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Editor's Note - Pastor Saroja
Testimonies
The parable of
the butterfly
Dear Readers and well wishers
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God's immense love - An Easter Gift
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Editor’s Note

I
greet all my beloved ones in the name of our resurrected Lord Jesus
Christ.
The
Lord loves us with an everlasting love. Therefore by His everlasting love
He has redeemed you and me.
Pilate brought Barabbas a notorious prisoner and Jesus before the Jews,
and asked them who he should free of the two.
Matthew 27:17 - Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said
unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which
is called Christ?
The
Jews left Jesus but chose Barabbas to be released. They cried out more
loudly that they should crucify Christ. Then he released Barabbas to them,
and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.
When
Barabbas was standing near the Cross of Calvary and watching Jesus on the
cross, he must be thinking if it was not for Jesus, it would be me who
would be hanging on the cross. But like the sheep that is silent before
the shearers, He was silent for my sake and took away my sins as a Lamb of
God.
My
beloved brothers and sisters, I put myself in Barabbas’ place near the
cross. I am thinking myself that:

ü
It
is for my sins sake He who knew no sin became a sinner.
ü
To
make me righteous, He became unrighteous.
ü
He
was wounded for my transgressions.
ü
He
was bruised for my iniquities.
ü
The
chastisement of my peace was upon Him.
ü
To
heal me He took the stripes on His body.
ü
To
give eternal life to me, He took all my iniquities upon Him.
ü
To
give me Heavenly blessings, He humbled Himself to the cross.
ü
To
give me eternal life, He was despised and rejected by men.
Yet
it pleased the Father to bruise Him, He has put Him to grief.
Who
shall separate me from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? Yet in all these
things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am
persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come. Nor height, nor depth,
or any other created thing shall be able to separate me from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God’s love was seen on the cross at
Golgotha. So decide to love Him with all your heart.
Pray
to the Lord in tears to make me love Him more than what I do today. How
great is His goodness and how great is His beauty. It is great to be
filled with His love and remember His love. The love of this world can
change and the love of man may decrease. But God’s love is unchanging, it
will not decrease, but increase. The Bible says in
John
13:1 - Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour
was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having
loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
Apostle
Paul was totally immersed in God’s love. He totally sacrificed himself for
God’s love. Once when Paul was going to Jerusalem he had a lot of
problems. When the other believers came to know of it, they tried to stop
him with tears. But Paul comforted them by saying,
Act
21:13
- Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I
am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name
of the Lord Jesus.
So dearly beloved always let your first love and total love be towards
God.
Mary
Magdalene loved God with all her heart. Even after Jesus’ death it did not
decrease. Early in the morning she got up and went to Jesus’ grave. She
did not see Jesus so she was crying in sorrow. She supposed Jesus to be
the gardener.
John
20:15 - Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?
She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have
borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him
away.
My
beloved ones do you have the same love for Jesus?
Judges
5:31
says
- So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be
as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty
years.
That
you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you
may cling to Him, for He is your life and length of your days. So dearly
beloved, may God bless you and keep you in good health and perfect peace
in His name.
Wish
you all a very Happy Easter.
Pastor Saroja M.

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Praise the Lord. I thank my Lord Jesus for giving me an opportunity to
testify of His goodness to me. An NRI believer brother had met Pastor
Saroja about 3 months back and expressed his desire to sponsor the
education of some poor children. Pastor advised him; why not help my
church people? He agreed to that and 2 months ago Pastor had taken the
family photos and sent it to him and one was of my family. Last week he
came down to
India
and contacted Pastor Saroja and we went tomeet him. The Lord fulfilled
Pastor’s heart’s desire. The Lord is so good. The brother met me, and gave
a cheque of Rs.18,300/- as the school and tuition fees of my two children
for the present year. He also promised Pastor Saroja, he wants to continue
to sponsor their education in the future. I thank the Lord for this
miracle and my grateful thanks to Pastor Saroja for guidance and prayers
without which this would not be possible.
