them. I also thank the Rose of Sharon Church for their prayers for me. Thank You Jesus.

Sis. Jayshree, Rajasthan. (ROS TV Program Viewer)

Praise the Lord. In the first trimester of my pregnancy I was diagnosed with internal bleeding due to which there was a formation of a blood clot beside the baby placenta. I told this matter to Pastor Saroja and she assured me of her prayers. By God’s grace, when I went for the next sonography the blood clot had dissolved. I give all glory to Lord Jesus for healing me and keeping my baby under His wings in my womb. I also thank Pastor Saroja for her fervent prayers.

Sis. Esther Patel, Mira Road.

I don’t understand it, but in the city of Chicago, one cold dark night, a blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner; the people were in and out of the cold. The little boy was so cold so he walked up to a policeman and said, Mister, you wouldn’t happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight would you? The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, “you go down the street to that big white house and you knock on the door.” “when they come out the door you just say John 3:16 and they will let you in.”

Then he did; he walked up the steps to the door, and knocked on the door and a lady answered. He looked up and said, “John 3:16.” The lady said “Come on in, son.” He sat there for a while, and thought to himself “John 3:16 I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.” The lady took him in the kitchen and sat him down to a table full of wonderful food. He ate and ate until he couldn’t eat anymore. Then he thought to himself “John 3:16… Boy, I sure don’t understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full.” She took him upstairs to a bathroom to a huge bathtub filled with warm water and he sat there. As he soaked, he thought to himself,” John 3:16… I sure don’t understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. You know, I’ve not had a bath, a real bath, in my whole life. The only bath I ever had was when I stood in front of that big old fire hydrant as they flushed it out.” The lady came in, took him to a room and tucked him into a big old feather bed. And pulled the covers up around his neck and kissed him goodnight and turned out the lights. Coming down on that cold night, he thought to himself, “John 3:16… I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested.”

The next morning, she took a big old Bible and sat down in front of him and asked, “Do you understand John 3:16?” He said “No, Ma’am, I don’t.” The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman told me to use it. She opened the Bible to John 3:16, and she began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there in front of that big old fireplace he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought, “John 3:16. I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe.” You know, I have to confess I don’t understand it either, How God would be willing to send His son to die for me, and how Jesus would agree to do such a thing. I don’t understand it either, but it sure does make life worth living.

Pastor Saroja M

Don’t bow before other gods

Jude 1:9 “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” Moses was a disciple of God who lived a full life of 120 years. After his death, there was a dispute between the angel of God and the evil one in regard to claiming his body. In the verse above, we see that Michael the Archangel had come to claim his body while the evil one also came to claim it. Even today in this world we see that there is infighting within families over claiming the dead body of their loved ones. We see many a times siblings fighting for the dead body of their loved ones. Many a times our lives are not lived as a true testimony for the Lord, hence on this earth there are disputes over a dead body. Moses lived a righteous life, he was chosen as a leader to bring out the Israelites from bondage to freedom. God commanded Moses to bring His people, the Israelites, out of bondage into the land flowing with honey and milk. We know that the Lord spoke to Moses face to face. But after his death, the evil one fought for his dead body. What about you and me? It is important for us to ponder on this aspect of life. We are surely getting closer to end times. When we see signs and things happening around us, like people disappearing in large nos, or if we read the newspaper and watch the TV news we can see these truths of life. We never know, an entire church congregation can disappear… one can never tell. It is important for us to be more diligent in life. Seeing Moses’ life and how the evil wanted to claim his body, we must be enlightened too. In the Holy Scriptures we know the story of the beggar Lazarus and the rich man. After Lazarus’ death the angel of God came and took away Lazarus’ body but the rich man’s body was taken by the evil one into the hell fire. Surely this will happen during end times, where the evil one will also come to claim the bodies from this earth. But remember, we should never be concerned about our physical body, for it is our soul that we need to save. It is important that our soul enters into eternal rest, in peace with God. The fight for Moses’ body was not for his soul, rather it was for his physical body. The evil will come to claim our physical body because most of the sins we commit are bodily and carnal in nature. It is because of our carnal thoughts and actions that we sin. Hence in the verse above, we see that the evil one came along with the Archangel Michael, to take away Moses’ body.

