Month: September 2022

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord.

Proverb 18:22

In the proverb given above God clearly tells us about what a blessing a woman is. Through this verse God confirms how important it is for a man to marry a woman in his life. Marriage is actually a blessing for any man.

                  As the verse James 1:17 says, every good and perfect gift is from above  coming down from the father of Heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting Shadows.

                   Proverb 31 clearly tells us about how a married woman is a blessing to her  entire household. It also tells us that God showers His grace upon the marital relationship of man and woman .

        So we can say that when a woman gets married, her man receives God’s blessings and heavenly grace in Christ Jesus. The best example we see is of Abraham and Sarah .God blessed them with the child of promise” Isaac”. God did not bless the child of Hagar (who was chosen by Sarah for her husband) to be the child of promise  as this relationship  was not from God.

             In Malachi 2: 14 – 16 it says ,”but you say ,”why does He not?” because the lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth to whom you have been faithless ,though she is your companion and your wife by Covenant. Did he not make them one ,with a portion of the spirit in their union? and what was the one God seeking? Godly off spring, so guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.” For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says The Lord of hosts .So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

              Genesis 2:22 – 24 says ,”and the rib that the lord God had taken from the man He made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;she shall be called woman because she was taken out of Man.Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife ,and they shall become one flesh “.So God made only one woman from Adam’s rib. When a man and a woman gets married, it is the God’s spirit that makes them one flesh. This blessing is from the Lord and if anyone tries to break the marriage he faces God’s wrath. Word of God also says ,”let no man may separate what God has joined together.“

Isaiah 34:16 also says,” Seek and read from the book of the Lord ,Not one of these shall be missing ;none shall be without her mate .For the mouth of the Lord has commanded, and His spirit has gathered them. So a man and a woman in their marriage become one with the help of Holy Spirit . So we need to ask the presence of Holy spirit in our marriages.

        1 Corinthians 7:13 -14 says ,”if any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her ,she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife ,and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband .Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.”

        In Hebrew 13:4 it says,” let marriage be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. “So we all need to honor our marriage.

    

Prayer

Thank you lord for blessing the marriage of man and woman to produce the best children for Your kingdom. We pray that Your Holy Spirit be there in every marriage.

Amen

Sol.Khushi

And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Mark 9: 21 – 23

Jesus spoke these words to a man who’s son was tormented by a cruel evil spirit. From childhood the boy was suffering and the evil spirit tried to kill the boy many times. For the boy to be delivered from the evil spirit, his father needed faith. Since there is no faith, child has been suffering for so long.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together. Genesis 22:7,8

Jesus says all things are possible for one who believes.

By faith Abraham was ready to sacrifice his own son whom he begot at the age of 100. He never had any hassle or double mind. Only thing in his mind was God will take care of everything. When we have faith we will go in action. It may not be an easy task. But we will have a confidence that God will take care. Faith enables a man to do impossible things for God. By faith evil spirits will be casted out. Today we are not able to do many things for God. We are not able to cast out the evil spirits. The reason is lack of faith. Jesus said “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” John 14:1 We just need to believe God for everything. He will help me. He will hear me. He will guide me. So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.When we hear the word of God faith will be planted in our heart. It grows as we constantly maintain a good relationship with Lord. One day I was thinking about a difficult situation in the office. I felt pressure and fear. I got head ache also. Then Holy spirit reminded me this verse. “All things are possible for one who believes.” Then I hold on to this verse and confessed this verse. Yes, all things are possible for me if I just believe. I felt a deliverance and the head ache left me immediately. The situation may be worst. Problem may be complex. May be an incurable disease. The people around us may be tough. But all we need to do is stay calm and believe God will help you to overcome. That is it. Finally you will be the overcomer. You might have failed 100 times. But don’t give up. Just stay quiet and believe God will help you to overcome. Soon you will see the problem which looked like a mountain has been vanished. The evil spirit which seemed to be strong will be casted out if you just stand quiet, do not give up and believe God will help you to overcome. “Your strength will come by being quiet and by trusting” Isaiah 30: 15 By faith the Lord will dwell in your heart. There will be no mountain that you cannot climb. No situation that you cannot overcome. Greater is He that is in you than the one in the world. He will make you more than conquerors.

Sol.Benjamin

“THEN BRING THEM HERE TO ME, ”JESUS SAID.

Matthew 14:18

Jesus is saying:-

BRING.