**
Bro. AnandGaikwad, Ghatkopar
Praise the Lord. I had minute boils on my chest, and it was spreading
from my chest to my arms and back. On Saturday after the healing service,
I told this matter to Pastor Saroja. Pastor advised me to apply the prayer
oil, because I was suffering from very bad itching. By Lords’ grace and
mercy the itching and boils both vanished. I give all glory to Lord Jesus
and I also thank Pastor Saroja for praying over the prayer oil.
**
Bro. Hardik Patel, Goregaon (E)
Praise the Lord. I thank the Lord for giving me one more opportunity to
testify his wondrous work in my life. First week of January, I was
suffering from severe stomach pain for 3 days continuously. The pain
would last for 15-20 mins. I took medicines but nothing happened. Then
during the fasting prayer I informed Pastor Saroja about this. Pastor
assured me of her prayers and told me to apply the prayer oil on my
stomach. After some time the pain subsided and I was well once again. I
give lots of thanks to the Lord and also thank Pastor for praying over the
prayer oil and always praying for me and my family whenever we need it.
**
Sis. Shelly Arikswamy, Jogeshwari
Praise the Lord. All glory, honour and thanks to my Saviour Almighty
who has made this testimony possible. In the month of December, I was
informed that I had to organize my company’s Asia
Pacific Conference in
India.
This was the first time an event of such magnitude was being organized by
India.
I firstly informed our Pastor Saroja to lift me up in prayers to have a
successful conference. It was also challenging, since it was not in
Mumbai. My gratitude and heartfelt thanks to Pastor for her prayers
through which the conference concluded to a thumping success.All glory and
honour to my Saviour Jesus who gave me victory once again and lifted me up
with His grace and mercy as always, against all odds. Thank you Jesus!
Praise you Jesus!
**
Sis. June Anchan
 Praise
the Lord. I thank and praise my God for His abundant grace and mercy over
my life which I would like to testify here. I had come for the fasting
prayer and while going back to my home, I was travelling with my son on
his bike. On the way my hand bag which was on my lap got stuck on the
handle of the other bike. I first let go my bag on the spur of the
moment. God saved me from a serious accident that day. Ithank my Lord for
the deliverance and for Pastor’s prayer for me and my family.
My
second testimony is that while coming down from the staircase of my home,
I slipped and fell and got hit on my head. My head was swollen and I had a
lot of pain. I contacted Pastor Saroja over the phone; she prayed over me
and told me to apply the prayer oil. I became alright and the pain
disappeared. I thank the Lord for this healing and sincerely thank Pastor
for her prayers and for her advice.
Thank you Jesus
**
Sis Natty Amanna, Asalpa
 Praise
the Lord. My son Ahaz is 2½ years old. For one month he had cough and cold
with vomiting and was unable to eat food. We showed him to the doctor, he
gave him some medicines which stopped his cough and vomiting for some time
but again it repeated. I informed Pastor Saroja about my son. She assured
us of her prayers and told me to put little prayer oil in water and give
my son. I did exactly what she said. Now my son is completely alright and
his vomiting has stopped. I praise and thank the Lord. I also thank Pastor
Saroja for her prayers and the advice.
**
Bro. Robert Francis, Goregaon (E)
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The parable of the butterfly
As a butterfly soared overhead, one caterpillar said to the other,
"You'll never get me up in one of those things."
Yet
for every caterpillar the time comes when the urge to eat and grow
subsides and he instinctively begins to form a chrysalis around himself.
The chrysalis hardens and you'd think for all the world that the
caterpillar is dead.
But one spring morning the life inside the chrysalis begins to writhe,
the top cracks open, and a beautifully-formed butterfly emerges. For
hours it will stand stretching and drying its wings, moving them slowly
up and down, up and down. And then, before you know it, the butterfly
glides aloft, effortlessly riding the currents of the air, alighting on
flower after gorgeous flower, as if to show off its vivid colors to the
bright blossoms. .
