EDITORIAL MESSAGE
Souls Through God’s Word
A COMPLETE CHRISTIAN FAMILY MAGAZINE Volume 3 Issue 5 May 2013 Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is the truth hears My voice’’ Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” John 18:37-38 (NASB)
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Dear Readers, It is my immense pleasure to inform you that by the grace of the Almighty, Sathyam Ministries has stepped into its twenty fifth year of service on May 5th 2013. Since its inception in 1988, Sathyam Ministries has been serving with the motto of “Souls through God’s Word”. The ministry was officially inaugurated in the meeting following my wedding with Marykutty on May 5th, 1988. I thank God for all the miraculous ways in which He has provided us to expand the ministry to various States of India. It is God’s grace which has enabled both of us to persevere in the Lord’s ministry. Since reading a gospel tract changed my life, I realized the power of the written word of God in changing people’s lives. Towards the beginning I started with the literature ministry. Sathyam Ministry was started with a small offering amount of rupees 153 which I received from the monastery. It is with this amount that the first gospel tract was published. Now the ministry continues to be a blessing to hundreds of people as we are reaching the various states of India with humanitarian activities and evangelism outreach. Since the last twenty five years the ministry is engaged in charitable activities such as running orphanages, special schools for the mentally challenged children, mission schools, and vocational training centers for women, providing free wheel chairs for the physically challenged (approx – 75,000 wheel chairs already provided), disability center, relief works, spreading the good news and to serve the poor. I take this opportunity to thank all our ministry friends and partners for your kind support and cooperation. Above all I thank God whose grace and providence sustained us for the last twenty five years in ministry. We seek the earnest prayers and continuous cooperation of our dear friends and partners, as we are striving to reach the nation of India with the love of Jesus. Dr.C.V. Vadavana Founder & Chairman, Sathyam Service Trust
Contents
4 9 11 13 17 19 23 26
Passing the Torch Dr. David H Mills
Prosperity Precepts Pastor. Mike Harrison
We are the Home of God on Earth: Dr. Jon Marshall
MUSTARD SEED FAITH (Matthew 17) John Stanek
Digging Deeper
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Dr. Alexander Kurian
What is Your Identity?
Dalit Situations in India Feature
Launa Stan
Leadership: Weakness!
Write to us!
Rev. Barney Kinard
Christian‌‌What is it? Ines S Franklin
facebook.com/sathyam.india twitter.com/sathyam_india Send us your feedback on the magazine at: truthalive@truthintl.org
We would love to hear from you! The opinions of the advertisers and contributors are not necessarily those of the magazine or Sathyam Publications. May 2013
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@ truthintl.org or post your letter to Truth Alive Sathyam Publications Thottabhagom P.O. Thiruvalla-689541, Kerala. Ph: 0469- 2619657, 2619209
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D r . D a v i d H M i l l s
Passing the Torch “The hero is one who kindles a great light in the world, who sets up blazing torches in the dark streets of life for men to see by. The saint is the man who walks through the dark paths of the world, himself a light.”Felix Adler (1851-1933); Intellectual, Founder of The Society For Ethical Culture
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saiah prophesied that Jesus would be a great light to those who sat in darkness. And so He was (see Matt. 4:15) for He is the Light of the world. Those who followed Him would not walk in darkness. But He did not stop there, for immediately after He fulfilled this prophecy He recruited Simon and Andrew, James and John to follow Him (Matt 4:18-19). He promised these followers that His training would transform them into fishers of men. And so they were! Shortly after Jesus ascended to heaven these same men harvested over 3000 souls in one assembly at Pentecost. Jesus had “passed on His torch” to them! This passing of the torch is the passion of OT and NT leadership. Abraham passed to Isaac, and Isaac to Jacob, and Jacob to Joseph. Later Moses passed on his torch to Joshua. Yahweh was very passionate in the Law of Moses that each generation pass on their torch to the next. This is clearly seen in the Passover event. The meal, the weeklong feast, the need for circumcision, and the memories of this event were to be passed on to the children by the father. This meant that the father was learning the importance of passing on the torch of faith and obedience to the next generation.
