Truth Alive: May 2018 by Sathyam Publications

MAY 2018

It reads, I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

EDITORIAL

â&#x20AC;?

Genesis 12:2

Dearly beloved brothers and sisters in Christ.

Greetings to you in the most precious name of our loving Saviour Jesus Christ! In Genesis 12:2, We see an incredible yet powerful promise God made with Abraham. Its crazy how God chooses up people from the least and makes them into a powerful. I wonder if Abraham knew how big that covenant would be! God called Abraham out of Ur, a land where people worshiped idols and did things which was not pleasing to God! God chose Abraham, not to go somewhere when he died, but to be the one through whom God's blessing would come to all the world. The Lord always has his sites set on the bigger prize. Abraham was a conduit of God's blessing. The story of his descendants became the stage on which God revealed what he is really like through the person of Jesus the messiah! Every night after supper together, my family stays up for prayer and bible study. We share thoughts and about our day-to-day affairs. May 5th was a special day for us! It marked the 30th year of our ministry of serving the people with the Love of Jesus Christ in and around India! It makes me very happy every time I hear my parents' testimony on how they started the ministry and how God blessed them to be a blessing to the people in different parts of India! Started with just approximately $4, God blessed us to be a blessing! Providing over a 100,000 wheelchairs to the disabled who've never ever dreamt of having a wheelchair and be able to get out of their homes! For the hundred's of underprivileged children being able to get quality education through the schools across the country and several other ministries! Long story short, I wanted to bring into my readers attention that If God has called you into ministry or any other place and you are sure in your own heart, let nothing defer you. Remember it is God who has called you and it is the same as when He called Abraham, Moses or Samuel! I hope and pray that this magazine boosts your faith, encourages your walk with God and uplifts you. While you read through these pages, I pray that you experience the true love and spirit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! God Bless!

Isaac Vadavana

Vice Chairman Sathyam Service Trust

MAY 2018

VOLUME 8 ISSUE 5 MAY 2018 Rs. 100/-

CONTENTS

PAGE

What Billy Graham Taught Me About Lasting in Ministry & Ending Well : Pastor Rick Warren ......................................................7

This We Believe : Dr. Alexander Kurian .............................................................................9

Being Female.... a Biblical Viewpoint : Leonie Poole .........................................................11

Devotion Distractions : Joni Eareckson Tada ...................................................................13

Networking With Families : Dr. Thomas Kulanjiyil ...........................................................15

The Legacy of Billy Graham : Seth Thomas .......................................................................17

News / Events ...............................................................................................................20

CORPORATE OFFICE SATHYAM PUBLICATIONS NO: 37, OIL MILL ROAD KAMMANAHALLI ST. THOMAS TOWN POST BANGALORE - 560084 +(91) 944 602 6182

BOARD OF TRUSTEES A.V. JOHN JOJI A. MATHEWS SAM C. VADAVANA DR C.V. VADAVANA FENCY A. JOHNSON ISAAC VADAVANA

CHIEF EDITOR DR. C.V. VADAVANA

OPERATIONS MANAGER VINOD BABU

SUB EDITOR DEBORAH SAMUEL

PUBLICATIONS MANAGER ANNIE GEORGE

DESIGN SATHYAM DESIGN TEAM

PUBLISHED BY MARYKUTTY P J

US OFFICE

AUSTRALIA OFFICE

SATHYAM PUBLICATIONS P .O. BOX 2040, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA, 32513, USA 562 - 477 - 8372 / 562 - 667 - 6622

SATHYAM PUBLICATIONS P.O.BOX 125, NORTH LAKES, QLD 4509, AUSTRALIA 04164 - 70 - 700

WRITE TO US!

Have you been blessed by an article in Truth Alive? What more would you like to see on the pages? Share your experience with us. We would love to hear from you. Mail us at truthalive@sathyam.org or post a letter to us.

Sathyam Literature Service Society is a registered 12 A society with 80 (G) status of Income tax act. All donations are tax-exempt. For making donations, Contact: +91 944 651 3555, +91 944 712 6182

EMAIL: truthalive@sathyam.org WEBSITE: www.sathyam.org

ABOUT TRUTH ALIVE

Ever since the first issue in 2009, Truth Alive has been a leading monthly magazine for Christian families around the globe. It is published by Truth Ministries, a humanitarian charity into social ministry, education and evangelization.