None of us are perfect, we are living in this sinful world, and hence we all sin. But our physical body is the temple of God and God resides in this temple. Hence we must keep this temple holy and pure for the Lord. If we fear the Lord each day, our body will remain holy for the Lord God and we will surely keep it pure and clean. The evil one will never win over us then. How should we keep this temple i.e. our body holy for the Lord? Revelation 14:7 “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The end times are close at hand, the Day of Judgment is getting closer. This is the Grace Period wherein we need to sanctify our holy temple by always praising and worshipping our Lord God. We all know this phrase ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ We must always praise and worship our Lord God with reverence, for His time is drawing nearer and nearer. The Israelites wandered for 40 years in the wilderness and Jericho was the first city they reached. When they reached this city they could not enter into Jericho since the city was walled and its gates were closed. But the Lord God spoke to Joshua in Joshua 6:2 “And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.” In our lives too we may face such huge hindrances, even as the Israelites faced the Jericho wall. However huge the mountain we face, God can clear the way for us. Just as God spoke to Joshua that He had already given the King and the men of valour into his hands, similarly God also speaks to us in the same manner today, and by this our faith should be strengthened. We know that during Noah’s times, the people had never seen rains before. Thus when God told Noah to prepare an Ark and said that He would send rain, Noah simply believed God. But other than Noah and his family, no one believed him when he preached what God asked him to preach. People mocked at Noah, they insulted him and made a mockery of him. But Noah continued to preach the message of God and continued to build the Ark to its completion. Noah too had never seen the rains before, yet he believed what God spoke to him. We see here in the above verse, how God spoke to Joshua and told him that He has already given the Kings and the mighty men into Joshua’s hands. Many a times our Lord God speaks to us too, but we do not believe His Word. We will never receive the blessings that God has kept for us if we disbelieve His Word.

Joshua warns the Israelites before God’s promise was fulfilled in their life. Joshua 6:17-19 “And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.” Joshua warned the people and instructed them not to lay their hands on any material things in Jericho for everything was cursed in this land. There was only one family, the family of Rahab that they needed to save, as this family gave shelter to the Israeli spies who went and hid in their home earlier. The Lord God had cursed this land and hence everything here was unholy. No one could pick up the spoils of war from Jericho and hurt the Lord God… Joshua alerted them to be careful and be warned in this regard. He also commanded that all the silver, gold and precious jewels that the Israelites would lay their hands on, should be brought into the holy temple of God. Joshua 7:1 “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.” Even today, the Lord speaks to us through the Word, but none of us pay heed to His Word. Joshua had warned the Israelites not to lay their hands on anything in Jericho, for it was all cursed; yet in spite of this warning the people disobeyed. Because of this disobedience, the anger of God came upon the Israelites.

God is with us even today, just as in the olden days when God spoke through His prophets. Today also He is speaking to us through His chosen prophets. God has promised us that He is going to prepare mansions for us and He will come back and take us along to these mansions. Just as God promised Joshua that He had given the King and the valiant men into Joshua’s hands, likewise even in our lives God has promised us the same. During our journey on this earth we need to be obedient to the Lord’s voice and Word. We must never defile ourselves with things of this world. What He has warned not to mingle in, we should not mingle with them or with the things of this world; but whatsoever God asks us to do we must do at any cost to our lives. The Word says ‘Those who save their life will lose their soul, and those who lose their life will save their soul.’ Our Lord warns us to keep away from all unclean things of this world.

Joshua looked at Achan and says in Joshua 7:19 “And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.” When we openly confess our sins to the Lord, we glorify His name. We should never hide our sins, for there is nothing our God does not know, and we cannot hide anything from Him. Repentance is very important in our life.

We know David committed a huge sin, yet immediately when the Prophet of God warned him, he repented and it is at that time he wrote Psalm 51 – a Psalm of Repentance. He glorified the Lord through his repentance. This was why God said that David was a man after His own heart. Remember, when we confess our sins, we glorify our Lord God’s name. Psalm 51:3,4 “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.” David thus confessed his sins to the Lord God.

Joshua asked Achan to confess his sins to the Lord. Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” We must always repent for our sins openly before God and never even try to cover them up. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” When we confess our sins openly, we glorify God and He is ready to forgive our sins immediately. We should never be of the opinion that God does not know our sins; if so, then we are foolish and will lose His grace. God has made the way for us to come out of our sins. It is our disbelief in Him that makes us think that our God knows nothing of our sins. Our God is gracious to us, we must remember He spent six hours on the Cross to make the way for us to get remission of our sins.