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Read Exodus 13 and there you will see that the children would ask their parents, “why they were doing all traditions and what they meant.” The father was to respond with two important statements; first he was to express what the event meant to him personally, then he was to tell the children what it meant to the family and nation. I like that! Each and every year God's people were to repeat this personal and collective history as a nation. First we must personally experience the event of transformation, and then we explain what that transformation means to us. Our personal testimony is important. Why and what it means is rooted in our own experience. But the second part is important as well; what we do and why is this important as it impacts our family and church history? Others… and especially our children… must understand the importance of the Gospel and its power in our history as God's people. Moses taught the fathers to pass it on by what they said to the children and then by what they did with them. The father exposed his children to many experiences after he explained the meaning. He
May 2013
Know Your Bible Song of Songs Author: The book “Song of Songs” was written by King Solomon. Date of Writing: Around 965 B.C Purpose: To show the depth of relationship between Christ and the church as the love between a man and a woman. The collection of poems in the book expresses the deep and powerful love that a woman and a man can have for each other. Key Verse: 8:6-7 Key People: King Solomon, Shulamite woman and her shepherd lover Brief summary The book is a figurative love story of Solomon and the Shulamite woman whom he desired to make his Queen of Queens. The woman was taken to the court
followed the pillar of cloud and fire, went into the wilderness and ate the provided manna, and saw the many divine miracles. The father saw it and so did the children. They experienced the tabernacle and the sacrifices. In the same way, we must expose our children and those who follow us to the many experiences we have as we follow Christ. Let them see what we see! The father also allowed the children to experience the divine encounters. The children saw and followed their leader as they all saw the pillar of cloud and fire. The children saw the water gush from the rock and drank from it as well. The children ate the manna every day! See what the father was doing? It is not enough for the children to just hear about God they must see it for themselves, eat and taste for themselves, realize that Yahweh is good and His love is everlasting. They must sip the communion cup and eat the wafer and hear that this represents Christ who died for them. The same is true for all who follow us if we will pass on to them the torch we carry.
of Solomon, but she was still in love with a man back in her hometown, and finally the two are united. Outline: 1) The Shulamite separated from her lover by Solomon and taken into the royal tents. (1:1-11) 2) The Shulamite and her shepherd lover together (1:12- 2:6) 3) Separated from her shepherd lover and back in the royal tents, she tells the court ladies of her love (2:7- 3:5) 4) The Shulamite and her beloved shepherd lover are together again(3:6-5:1) 5) The Shulamite and her beloved apart (5:2-8:4) 6) The conclusion: the Shulamite restored .She returns home from Solomon with her lover, and is seen by her brothers approaching(8:5-14)
Lastly, the father listened to the questions the children asked. Our children ask questions but are we listening? I have spent time with a lot of leaders over the years. I have had the privilege of eating in their homes and meeting their children. What a delight. I have seen the “tuned in” father who carefully hears the questions of his children. What hard work and focus that father maintained. Amazing leadership! But, sadly, I have also watched some fathers who failed to hear their children's questions. Some even quieted their children from asking a question. I have done the same and that is probably why I am sensitive to this need. I was not focused on my children while they were asking key questions related to the reality of what we believe and follow. I see the plank in my own eye. What I also noticed is, that if we miss these moments, it may be years before we get the chance again, if ever. The Bible says, “When your child asks you… say.” We must anticipate the question. We must be ready for the moment. Pray for it and plan and then when the child or follower perks up and states their
May 2013
continued in page 6...
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continued from page 5 Passing the Torch question, then you are prepared to answer with the needed word. This moment, more than any other, is how we pass on the torch of our lives. Why is that true? Because the question and answer process bonds us to the child, the follower, the disciple whom we train! In that moment the two are united. The child knows that the father cares and loves them, for he has listened to them. This principle is true for natural fatherhood and spiritual fatherhood. If we miss the questions, we miss it all! So which is more important, talking to our followers or listening to 6
them? We can talk and they fail to hear us and we will never know it because we do not hear their questions, their feedback, or their clarifications. May God make you the leader who passes on the torch through exposure, experiences shared, and by truly listening to the questions of those whom you lead. Father, You pass on the torch to us in the Person of Your Son. He is the light that brings hope and help to us as we sit in darkness. May you make us leaders who multiply our lives by passing on our torch to as many others as possible! In Jesus Name, Amen.