SATHYAM PUBLICATIONS NOW AVAILABLE ON

Visit us at www.flipkart.com and browse through a wide range of our books on offer! Easy reading just a click away! 5

MAY 2018

ADVERTISEMENT & SUBSCRIPTION You can either be a subscriber of this magazine or place your advertisements at a very reasonable rate. If you have a matter to announce, meetings, conventions and theology courses, effectually reach out to 12,500 readers in India, UAE, USA & UK. Book the advertisement now in advance for year 2018 - 2019 in Truth Alive and get the matter published. A discount in advertisement tariffs will be considered for those in ministries, worship houses, etc. Kindly send M.O/DD in favour of Sathyam Publications payable at Thiruvalla, or deposit in ICICI BANK, Branch: Thiruvalla Account name: Sathyam Publications A/c No. : 626905001020 IFSC : ICIC0006269 MICR : 689229002

TRUTH ALIVE

No: 37, Oil Mill Road, Kammanahalli, St. Thomas Town Post, Bangalore - 560084 Cell: + (91) 944 602 6182 Email: truthalive@sathyam.org, sales@sathyam.org

SUBSCRIPTION RATES Life Time

Rs. 7,000/-

Annual (12 issues)

Rs. 300/-

ADVERTISEMENT TARIFF Front Cover Page - Colour

Rs. 12,000/-

Inside Front Cover Page - Colour

Rs. 8,000/-

Back Cover Page - Colour

Rs. 10,000/-

Inside Back Cover - Colour

Rs. 7,000/-

Inside Full Page - Colour

Rs. 5,000/-

Inside Full Page - BW

Rs. 2,750/-

Inside Half Page - BW

Rs. 1,500/-

Inside Quarter Page - BW

Rs. 750/-

Inside 1/10 page - BW

Rs. 400/-

Classified 25 words

Rs. 200/-

MAY 2018

Being female…. a Biblical viewpoint By Leonie Poole

There is a battle going on. The battle ﬁeld is vast. It is sweeping across the world, vying for the hearts, minds and bodies of humankind. It can crop up in the most unexpected places, as I myself have recently found out, pressuring us to formulate some kind of response. Will we be swept along, or will we dare to be different? To be counter cultural. If you enter the battle with words and debate, you will quickly realise that things can heat up very, very quickly. Insults, accusations and labels can be hurled in rapid succession. I wonder if anyone can guess the battle I allude to. This battlecentres aroundsomething deep within us and right at our core, the concept of gender:Maleness and femaleness. The battle is overseas, and it's here – and it's escalating – fast. Teachers, pressured to teach gender theory and read books to kidstelling them they get to decide if they are a boy or a girl. We hear of controversy about who can use which toilets (raging in some states of the US). Controversy about boys who consider themselves girls playing in all girls sporting teams or individual sports…and visa versa. Pressure in the workplace to conform, to support certain marches or wear certain symbols, or sign off on certain policies and procedures. As the battle rages, we hear of young people given puberty blockers to prevent their development of secondary sexual characteristics, hormone therapy and sexual reassignment surgery. There are women who have transitioned to become men but take a break from hormone treatment to have babies and 'chest feed'. Same sex marriage ..and the list goes on. A friend of mine lives on the Sunshine Coast and told methat transgenderism is widespread in high schools there.