This means Jesus is saying:- Now I will lead and transform the situation of lack into abundance.
We all know this incident in the Bible. Note :- REMEMBER THE BOY. Little boy following Jesus with five loaves & two fishes was used to feed to the multitude.
Like this little boy let’s BRING something to Jesus.
Ask this question to yourself:- What is that little with me, which Jesus want to use it?
This boy, who was carrying food for himself, was not aware that it will be used by God. His mother while cooking didn’t thought that SHE IS COOKING FOR THE MIRACLE!! This boy was ready to give his little. He was used because he was carrying a blessing in his tiffin box. He was ready to SAY YES LORD!! Even we are carrying Heavenly Blessing, point is are we ready to say YES? ARE WE READY TO GIVE OUR LITTLE? This boy didn’t criticize about his little food however many times we criticize our little things. Always remember your little is enough for Jesus to feed the multitude. Small prayers, small word of Encouragement, small prayer meeting, small cup of tea, small house, small small & small… GOD WILL TURN IT INTO A HEAVENLY MALL. AMEN.
The widow’s offering (Mark 12: 41–44). She was noticed by Jesus. In God’s eyes, quality is more important than quantity.

The widow gave, not because she could, but because she wanted to. She was financially broken but without saying a word she became the voice of active faith. She didn’t claim God’s promise to provide “someday”. She claimed it immediately by giving away all she had and choosing to believe that God would supply all her needs.
The little boy & this widow , both are teaching us the value of small/ little that we have.
Jesus modelled the behavior and the heart God wants from His people so we wouldn’t have to guess what was expected. As children of God, we are called to make our lives living sacrifices to the Father who sent His Son to die in our place.
This nameless widow & this boy has been known worldwide in every generation for the past two thousand years for the simple act of generosity. We don’t know their names however God have CALLED THEM BY THEIR NAMES.

Prayer:-

Let not my name be famous, but Lord let your name be Glorified on the earth through my life, I am a blessing carrier & I have a faithful heart in Jesus name I pray 

                                          AMEN.

Sol.Priti Jain

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36

Our Lord Jesus Christ is our redeemer. Sins done by a person will follow him in his life. No matter wherever he goes or whatever he does his sins always follows him.

I met a friend recently who is well blessed by The Lord but during his young days there was a mistake he did and because of that he was in guilt of ruining another persons life. Even though he was not the person who did it but he would have prevented the thing from happening. His sin was following him from that day and he didn’t have inner peace. When he shared it with me The Holy Spirit reminded me of an incident which I heard from a sermon.

 It was a true story behind a tamil song which has the words “Is Christ still loving me for all I did”. The author of the song was a murderer and was in Sri Lanka’s prison. Before his final verdict a child of God doing prison ministry met the murderer. The murderer with no hope in his life and with the burdens of his sin was not interested in The Gospel. But after persuading he listened to The Gospel and was touched by the Love of Jesus. The Lord redeemed from all his sins and all his burden in his heart was removed.

During the verdict when the murderer was standing before the Judge for killing 3 people the judge asked finally do you accept that you have did these 3 murders. The convict said no, I did not murder 3 but I have murdered 5 people. The judge and the whole court where shocked for a moment and the convict confessed all the murders. The judge later personally called the convict and enquired him. The murderer told what happened and said The Lord has set me free from my sins and I am not going to lie about what I did. My consciousness says I am a murderer but yet God forgave me and accepted me as His child. That is enough for me and dosen’t matter if the worldly court punishes me for my sins. The judge was amazed and said if there would have been a way I would have set you free since you have repented but since you did a open confession in The court I cannot help you.

We see the convict did not want a worldly freedom because he knew in his heart he cannot runaway from what he did ruining the life of 5 people and their families but when he got delivered from God the worldly freedom didn’t matter to him any more.

We see the same in the life of Apostle Paul. Paul beat Christians, arrested them, had a hand in the murder of Stephen but when he met Lord Jesus and when Jesus delivered him, his past never stopped him and made him guilty in doing The Lords work. He says

Phil 3:13 But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.

Paul couldn’t have done God’s work if he had his past in front of him.  When my friend heard this truth he was relieved because the bible says in John 8:32 truth will set you free. When we both knelt down and prayed as per the verses John 8:36 and 2 Cor 3:17 “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” he was delivered instantly after the prayer.