May 2013
Evangeline M. Abraham
Dalit Situations in India
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he term Dalit means 'oppressed', 'broken' or 'crushed' to the extent of losing original identity. Dalits are known in India as scheduled castes. There are currently some 250 million Dalits in India. The roots of Dalit oppression go back to the origins of the caste system in Hindu religion. These 'Untouchable' outcast communities were forbidden to join in the religious and social life of the community and were confined to menial polluting tasks such as animal slaughter and leather-working. India has a population of 1.1 billion people – one sixth of the planet's human population. Of these, more than 20% fall below the caste system that shapes Indian society. These are the 250 million Dalits, those who are designated as 'scheduled castes' and 'scheduled tribes'. They are considered to be 'outcastes'. They are the lowest of the low; the bottom of the pile. As a result, the Dalits are among the poorest and most oppressed people groups in the world. It is estimated that around 1.3 million Dalits in India, mostly women, make their living through manual scavenging. It is a sanitized term used to describe the job of removing human excrement by hand from dry toilets and sewers using basic tools such as thin boards, and then carrying it on their heads in buckets or baskets. The Dalits are stripped of their basic humanity, denied basic human rights, and are entrenched in a system that gives them little freedom to change For a nation to overcome injustice, the root causes of injustice need to be eradicated as well as creating the legal framework required to do so. India is an example for this. At present, there are around 250 million people suffering great injustices and are deprived as a direct consequence of the Hindu caste system. In great swaths of the country, untouchables are still considered less than human and therefore cannot participate in social life. The sources that best describe
the attitude towards the untouchables are the ancient Manu scriptures, which are held in high regard by Hindus. According to these sources, the untouchables fall into the same category as cockerels, frogs, ducks, moles, dogs or beasts used for transport. The caste system affects every aspect of life in India. It determines everything from the food that can be eaten, who can cook it, how to wash and the color and length of clothing. It also determines whether or not men can grow a moustache, even to who is allowed to have an umbrella; nothing is omitted. Punishments are administered according to the caste system too. Whilst a member of the higher caste gets away with little or no punishment for a certain crime, members of the lower castes can expect severe punishment for the same crime. Professions are delegated to the various castes and marriage is only possible within the same caste. Tea shops have a “two-cup� system which forces dalits to continued in page 8...
May 2013
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drink from separate cups. In villages, they live in segregated areas, do all the dirty jobs, cannot draw water from the same well as the higher castes or worship in the same temples. Dalits are forced to clean public toilets and move dead animals. According to an extensive report on caste by the Human Rights Watch, large numbers of Dalit women are routinely raped and forced to become sex slaves for Hindu priests and land owners. Of India's estimated 40 million indentured laborers - a modern form of slavery - most are Dalit children, often sold into lifelong servitude by starving parents. When Dalits try to defend themselves from abuse and exploitation, they are attacked by highercaste gangs and local police. Their shanties are burned and their women are gang raped. India is the only country on earth that has still such a cruel, unjust and irrational system in place. The caste system is a serious threat to social justice, unity, solidarity and peace. Despite 50 years of reform, laws banning discrimination and education and economic development, India's 160 million dalits (about 16 % of the population) are dehumanised in a million ways every day. Seventy percent of Dalits live below the poverty line, which results in many Dalits taking out loans for everyday items. Then they find themselves trapped in bonded labour trying to pay back their loan without any hope of ever being able to do so. Their children are denied education. If allowed into a classroom, they are forced to sit apart or even outside. Dalits are discriminated against, denied access to land and basic resources, forced to work in degrading conditions, and routinely abused at the hands of police and dominant-caste groups that enjoy the state's protection. For example, according to a recent report in a newspaper a member of the lower caste was violently beaten for making contact with the garb of a Hindu belonging to the higher castes. The same newspaper printed another report by which members of the higher castes threw animal corpses and excrement into a well used by untouchables. But the police could not be persuaded to take action against the perpetrators. Recently a school expelled 38 Dalit (untouchable) children for attempting to drink from the same water as other children. Because according to superstitious beliefs, dalits are forbidden to drink from the same source as higher caste members Most dalits are landless labourers at the mercy of landlords who will not flinch from lynching, and 8
burning their huts if dalits dare to answer back or even defend themselves against abuse. A prize-winning Indian journalist has described a dalit man's nostrils being pierced with a packing needle and a string drawn through his nose by upper-caste villagers in Rajasthan. His tormentors held the string like a horse's reins, made him walk in the streets and later tied him to a peg meant for cattle. Another incident of cruelty was towards a young village woman in the southern state of Tamil Nadu who found a job as a social worker in the nearest town. The first time she returned to visit her family, the upper castes fell into a rage because she had been bold enough to wear shoes.She was manhandled and paraded naked for not knowing her place. Caste became a rigid system whereby India's fair-skinned ruling class kept lower caste people as laborers, landless peasants, and servants - exploiting them in the name of religion. Many Dalit families have left rural areas to live in slums and on the pavements of the rapidly growing cities. Here they also tend to do the worst jobs for the lowest wages. However, in some cities traditional occupations such as sweepers have been organized in municipal unions and have the advantage of regular work and wages. Many Dalits work as casual day labourers, in small factories, quarries, brick kilns or on construction sites, as cycle rickshaw drivers or in petty trade. There are, however, growing numbers employed in relatively secure jobs in areas such as public service, banking and the railways, and sometimes in private industry. Those residing in the cities have some access to secondary and higher education, and a growing middle class has evolved within the Dalit community. As opportunities for education increase and aspirations rise, Dalits should become a strong and positive force for change in India in the coming decades, especially if they are able to organize themselves across barriers of language and religion.