Somehow, the miracle of the butterfly never loses its fascination for
us. Perhaps because the butterfly is a living parable of the promise of
resurrection.
On
Easter morning the disciples saw Jesus' graveclothes lying on the cold
slab still wrapped round and round the corpse. Only the corpse was gone,
much like an empty chrysalis deserted by a butterfly who has left to
soar free. "He is risen as He said," an angel told the incredulous
disciples. Later that day he appeared to the disciples, and then, over
the course of the next few weeks, to as many as five hundred people at
one time. Even "Doubting Thomas" didn't doubt for long that Jesus was
really risen from the dead.
What do we Christians say in the face of death? There are many
mysteries. But two things we know for sure. First, death is an enemy.
Away with the sentimentality that vainly seeks to disguise death's
insult! But second, and more important, Jesus' resurrection from the
grave is God's proof to us that death is not the end. The empty tomb and
Jesus' Spirit within us testify that Easter morning is God's triumph
over death. And ultimately, Jesus promised, God will raise from the dead
us who believe in His Son.
Why do Christians gather on Easter morning? To show off their fine
clothes or give a ritual tip of the hat to religion? God forbid! Rather
we gather to celebrate Jesus' victory over death itself. For since He is
our Lord and our Savior, His victory is our victory. In celebrating His
resurrection we celebrate our own assurance of ultimate triumph over
death.

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Pastor Saroja M
God’s
immense love – An Easter Gift
Let
us look to the Cross with faith and believe that Jesus Christ’s suffering,
pain, sorrow and body was completely broken for you and me. He is truly a
God who loves us very much. In spite of all the suffering and humiliation
on the Cross, let us see what is Jesus’ desire for you and me, what does
He tell His Father God and what is in His heart for you and me. Luke
23: 34
“Then
said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they
parted his raiment, and cast lots.”
Jesus tells His Father, even in that completely broken and bruised
condition with blood profusely oozing out of his wounds, “Father forgive
them, for they know not what they do”.
Even
in that condition, Jesus’ heart beating for us was only with ‘Love’.
Scientist and researchers say that Jesus suffered on the Cross for six
hours, Yes, all these six hours He only prayed for us to His Father God
“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”. This is because He
loved us then and He loves us even today. Unless we come to Him with a
true conscience, we will not get deliverance from our sins even today.
2000 years ago, even the ones who struck Jesus Christ, the ones who spat
on Him and humiliated Him, were also delivered by the same blood by which
we are delivered today i.e. by the blood shed on the Cross of Calvary.
None of us can say that we are pure and sinless. We need the blood of
Jesus to deliver and wash us from our sins and unrighteousness. Hence, let
us listen to the whisper of our conscience and put our hands across our
heart and contemplate upon what Jesus said “Father forgive them, for they
know not what they do”. When we acknowledge Him and come before Him in
truth, our God will be ready to wash and clean us of our sins, however
crimson red they may be; whatever may be the kind of sin, we can get
remission for our sins and be washed by His pure, priceless blood.
Jesus’
inner quality, i.e. His forgiving nature, His healing touch for illness
and bondage; we have seen this same nature on the Cross. Peter writes
about this quality of Jesus in 1 Peter 2: 23 “Who,
when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened
not; but committed
himself
to him that judgeth righteously.”
Peter says that when Jesus was reviled, He did not revile and when He
suffered He did not threaten. When Jesus carried the Cross, He did not
threaten the people saying “wait and watch when I rise again after three
days, I will punish you”. No, Jesus did not threaten the people in any
which way. But, rather, He continued to pray to His Father saying “Father
forgive them, for they know not what they do”. Jesus whole heartedly
surrendered His life on the Cross without any murmurings, so that we get
saved and we become righteous by His death. Our God is a good God, He is a
God who forgives, He is a God who delivers us from any and every type of
sin. It is written in Psalms 86: 5 “For
thou, Lord,
art
good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call
upon thee.”