Sometimes the teen will change their gender identity and/orsexual orientation seemingly from one week to the next. It can be avery confusing world. So tonight I thought we would look brieﬂy at what the Bible has to say about maleness and femaleness, well especially femaleness, actually. If God is our creator, He ought to have something legit to say about this, right? “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”Slide 1 In the Image of God – with a capacity to love and relate. Male and female. Immediately, I want to add a rider: there is a small proportion of people who come under the umbrella of 'intersex': that is they physicallyhave a mixof female and male traits, sometimes making gender assignment tricky. Sometimes this is evident at birth (estimated at least 1 in 2000) or it can become evident during puberty or even later. There are around 30 different kinds of intersex and they typically involve genes and hormones. I wanted to mention that to be real about the fact that there can be ambiguity in a physical sense about maleness and femaleness and not to deny that. I also want to acknowledge that for such intersex people and their families, I can only imagine, this could be a very challenging journey – not only because of the condition itself, but also because of the kind of decisions that may need to be made and the sometimes insensitive way they can betreated and spoken to by others. (to be continued...) 11

MAY 2018

Land Tour with the vision of taking all the believers and pastors to the Holy Land at a cheaper cost which is inspired by our Pastors and believers. By God's grace we have opened Christophers Holy Land tours in Bangalore, and we have started taking bookings. Our package tour is for 10 days, which includes two way ﬂight charges, 3-star Hotel accommodation, Food and sightseeing in four countries for Rs.85,000/- and installment facility available For More De t ails: Cont act Y.D. Rajendr a (888 4 452403/ 9886994994), M.Peter (07760124391/07829600700) Email: Christophersholylandtours@gmail.com

Konkani Bible Application Launched

BANGALORE NEWS Karnataka Legislative Assembly Election 2018

The Karnataka Legislative Assembly election 2018 is scheduled to be held across the state on May 12, 2018. Two of the leading parties of the state, the ruling Indian National Congress and BharatiyaJanta Party, have been campaigning aggressively in the state for the last few months to impress the voters. The current chief minister of state, Siddaramaiah will be ﬁghting against BJP's BS Yeddyurappa for the CM's post in the upcoming polls.

Christophers Holy Land Tour and Travels

A new Bible application launched tofacilitate easy access to the Word of God in Konkani, the official language of Goa. The app, named 'PovitrPustok, a Konkani Bible app' is expected to help the laity and others, especially the Goan diaspora who find it difficult to obtain Bibles in their mother tongue, to keep the Word of God at hand at all times. “I am extremely happy to launch this app, which will enable our faithful to read the Konkani Bible faithfully,” said Archbishop Filipe NeriFerrao of Goa and Daman, who released the app on April 30 in Altinho. The Archdiocese created this app through the Centre for Biblical Apostolate with a few collaborators.A source told Times of India that the app was developed by Patrick Lobo and Bianca Rebello with support from Father Carmo Martins, who is in charge of the Margao deanery. The Android app can be downloaded from the Google Play store and also from archgoadaman.com, the official website of the Archdiocese. It's user friendly, has many features, and is easy to access,” a Church official said.

Goa Church body says viral videos attempt to muzzle its voice

Christophers Holy Land Tour and Travels started the Holy 20

Strongly condemning anonymous videos clippings that criticise the inﬂuential Roman Catholic Church in Goa, its social wing said that the same tantamount to mala ﬁde attacks on the Church and attempts to muzzle its voice. The Council for Social Justice and Peace, a social arm of the Church, said that it will investigate the allegations made against the religious institution in the videos that went viral on social media over two weeks, irrespective of a question

MAY 2018

mark over their authenticity. "One video clipping said that the Church struck a secret deal with a political party which is mischievous, especially since the Church is inherently apolitical in nature and does not support or reject any particular party.”However, the CSJP does, and should, exercise its right and responsibility to question the government policies that go against the public interests," the council's Executive Secretary Fr. SavioFernandes said in a statement.

Tamil Christians protest against violence, harassment Thousands of Christians took to the streets during protests across the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on April 17 to demand government action to stop what they call increasing

harassment and violence against Christians. Some 20,000 Christians from various denominations ﬁlled roads in at least 16 cities and towns shouting slogans against government inaction to check anti-Christian activities allegedly carried out by upper-caste religious extremists groups. The Synod of Pentecostal Churches in Tamil Nadu organized the protest as Christians have been subjected to at least 15 cases of violence in the ﬁrst three months of this year. Incidents include the mysterious death of a pastor who was found dead a week after he complained to police about harassment from hardline fanatics. Christians are the largest minority in the state, forming 4.5 million or some 6 percent of its 72 million people. A majority of them — plus the state's 4.2 million Muslims — come from castes considered low in the social hierarchy.