May 2013
P a s t o r . M i k e H a r r i s o n
Prosperity Precepts Now, my son, may the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper... (1 Chronicles 22:11-13)
The twenty second chapter of First Chronicles finds King David commissioning his son, Solomon, to build the temple. David's life, despite some very substantial mistakes, was a very prosperous one. And in the verses above we see David sharing with his son three keys to prosperity. 1. The Prayer for Prosperity Prosperity always begins with prayer. In verse eleven David utters a short prayer for his boy--"the Lord be with you and prosper you"--as he exhorts him to build the house of God. It reminds me of what Jabez prayed, "Oh, that you would bless me... (1 Chron. 4:10)." These short supplications are faith filled. They demonstrate a dependence on God and an expectancy that He desires to increase those who delight themselves in Him. 2. The Purpose of Prosperity David implored Solomon to "build the house of the Lord." His prayer for Solomon to prosper was not so that Solomon would be wealthy and without want. It was so that he would have the resources to get something done for God. God is constantly looking for trustworthy stewards that He can bless others through exceedingly. As with Abraham, our Heavenly Father desires to bless His children so that they would be a blessing to those around them (Gen. 12:1-3). 3. The Pathway to Prosperity David charged His young son to "keep the Law of the Lord your God.Then you will prosper." This is similar to the encouragement Jehovah offered Joshua as he feared the monumental task of following in Moses' gargantuan footsteps, "observe to do according all the law...for then you will make your way prosperous (Josh. 1:6,8)." Both the poor and the rich are prone to be fixated with financial prosperity. No matter how little or how
much we possess we contemplate how much better it would be if we just had a little more. Nearly everyone wants to do well, to excel, to thrive. Others would simply like to have enough, as the preacher prayed in Proverbs, “give me neither poverty nor riches--lest I be full and deny you...or lest I be poor and steal (Prov. 30:8-9)."Undoubtedly, most of us would choose both financial and spiritual abundance if we had our way. But if you could have only one, what would you choose? Paul wrote to Timothy, "godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6)." Obedience to the word of God produces godliness. And Paul, who made it his singular intent to know and to do and to teach the word of God, honestly stated in his letter to the Philippians "I have learned in whatever state I am to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound...I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer need (Phil. 4:11-12)." David shared points on prosperity with Solomon that he had learned experientially; precepts that were birthed out of contentment. David was content as a shepherd boy. David later learned contentment living as a fugitive. And David was content with not being allowed to follow his heart's desire, to build the temple. How prosperous is the person who has learned contentment!