Our God is a good God and is ready to forgive and His mercy is abundant to
all those who call upon Him. This is a Psalm written even before Jesus
came into this world and His quality was very clearly described in this
Psalm. It is the same quality that we see on the Cross when Jesus was
crucified. He is a good God and merciful even at the time of His death, He
intercedes for you and me to His Father and says “Father forgive them,
for they know not what they do”.
The people of
those times did not recognize these qualities of Jesus; they did not know
Him at all. A God who never sinned, robbed, lied, made a mistake,
committed adultery; there was no sin at all within Him. Even those who
reviled against Him, He did not revile back at them in return. Such a God
was taken to Pilate for judgment. Pilate in turn washes his hands when He
finds no fault in Jesus after all his inquiry was over. Though Pilate knew
that there was no fault in Jesus and that He was blameless, yet he did not
come forward to save Him. But rather, he washed his hands off Jesus. Let
us read
Luke 23: 14-25 “Said
unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the
people: and, behold, I, having examined
him
before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof
ye accuse him:
No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death
is done unto him.
I will therefore chastise him, and release
him.
(For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)
And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this
man,
and release unto us Barabbas:
(Who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast
into prison.)
Pilate therefore, willing
to release Jesus, spake again to them.
But they cried, saying, crucify
him,
crucify him.
And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have
found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let
him
go.
And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be
crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.
And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.
And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into
prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.”
After all the inquiries done against Jesus, Pilate told the people “that I
find no fault and blame in Him, thus I wash my hands off Him”. Pilate
knew that it was because of sheer jealousy that the people wanted Jesus to
be crucified. Even after that, He did not save Jesus but rather handed Him
over to the people for judgment. Let us see what Pilate’s wife tells him
in Mathew 27: 19 “When
he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have
thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things
this day in a dream because of him.”
God could have come in Pilate’s dream and informed him directly, but no
God chose to speak to Pilate’s wife and in turn she said to Pilate “Have
nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered many things today in
a dream because of Him”. In our lives too, many a times there are some
people who make the mistake, but there are others who suffer for it. Many
a times, God shows our wrong doings not to us, but to others. Hence, we
cannot question what our God does., who He speaks to and how He handles a
situation. No one can question God. Let us read Luke 23: 15
“No,
nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is
done unto him.”
Pilate tells the people “I had even sent Jesus to Herod, but He too did
not find fault as to persecute Him”. Even Herod finds no fault with Jesus.
If the people believed that Jesus Christ was sent into the world for our
sakes, they would never have asked Pilate to release Barabbas and crucify
Jesus. Barabbas was a thief, and had the people known the truth they
would never have asked to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus. The people
did not know that Jesus Christ came into this world to love us, to reunite
us with Father God and to separate us from our sins.
Peter says in Acts
3: 17
“And
now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did
it,
as
did
also your rulers.“
The people crucified Jesus because of ignorance, just like their rulers
also did. But Jesus’ blood has redeemed everyone, even those who reviled
Him. Let us read John 19: 34
“But
one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came
there out blood and water.”
When the soldier did this, water and blood oozed out of Jesus’ sides.
What does water signify? It signifies ‘Jesus is the Living Water’, John
7: 38-39 “He
that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water.
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should
receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet
given;
because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)”
Here water is
compared to the ‘Holy Spirit’. Through
this ‘Living Water’, Jesus gave us His Love. Ephesians 1:7 “In
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of his grace;”
It is only
through the blood of Jesus that we have received our redemption and
forgiveness for our sins, according to the riches of His Grace.
When we sin, our
conscience is aware of it, Jesus also knows of our sin and there is also
one more person who knows of our sins i.e. the evil one. This is very
important and we must always remember this. In the olden times, the
greatest of all sins was adultery. The commandment of the olden day says
in Exodus 20: 14 “Thou
shalt not commit adultery.”
Now, if we have still sinned and committed adultery, what is the
punishment for it? Let us read Deuteronomy 22: 22 “If
a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall
both of them die,
both
the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away
evil from Israel.”