MAY 2018

INDIA NEWS Global Religious Freedom Commission Cites 28 Key Nations for 'Ongoing Downward Trend'

the most recent attack occurred at the cemetery of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ in Ukkinadka. Unknown vandals destroyed the cross at the burial place, and damaged another seven tombs.As many as 500 attackers who were "disturbed" by the religious songs at the center attacked the Christians, throwing stones at the building, shattering windows and doors. The GCIC president did not clarify if any of the Christians were injured in the attack.

Christian Woman in Pakistan Dies after Being Set on Fire

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom cited more than two dozen countries as main contributors to an “ongoing downward trend” in religious liberty worldwide and called on the Trump administration to prioritize the release of religious prisoners and assist in resettling refugees ﬂeeing persecution. “Sadly, religious freedom conditions deteriorated in many countries in 2017, often due to increasing authoritarianism or under the guise of countering terrorism,” said USCIRF Chairman Daniel Mark as the independent watchdog issued its 2018 report on Wednesday (April 25). “Yet there is also reason for optimism 20 years after the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act. The importance of this foundational right is appreciated more now than ever, and egregious violations are less likely to go unnoticed.”

Burial Crosses Destroyed, Christians Attacked in Wave of Persecution in India

Priests, nuns, and Christian students have been attacked in a wave of persecution in India's Kerala state, which has also included the destruction of burial crosses and vandalism of church property, in recent weeks.Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians, told AsiaNews that 22

A Christian woman in Pakistan died on Sunday night (April 22) after a Muslim in the Sialkot area set her on ﬁre for refusing to convert to Islam and marry him, relatives said. Muhammad Rizwan Gujjar poured kerosene on 25-year-old AsmaYaqoob and set her on ﬁre on Wednesday (April 17), resulting in burns on 80 percent of her body, sources said. She and her father, YaqoobMasih, and her brother Maqsood were at the house where she worked as a domestic worker for Saeeduz Zaman in the MohallaPakpura area when the attack took place, according to a police report. Impoverished Christian women in Pakistan are commonly pressured to marry Muslims with promises of a better life. AsmaYaqoob was the sixth of 10 children born to low-income municipal workers who retired years ago, her mother said.

Two Pastors in Burma Freed from Prison

After spending more than a year in prison, two assistant pastors arrested by the Burma (Myanmar) army were freed on Tuesday (17 April) under a government amnesty program. Dom DawngNawngLatt, 65, and La Jaw Gam Hseng, 35, were among more than 8,500 prisoners granted amnesty by newly elected President U Win Myint, sources said. Some 37 jailed

MAY 2018

political activists were also freed under the amnesty, but most of those freed were in prison on drug-related and other crimes. Pastor Zau Ra, secretary of the Kachin Baptist Convention in MongMaung town, Shan state, told Morning Star News that the two pastors were released from Lashio prison, northern Shan state, where their family members went to greet them. Pastor NawngLatt was charged under Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Association Act, Section 8 of Import/Export Act and Section 500 of the Defamation Act in the Penal Code, while Gam Seng was charged under the unlawful association act and the Import/Export Act. Burma is about 80 percent Buddhist and 9 percent Christian. The government has recognized the special status of Buddhism in Burma. It is ranked 24th on Christian support organization Open Doors' 2018 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difﬁcult to be a Christian.

Iraqi Christian Woman is Reunited with Father after 3 Years in ISIS' Captivity

An Iraqi Christian woman who was kidnapped by ISIS in 2014, raped and sold as a sex slave, has been reunited with her father. Rita Habib called the emotional reunion a “dream,” as there were many times during her captivity when she never expected to see her father again. “I am very happy that after three years I reunited with my father. It is a joyous moment because he is the only family I have left," Habib said. The Christian Post reports that Islamic extremists overran Habib's hometown of Qaraqosh, southeast of Mosul, three years ago. Thousands of people were killed and hundreds of woman, including Habib, were taken captive. Habib was held captive in Mosul for several months before being sold as a sex slave to Syria.