May 2013
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Edward Rowland Sill WE MUST DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH WHAT WE HAVE
LIFE HAD been neither generous nor kind to Edward Rowland Sill. It had bestowed upon him no special privileges, not even the usual advantages. He had, in fact, been handicapped from the start. Both his parents died when he was still young. His health was poor, and he was prevented from doing many of the things he would have liked. For a long time he had difficulty finding his proper niche in life. He tried the ministry, but gave it up when he found he couldn’t accept narrow dogma. He tried newspaper work but was physically and temperamentally unsuited to the grind. He finally made teaching his career; and here at last he was successful and content... until failing health forced him to give it up. Most men would have been discouraged by so many setbacks and disappointments, would have given up and made excuse for themselves. But Edward Sill was no whiner. He believed in making good, not in making excuses. He believed in doing the best he could with what he had, in whatever condition he found himself. That philosophy sustained him in every crisis, and helped him achieve a useful and happy life in spite of his handicaps. When he could no longer teach, he wrote poems and essays; and into most of his writings he poured the essence of the philosophy by which he had lived, and which he had always tried to teach others: “We must do the best we can with what we have.” In “Opportunity,” one of his bestknown poems, this idea is beautifully and powerfully symbolized: Edward Sill knew his limitations and accepted them. Like the prince with the blunt sword, he refused to be beaten, courageously made the most of 10
what he had, and turned his handicaps into opportunities. The dramatic symbolism and inspiring theme of the poem have made “Opportunity” one of America’s favorite poems. Written more than seventy years ago, its message is as timely as ever: Forget your limitations. Make the most of the opportunities and abilities you have and fulfill the promise within you. It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness. It is not by regretting what is irreparable that true work is to be done, but by making the best of what we are. It is not by complaining that we have not the right tools, but by using well the tools we have. What we are, and where we are, is God’s providential arrangement-God’s doing, though it may be man’s misdoing; and the manly and the wise way is to look your disadvantages in the face, and see what can be made of them. To accept ourselves with our limitations means also that we will recognize how variable and flexible our lives can be. The great thing about life is that as long as we live we have the privilege of growing. We can learn new skills, engage in new kinds of work, devote ourselves to new causes, make new friends, if only we will exercise a little initiative and refuse to become fixed, rigid... Let us, then, learn how to accept ourselves-accept the truth that we are capable in some directions and limited in others, that genius is rare, that mediocrity is the portion of almost all of us, but that all of us can contribute from the storehouse of our skills to the enrichment of our common life.
May 2013
Courtesy:Light from Many Lamps
Dr. Jon Marshall
We are the Home of God on Earth: A Commentary on Ephesians Ephesians 1:1-2
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ead Ephesians 1:1-2. Paul wrote this letter to churches in and around Ephesus. Ephesus was a big city (200,000-250,000 people) with smaller villages and homes scattered around it. While small compared to modern standards, Ephesus was one of the largest and most densely packed cities in the world in its day. With so many people and so many evangelists coming through (Apollos, Priscilla and Aquila, Paul, Timothy, and others) there were probably lots of little home churches popping up in the heart of the city and in surrounding villages. This letter is written as a pass-along letter to each of these little groups. Paul wants the audience to read it, ingrain it into their hearts, and send it to the next group. The introduction is significant. Paul begins by identifying himself (he'll describe himself more later; 3:1-13). Because so many people had come to faith through other evangelists they may not know him personally or at least not that well. He is an apostle. What he means is a messenger; not just any messenger, though, but rather a messenger of Jesus the Messiah. He didn't choose this job, God chose it for him. It is “by the will of God” that he tells people about Jesus. Next he introduces the audience. He calls them saints and believers in Christ Jesus. Saints means “holy ones”; you're special, distinct, unique, pure. Contrast that with “in Ephesus”: you are pure in an impure culture; you are special in a decaying world; you are distinct in a chaotic mess of warped thinking and disgusting living. In the rest of the letter we'll get Paul's 1 reasoning. You're holy because you believe in Jesus and are faithful to him. He rises above that mess and you rise up with him. You are not holy because you live in a “holy city” and neither are you dirty, impure, or 1
disconnected from God just because you live in an “unholy city.” Everything turns on whether you believe in Jesus or not. If you believe in him you are 'holy' no matter where you live. If you do not believe in him you are not holy regardless of where you live. Paul's greeting is kind of like a prayer, benediction, and announcement over them. “Grace and peace” is the altered version of a normal Roman greeting (“greetings”) and is kind of like a prayer request that God shower grace and peace on the recipients. Grace and peace is what the gospel is all about. Grace is the foundation of the gospel (Rom 3:24; 5:15), and peace was the promise of the New Covenant (Rom 6:14-15; Ezek 37:26; Isa 9:6; Zech 9:9-10). To open the letter Paul quickly reminds everyone about the gospel that unites them. Even in his opening lines Paul makes clear that our identity comes from the gospel. It does not derive from our city, our family, our wealth or poverty, our education or job, our children or marital status. We find our identity in the fact that Jesus loves us and has made us his own possession.