Daniel was captured by King Nebuchadnezzar and taken to Babylon where he lived in captivity. Yet Daniel did not take his life for granted, and he continued in his righteousness and holiness before the Lord. He constantly prayed and glorified God and lived the narrow holy path, keeping away from wrongful and sinful acts. Though Daniel lived in Babylon, he did not behave like the Babylonians, rather he continued to live a righteous life in his body and spirit for the Lord. 1 Corinthians 6:20 “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” We too live in a sinful world today, yet we must live for the Lord and keep ourselves from sinning in this world. This will be our victory. It is important for us to live a righteous and holy life. Our Lord God has purchased us with his priceless and precious blood from the evil one. We must glorify God today though our spirit and soul and must never betray Him. Daniel 1:8 “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” Daniel had already made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the food and water of the land of Babylon. We must always remember that our body is God’s holy temple; if we destroy or defile it God will destroy us. We must fear God always. He is a God who neither sleeps nor slumbers, and constantly watches over His children. 1 Corinthians 3:17 “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” God’s temple is holy, and you and I are His holy temple – we must not defile it with our vices, just as Daniel decided that he would not defile himself with anything from the land of Babylon. Remember, the end times are close at hand and we must open our spiritual eyes and ears and recognize these end times. Let us see how Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego’s faith in God was, for their faith did not permit them to bow down to the golden statue made by Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel 3:13–26 “Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king’s commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.”   Daniel 3:17–18 says “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” This is the kind of faith and love for God that must dwell within us. Even if we die, we should never bow down before other gods. We should never be deceived as Christians. Just as we get incentives in this world for a job well done, likewise our reward and incentive will also be accumulated in the Kingdom of God for us. For the lusts of this flesh, we should never find shortcuts in this world.  Our Lord God will never forsake us ever, and it is we who should live in fear and love of God.

Isaiah 43:2 “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.” When we live in the fear and love of God, this promise is for us. Daniel was put into the den of lions, but the lions could not destroy him. This was mainly because Daniel had not defiled himself in Babylon. The people who put Daniel into the den were killed by the lions when, on the King’s command, they were thrown into the lions’ pit thereafter; but since Daniel’s body was not defiled, the lions could do nothing to him. In our lives too, we must ensure to live a righteous life. If we live a sinful life today, the evil one will gain victory on our lives in future. John 13:32 “If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.” We must always praise and glorify the name of our Lord God, and our God will lift us up from time to time. Whether we walk through the fire, the floods, or any danger, we need not worry. Mathew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Through our works in this world, God is glorified. Our evil works bring defamation to the Lord, but our good works glorify our Lord God. We constantly need God’s love and we must not hurt Him. We cannot buy His love. On the contrary, God has purchased us by paying for our redemption with His life on the Cross, because of His love for us. God must always be happy with our works. Our ways should be pleasing in His sight; His grace and mercy should always be upon us and He should always be proud of His children. Many people in this world would like our downfall, but our faith must be on our God. God has never promised us life without trials. God has said ‘In this world you will have trials and tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome this world.’ Our faith and trust thus must be upon our wonderful Lord God alone. 1 Peter 2:12 “Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” We should not care to please the people of this world, rather we must always please God in everything we do. We are never alone and we are not orphans, for God is our Father. He alone needs to be glorified and magnified in this world. We must deny this world to gain the Kingdom of God. When people of this world hate us, we must be happy for we become more beloved of the Lord. Just as David confessed, Achan confessed and Daniel professed his faith by denying the things that could defile his body – through all this the Lord God was glorified. We too must confess our sins to God and continue to walk in His promise. Our eventual world is the eternal Zion; in this world we are only journeying towards Zion.

I pray that this Word will bless all those who read it. Praise the Lord!

Pastor Saroja M.

Greetings to all our dear readers in the holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this month’s edition of the magazine, we would like to introduce you to our new resident, Granny Werubai Waidande, a born again Christian who is 63 years old.

Granny Werubai suffers from high blood pressure and giddiness. She always reads the Bible and prays to God and likes to share her testimonies with all our other residents in the ashram.

Granny Werubai also likes to help us in household chores like cutting vegetables or folding clothes in the ashram. She is not fussy about food and eats whatever has been served to her.

May our dear Lord heal all her sicknesses and keep her and all our other residents in good health.

Wishes for a Happy Harvest from all our residents at Rose of Sharon old aged home to all our readers.

Thank You Jesus, Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord! This harvest season we would like to thank our Abba Father for the great harvest of the little souls that    have been added to our Sunday school.

As we continue to explore the book of Acts. The kids further learnt about the life of Paul and his journeys to continue preaching the word of God to the Jews and the Gentiles.

They learnt about the story of Paul and Silas been bound in prison for preaching the word of God. From this lesson the kids learnt that even in most tough situation when in prison they did not stop praising God . They learnt that it’s important to praise God at all times.

Also as the kids prepare for their mid-year school examination, the excitement for the preparation for the Christmas programs kick in. The preparation phase for the songs and dramas have begun and feeling of festive season has begun at our Sunday school.

Do continue to remember our little one’s in your daily prayers.

May the excitement for the upcoming season of Christmas continue to spread to you all.

Joy Salins