Affairs Bureau. A local source said they had not been able to ﬁnd or download Bibles from a popular Amazon-like online platform and that other people had reported similar experiences on social media. Others, however, still seemed to have access to online Bibles earlier this week, the source said. The latest developments follow the implementation of new regulations on religion in February, which some religious leaders in China said violated religious freedom.

Turkey: Imprisoned American Pastor Andrew Brunson Could Face 35-Year Sentence Andrew Brunson got his ﬁrst day in a Turkish court on Monday, 16 April to answer espionage charges. It will be three weeks until he gets his second. The American-born Brunson, pastor of a small Protestant church, told the court he denies any wrongdoing. He is accused of supporting the attempted 2016 coup of the government of Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan by aligning himself with two organisations that the Turkish government considers to be terrorist: the FETO network of Gülen, and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party. If convicted, the 50-year-old Brunson faces 35 years in prison. “I do not accept the charges mentioned in the indictment. I was never involved in any illegal activities,” Brunson told the court, according to Reuters, in the Turkish tongue he speaks ﬂuently after 23 years in the country.

China Pledges to Protect Religious Freedom, Days after Bible Ban China presented an ofﬁcial 'white paper' on religion on Wednesday, 4 April, guaranteeing “protection” for religious freedom, just four days after banning the online sale of Bibles. The policy paper, titled 'China's Policies and Practices on Protecting Freedom of Religious Belief', was presented by the State Council Information Ofﬁce at a press conference and followed the disbandment of the Religious 23

MAY 2018

WORLD NEWS Most Americans Believe, but Not Always in the God of the Bible

statue looks like any homeless person until you look closer and see the nail marks on his feet, giving the ﬁst clue that this statue is actually meant to depict Jesus. The statue was created by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz and was unveiled outside St. Ann's Church ﬁttingly by two homeless men. The statue was also blessed by the Bishop of Manchester.

US Assemblies of God Elects First Woman Executive in More Than a Century

A new Pew Research survey ﬁnds that one-third of Americans — both those who say they believe in God and those who say they don't — trust in a higher power or spiritual force. This group has a looser interpretation of the transcendent. Some call it God; others don't. The survey of 4,729 respondents conducted online in December offers some insight into the diversity of U.S. beliefs. And like other surveys over the past decade, it suggests the number of Americans who believe in God is slowly declining.In the survey, those who answered that they do not believe in God were asked a follow-up question, whether they believed in “some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe.” To be sure, a majority, if a slim one — 56 percent — say they believe in the conventional all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful God of the Bible. Then there are the hardcore disbelievers: about 10 percent who say they don't believe in the God of the Bible or a higher power.

'Jesus the Homeless' Statue in Manchester, UK Draws Attention to Plight of the Poor

A statue made to look like a homeless Jesus has been set on display on a park bench in Manchester, UK. Relevant Magazine reports that the statue's creator hopes it will raise awareness of the plight of the homeless and cause people to reﬂect on how Jesus cared for those in need. The bronze 24

The top U.S. board of the Assemblies of God has unanimously elected its first woman general secretary in the Pentecostal denomination's more than 100-year history. The Rev. Donna L. Barrett, the lead pastor of an Independence, Ohio, church, will fill the unexpired term of James T. Bradford, the denomination announced Monday (April 23). Bradford resigned earlier this month to serve as senior pastor at Central Assembly, a flagship church of the denomination in Springfield, Mo. Barrett, 58, who was a paralegal before pursuing the ministry, has been an Assemblies of God minister since 1988 and has served on state and national organizations of the world's largest Pentecostal denomination. The religious body claims 3.2 million adherents in the U.S. and 68 million worldwide.

Barbara Bush's Family Testiﬁes to Her Faith, Reads Scripture at Funeral

Friends, family, celebrities, former presidents, former first ladies, and first lady Melania Trump gathered Saturday, 21st April, for the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush. Over 1,500 people crowded into Houston's St Martin's Episcopal Church to sing, pray, and hear eulogies and Scripture

MAY 2018

readings. Bush's granddaughters read Scripture to commemorate her life, faith, and future hope. Bush's son and former Florida governor Jeb Bush eulogized his mother and recalled one of their last conversations. She told him, “Jeb, I believe in Jesus and He is my savior. I don't want to leave your dad but I know I'll be in a beautiful place.”