The couple had to be stoned to death. This was a big punishment that men
brought upon themselves. Whoever committed this sin, whether it was the
priests’ children or ordinary people, all had to face the same
punishment. Let us read Leviticus 21: 9 “And
the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore,
she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.”
This grave punishment used to be practiced by the Israelites in the olden
days. But, we see that there is a bigger punishment in eternity than even
this, in Revelation 21: 8 “But
the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have
their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.”
But, we human beings,
always think that nobody has watched us sin. We may have sinned any one of
these sins and we must be careful for our God sees our sins and so does
the evil one sees our sins.
Similarly, we see in the Holy Scriptures that people bring a woman caught
in the act of adultery to Jesus. We know the punishment for adultery in
the olden times. Yet this woman was brought alone and the man was left
out, so this was not according to the commandment of law. Jesus sees this
woman and senses that the people want Him to judge her. God knows about
everyone, so we cannot hide from Him; though we think that no one has
seen, nothing is hidden from Jesus’ sight. Jesus says “those of you who
have not sinned, stone this woman first”. Hearing this, the people’s
conscience convicted them and all of them left the place one by one. Let
us read John 8: 7 “So
when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them,
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
Our Jesus has not come to point out our sins in the open and He has not
come to condemn us. But, since the people insisted and kept repeatedly
asking Jesus, He was forced to respond “those of you who have not sinned,
stone this woman first”. Hence, Jesus kept his face focused on the ground
and He did not even look up at them, because He knew all were guilty. Even
today, our God is the same unchanging Jesus, He intercedes with His father
for you and me saying “Father forgive them, for they know not what they
do”. Let us replace the word ‘them’ with ‘our own name’, and look to
the Cross where Jesus was crucified; we will feel that it is ‘Me’
who Jesus is praying for to His Father God. Our conscience must speak to
us, because our God is a merciful and graceful God, He is ready to deliver
us from our sins even today. Let this not be another Good Friday that we
are celebrating, let us come to Him
in truth and faith knowing that He will forgive our sins if we are ready
to confess it even today. John 8: 9 says “And
they which heard
it,
being convicted by
their own
conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest,
even
unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the
midst.”
Hearing the voice of Jesus, all the people left one by one, and only the
adulteress woman was left behind with Him. We see how Jesus gives His
judgment to the woman and says to her “Go away and sin no more”. All our
sins, big or small lie naked before God, but our conscience must be alive
today to receive the grace of God so that we are redeemed of our sins.
Peter speaks in Acts
2: 37 “Now
when they heard
this,
they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of
the apostles, Men
and
brethren, what shall we do?”
When Peter preached to the people about Jesus and when they heard the Word
preached about how they had denied Jesus and crucified Him, their
conscience was convicted immediately and they asked Peter “What should we
do?” Like these people, our conscience too must speak to us today; we
should also have this question “What should we do? How can we come out of
this sin? What should we do to be delivered of our sins today?” God will
wash us instantly with His blood, because our God’s blood has power, it
has wonder-working power. It is important for us to ask this question to
ourselves today. We know that the wages of sin is death, yet Judas
Iscariot did not ask this question “What should I do now that I have
betrayed Jesus? How can I come out of this sin?” Rather, he went and
threw the silver coins before the people who gave it to him and then went
and committed suicide. Judas did not come with a repentant heart before
Jesus Christ. Though the word says that when we sin, the wages of sin is
death; yet, when we go to God with a repentant heart and with this
question “What should I do? How can I come out of this sin? - Our God
Jesus is prepared to deliver us out of our every sin, even today.
We see that every
‘Word’ written in the holy book was before Jesus Christ’s birth, and it
was fulfilled much later, on the Cross. Let us read what David wrote about
Jesus Christ in Psalms
22: 15
“My
strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws;
and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.”
Even before Jesus was born, David had written that Jesus would yearn for
water and be thirsty. Let us read John 19: 28-29 “ |