Prayer:

Heavenly father we thank you for the grace and freedom from sin that you have given us from through your cross. We always fall short but Lord lift us up and make us righteous with your blood. In Jesus name we pray. Amen

Sol.Leo

And the king swore, and said, As Jehovah lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all distress,  surely as I swore to you by Jehovah, the God of Israel, saying, Surely Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place, even so I will do today. 

1Ki 1:29-30 

David in his old age was unaware of what was happening in the administration of his kingdom. There was the danger of ruling authority and power slipping  out of his hands and without his knowledge,  going  to the wrong person who was not of his choice. Look at the quick response of the king, when Nathan reminded David of his promise to Solomon.

“….surely as I swore to you by Jehovah,….. he shall sit on my throne in my place, even so I will do today. 

The decision had immediate effect. “even today”. So Solomon was made king the same day.

There might be need of taking emergency decisions, taking up emergency travels, etc. Let the prophet’s heart and soul be alert and sensitive to all the situations, all the time.  If they miss it, it might cause great dangers to the nation.

Nathan, the prophet of king David sensed this  danger which is about to come in the political scenario  of the nation, intervened at the right time and cleverly handled the situation with heavenly wisdom.  He approached Bathsheba and request her to go to the king.

And Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith reigns, and David our lord does not know?  And now come, please let me give you counsel, and save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 

1Ki 1:11-12

Upon his inspiration she goes to the king and by using her influence as the wife of David,  saved the situation and the destiny of her son and of the nation. .

One of the main duty of a prophet is to see the Government goes to the right person and the nation gets the proper rulers.  

If anything goes wrong in the political administration, or in any area or department of the nation, it is the duty of the prophets to identify it, take immediate action and save the nation from peril.

In the book of Esther we see a righteous man who did the above and saved the life of the king.

  And it was found written that Mordecai had told of Big Thana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, the keepers of the door who tried to lay a hand on King Ahasuerus.

Est 6:2

It is the duty of the believers to pray for the rulers of the nations. Even if they are non believers, enemies of God’s children,  we have to pray for them. Daniel did it by serving in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar. Joseph did it while working for Pharaoh as the Governor.

The Lord anoints a prophet to safeguard the nation., its rulers and its people. Since he is the mouthpiece of God, the Lord speaks through him.

In the New Testament, we know that all the believers have received this gift. All of them have to use it for the welfare of the nation. If they realize and take up this responsibility, they can arrest  wrong leaders coming to power and all its adverse consequences.

I know one pastor who  received a message from the Lord about the election result when the election propaganda was going on,  but far ahead of the election date.  He also received a command to go and inform the Prime Minister about it. Even though there was hardly any chance of his party winning the election, miraculously it happened and he came to the same post again.

Sr. Angelica AOJ

“For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ”. 1Corinthians2:16

St.Paul here quotes from Isaiah40:14. “With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of judgement, and taught Him knowledge, and showed to Him the way of understanding “ 1Corinthians2:16 is Paul’s question to the Corinthians. Here Paul reveals the truth that “But we have the mind of Christ”. We also have to consider this question. Our carnal mind consist of intellect, emotions and will. It all works according to our mind or by some external forces. Here the question is who can instruct the Lord in His decision. No carnal minded one can instruct. John 14:16,17. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever;” Even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not, neither knowers Him:but you know Him; for He dwellers with you, and shall be in you”. When we receive Jesus Christ and His words, the Holy Spirit lives inside us .Holy Spirit reforms our natural minds and turns it into the mind of Christ. Then we begin to think like Jesus and develop the attitude of Christ. The believers have the mind of Christ because they have the Word and the revelation of God’s mind. The attitudes Jesus spoke of to the multitudes in the sermon on the mount together constitute the “mind of Christ “.Those attitudes describes character of a believer.(Mathew 5:3-12). Those who are poor in spirit, mourning,meek,hunger and thirst after righteousness,merciful,pure in heart,peacemakers, willing to take risk in taking a stand for Christ and are joyful and giving thanks in all circumstances. These along with the fruit of Holy Spirit constitute the mind of Christ (Galatians 5:22,23) .The enemy of our souls misguided our minds.So we make wrong , hasty , emotion driven decisions that we would regret later. For example revenge is a human nature but Christ showed us how to forgive. Again we are naturally impatient but Lord ask us to control our anger and be kind and patient to others. When we accept Jesus we have a transplanted heart. Similarly we need a mind transplant-we need the mind of Christ. He gives us the strength to endure hardships and teaches us that we have an eternal purpose in life. He asks us to focus on the Lord , not on to the successes and failures of this world. When I was having that carnal mind till the age of my fifties, I wanted worldly success in all areas of my life and also that revenge mind. But after receiving the mind of Christ all those desires gone. The truth set me free.