ISIS at War with Hamas Following Trump's Jerusalem Decision

The Islamic State has announced a declaration of war on the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. In a newly released video from the Islamic State, the group encourages its followers to attack Hamas. A man accused of working with Hamas' military wing is also executed in the video. “Never surrender to them,” the video's narrator said. “Use explosives, silenced pistols, and sticky bombs. Bomb their courts and their security locations, for these are the pillars of tyranny that prop up its throne.” The Islamic State said it is declaring war on the Palestinian terror group because Hamas has itself been ﬁghting against ISIS soldiers in Gaza. The Islamic State also said that Hamas failed to keep the U.S. from recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Teacher is Fired for Sharing Biblical View on Homosexuality with Student

when Powell was asked by one of her students about her views on homosexuality. The student reportedly identiﬁed as a lesbian. Powell responded that, as a Christian, she believes that the Bible makes it clear that homosexuality is against God's will. However, she went on to tell the student that God loves her. Shortly following this conversation, Powell was terminated for “gross misconduct.”

New Bible Seeks to Connect Modern and Ancient Israel

A new Hebrew-English Bible with a distinctly Israeli flavor will be published in honor of Israel's 70th anniversary. The anniversary began at sundown on Wednesday (April 18) and ended at sundown the next day.The Israel Bible “is the world's first Bible centered around the Land of Israel, the People of Israel and the unique relationship between them,” according to Israel365, the organization that produced it in conjunction with Menorah Books, a division of Koren Publishers Jerusalem.Israel365 teaches Christians about the biblical significance of the land of Israel and the Jewish people's connection to the land, based on the text of the 24 books that constitute the Tanakh, the Hebrew name for the Bible, and what Christians call the Old Testament.The group's newsletter is read by 300,000 subscribers, the majority of them evangelical Christians — among the strongest supporters of Israel.

GQ Magazine Includes the Bible on List of Books 'You Don't Have to Read'

A teacher in the UK was ﬁred for answering honestly when a student questioned her about her belief s about homosexuality. According to CBN News, Svetlana Powell had been a teacher for 17 years. She was dismissed from her position at T2 Apprenticeship Academy in Bristol, England and even reported as a “radicalization threat” to an antiterrorist government watchdog group. The controversy began

GQ Magazine is under ﬁre for publishing an article titled “21 Books You Don't Have to Read,” which list included the Bible. The GQ editors who compiled the article wrote, “We've 25

MAY 2018

been told all our lives that we can only call ourselves wellread once we've read the Great Books. We tried...But a few pages into BleakHouse, we realized that not all the Great Books have aged well. Some are racist and some are sexist, but most are just really, really boring. So we—and a group of un-boring writers—give you permission to strike these books from the canon.” Some of the classic books that the GQ editors suggest are overrated and not worth reading include The Catcher in the Rye, The Old Man and the Sea, The Lord of the Rings, and the Bible. The editors claim that the Bible “is repetitive, self-contradictory, sententious, foolish, and even at times ill-intentioned.”

Little Girl Has Amazing Reaction Every Time Father Says 'Hallelujah' It says in Scripture that “From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise” (Matt. 21:16). That certainly proved true in the case of a precious little girl from Houston, Texas. The little girl's father, Christopher Julian, posted an endearing video to YouTube showing his daughter Yahtai's reaction to hearing him say the word “Hallelujah.” The video shows Julian bouncing a happy Yahtai on his lap, but “Every time I say 'Hallelujah,” she jumps on my chest,” Julian says. He goes on to say that his wife says Yahtai has this dramatic reaction to hearing the word “Hallelujah” because she has a reverence for the Lord.

Reg. No - KERENG/2009/30950 Postal Reg. No - KL/TLA/228/2016-18 WPP Reg. No.- KL/TLA/WPP/161/2016-18

Published on 08/05/2018 Posted at RMS.TVLA Licenced to Post without Prepayment