Prayer

Heavenly Father ,thank you for changing my carnal mind with the mind of Christ which help me to take correct decisions. In Jesus name I pray. Amen

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit and that your fruit would remain, so that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.

Mathew 22:14

This is the testimony of Brother Hardeep residing in Punjab. In his own words: When I was not in Jesus, as Paul used to harass Christian people, I along with my friend and the Principal of the School used to harass and make fun of the people who were in Jesus. As persecution came in Paul’s life, he lost his eyesight and became blind and he did not eat or drink anything for three days, in the same way, I also suffered from a severe lump in my throat, I could not eat or drink anything for a month. I left no religious place for my healing but of no use. As Henaniah was sent to Paul, likewise Brother Sandeep, who came in Masih six months ago at that time, was sent to me by the Lord. He told me about Prabhu Yeshu that He heals the sick and does miracles. He prayed for me just for two minutes and I got relief instantly. Whereas I was not able to eat or drink anything for a month, I had completed food without any pain. The Lord gave me complete healing and also chosen me to do His work. We went to pray for demon possessed person. I had fear in me as this was the first case of casting out evil spirit from the demon attacked person for praying but with a feeling that Prabhu Yeshu is with us. we were filled with inner strength also. When we were praying, we saw a big miracle that evil spirit bowed down to our feet. On that day we felt that the Lord is always with us As in the Holy Bible, Elisha used to pray for demon attacked people and healed them in the name of Lord Jesus, we also grew in Masih and Lord is using us for His work since then. We faced insult from the Pastors also and were asked to stop doing such works of Lord. But we did not stop by thinking that if Lord did not want us to stand in His name, then we could not even establish churches, preach the gospel to the people or cast out evil spirits without the Holy Spirit. As Elisha was blessed with double anointing by Eliah, likewise Lord has blessed us supernaturally with his Holy Spirit and Knowledge. Marks : 16: 16-18 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe, In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues, no they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”. Prayer

Almighty God, please give me the confidence to preach the gospel at all times. Help me to be firm and determined to preach your good news under whatever condition. Anoint me and make me a useful instrument to harvest plentiful souls into your kingdom. For in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen

How strong is our faith in the power of Christ?

Lord do not trouble yourself for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word and let my servant be healed.

Luke 7:6-7

These are the words spoken by a wealthy Roman centurion. He is a model of SERVICE, HUMILITY and FAITH.

1 SERVICE–

Centurion had a slave whom he valued highly and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about JESUS, he sent some Jewish elders to Him asking Him to come and heal his slave. Centurion had an unusual attitude towards his slave. Usually servants serves the Masters. But to the centurion we see the Master Roman officer (centurion) becomes servant to his servant (Slave). The centurion was a humane master Thou Roman officers was a gentile he was imitating Christ in his life.

Mathew 20:26- Whoever wants to become great among you must be a servant

Are we concerned about our helping staff?

2. HUMILITY:

One profound truth this verse reveals is that humility Centurion deeply sensed his unworthiness before JESUS and humble truth of His greatness. As Jesus was arriving the centurion sent his friends to humble greet Jesus profess his unworthiness and perform his faith that Jesus could heal his servant from a distance.

The Jewish elder praised the roman officer that “He is worthy” but the Roman officer says I am not worthy. People are praising him for his good works before Jesus. Centurion humbles himself before Christ (Profess his unworthiness) an amazing contrast.

James  4:10 says Humble yourselves before The Lord and he will lift you up.

Humility is the principal character that should be seen in those who follow Jesus Christ. Jesus is the best example of someone who humbly followed God’s plan for His life on this world.

3. FAITH :

Luke 7:7 says That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.

Centurion showed great faith in Jesus word. He understood that Jesus could heal with his word just as easily as with a touch

Humility:

The Centurion was a remarkable man. The elders said “He was worthy.” he said he was unworthy . They praised him for building a house. They said he was deserving; he felt he was undeserving strong faith is great humility are entirely compatible

Finally “Jesus marveled at him. His simple confidence in the ability of Jesus “mere word to heal showed faith

This was great faith worthy of praise. Jesus can be amazed at either our faith or our unbelief

Let’s examine…How strong is our faith in the power of Christ?

Reflect:

Today, upon these inspiring words of the centurion “ Lord , I am not  worthy….” Say them over and over and allow them to become the foundation of your relationship with our Lord. In this humility you will be richly blessed.

Prayer

Most merciful Lord I’m not worthy of all the grace you have given me. Give us the grace to humble ourselves before you and always trust in you in all our situations.

In Jesus name I Pray.

Amen

Sol. Annapurereddy

Mathew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

I John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.

In the above verse in Mathew 6:24 it is written that we cannot serve two masters and if we worship The Lord then we cannot worship any others things like money or idols. We cannot sail into two boats since sailing in two boats will lead to accident and destruction (disaster). Similarly we cannot serve God and Satan together. Since it written if you love the world or the things of this world, then you cannot love and serve the father God whole heartedly James 4:4 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. I Timothy 6:9-10 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. Those who love money, world, idols, peoples and who desires to be rich will fall into temptations, snares of the evil one which will lead them to destruction. If you are loving money more than god & giving priorities to other things than god than this will make you to do all sort of evil & wrong things. Thus you cannot serve both God & money.

You have to decide and choose life over death. If you love God then you cannot love money, world or people. You should be faithful to your God and serve only your living God. Love your God with all your heart. If you are giving other things more important & making them your priorities then you will be wandered from your path & you will fall into all kinds of evil desires & temptations. So, cling to God , cling to His words have complete faith in Him. Worship Him with all your heart and he will guide you, protect you and be with you all.

Prayer

Heavenly father I praise you and thank you for everything you have done. Lord I pray today that whosoever is reading this be touched by the holy spirit and they should know and understand that there is only one god and they should serve only him & no other thing. Lord, open their spiritual eyes, mind and truth and the truth will make them free.

In Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Sol.Dr.Himakshi

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Matthew 1:5

Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
I want to bring your focus to Ruth, the Moabite woman, a pagan whose name became worthy of mention in the book of Matthew in chapter 1. King David and Jesus Christ came out of the lineage of Ruth.

A famine had struck in Bethlehem Naomi with her husband Elimelech and two sons had left for Moab, Moabites were idolators.

Bethlehem means house of bread; they had left to look for bread in Moab. They lacked faith to dig in their heels and stay in Bethlehem. Her sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth.

Little by little her joy eroded and she lost it all.

Naomi lost her husband and two sons in Moab, this plan was certainly not from God although she said, God had dealt treacherously with her.

Life had become chaotic and her name had lost the meaning from sweet to bitter. Her goals, plans and all of it had gone haywire.

God has said in, Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. 

 When troubles come don’t let the enemy make us run away, but God will give the grace to withstand that challenge and see us through victorious.

Naomi had heard that the famine was over and she decides to return to Bethlehem, she lets her daughters in law to return to their homes as it is customary. Orpah returns to her home but, Ruth decides to hold onto her mother- in law and her God with grit and determination. She had no clue as to what her future would be or what could be expected but she decided to be a risk taker, loyal, committed, humble and caring. It’s better that some people leave for their destiny is not tied with you. Naomi arrived back in Bethlehem along with Ruth during harvest time.

The city was excited to see them for the devil tried to destroy them, they went through the wind and the storm but here they were with the city celebrating. They all probably praised away. Destiny has it that Ruth walks into the field of Boaz, a very wealthy man, in whose eyes God grants her favour, the whole town knows of her as a virtuous woman and Boaz ends up being a kinsman redeemer.

Ruth who was gleaning among the sheaves was now the owner of the field, overnight a wife and a wealthy woman. Little did she know that the best season of her life was awaiting here in Bethlehem, but she decided to cling onto the Lord God of Israel who changed her life forever (Ruth 4:21-22) Ruth gave birth to Obed. Ruth 4:22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. God also made this pagan Moabitess, the great grandmother of Jesus Christ.

Under all circumstances, even when you can understand nothing, hold onto Jesus and His promises, nothing is over as long as God is on the throne!! He will turn it all for your good beyond your expectation and imagination.

Loving heavenly Father, give us the grace to withstand the wind and the storm, for as long as You are in charge of our life, all is well. May we know that deep in our heart at all times, in Jesus mighty name!!

Amen!!!

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Sol. Lalitha, AOJ

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