Faith in Christ is a prominent theme in Ephesians (Eph 1:13, 15, 19; 2:8; 3:12). May 2013
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HELEN PREJEAN It is in her moral and spiritual stature, and her actions in favour of Poncelet [the prisoner], that she is the face of love, the face of Christ, the incarnate Love of God. Lloyd Baugh In 1970 Britain abolished the death penalty. But this capital punishment, as it is known, can still be legally carried out in some countries and in some states of the USA. Debate has never stopped about the morality of taking ‘a life for a life’ as punishment for premeditated murder. Most Christians do not agree with this policy. They believe all life is sacred, and that only God can be final judge over life and death. Even the most depraved criminal should have the chance to repent and make a clean start. The problem is to weigh this up against the justice owed to the victim’s family. They too have rights. If human life is so sacred it may be acceptable to sanction the ultimate penalty, death, to preserve the value of that sanctity. One woman who has struggled seriously with these questions is Sister Helen Prejean. She is the American nun who has become internationally known through the film, Dead Man Walking, based on her book of the same name. Sister Helen describes the drama of her involvement as spiritual adviser to prisoners on death row. The film explores the moral issues of capital punishment and shows the triumph of Sister Helen’s practical application of a Christian understanding of love and forgiveness. Sister Helen grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her father was an attorney and she enjoyed a comfortable middle-class life in a spacious home, with holidays abroad. Her parents lavished affection on their three children, Helen, Louie and eventually entered the religious order of St Joseph of Medaille. She wanted to seek (in her own words), ‘a personal relationship with God, inner peace and heaven when this life is done.’ In 1980 her community made a commitment to ‘stand on the side of the poor.’ Helen admits that this felt uncomfortable. She wanted a life of prayer, not the
life of a social worker. On heari ng a spirited talk about the injustice of poverty by a Notre Dame nun, Sister Helen was ‘converted.’ She chose to live and work with the most destitute in New Orleans. She describes her change of heart: ‘ B e f o re I h a d asked God to right the wrongs and comfort the suffering. Now I know - I really know-that God entrusts those tasks to us.’ Helen’s work amongst prisoners and their families, and the victims and their families, demands enormous courage and compassion. She is not sentimental, neither does she ‘preach’ her message of compassion in an insensitive way. She has described how she tries to understand the feelings and experience of everyone involved in the situation. She is aware for example, that parents may feel that ‘not to demand death, the harshest punishment possible, would be a betrayal of their daughter’s (or son’s) memory.’ Through her close involvement on death row, however, Sister Helen became convinced that justice must always be based on mercy. There must always be the possibility for healing, forgiveness and reconciliation, which is not offered in capital punishment. The death penalty smacks of vengeance and retribution. Courtesy:Christians Who changed the World
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May 2013
J o h n S t a n e k
MUSTARD SEED FAITH (Matthew 17)
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he men who were with Jesus must have had a lot more faith than we do, just being with Him every day. Can you imagine how small the faith of most of us must be compared to theirs? When Jesus sent them out with power to heal and cast out demons, their faith must have soared with each new healing and miracle. Yet they came across a boy who was possessed by a demon that they could not cast out. They were so ashamed that they could not heal him, that to our knowledge, they never mentioned this boy to Jesus. But his father came to Jesus with his son and told him of their failure and Jesus healed him easily. Afterwards the disciples asked Him why they had not been able to cast out the demon in this boy and His reply was their faith was too small and that this kind of possession required much prayer and fasting. Their faith had ended with the last miracle they performed and went no further. Miracles can only be produced in an atmosphere of faith. The larger the miracle needed, it would seem the larger the faith required. In our country it is almost impossible to realize miracles, because we have too many other things that we can depend on. If we suffer from cancer we pray for healing, but if we do not get healed quickly, we make an appointment with a doctor and are prescribed to take medicine or have surgery done. By doing so we do not differ from non-believers and we do not develop the faith we need to experience bonafide miracles. A true miracle is one where there can not be any other answer for the cure or the change in circumstances. But the problem is that you can not make your faith stronger by trying harder. I like what Adrian Rogers said, “Those who say we must have great faith to trust in God have it backwards. We need to have faith in a great God. “Fortunately we do not need great faith to be able to follow God rightly. Jesus said if we just have the faith the size of a mustard seed we could say to a mountain, “Move over there!” and it
would. And if we begin with that tiny faith and trust in the mighty God we love and serve, then one day our mustard seed faith would grow into a large mustard plant, that would be so large that the birds of the air would roost in it. This would be another miracle of our faith. This spiritual mustard plant will become a massive plant with huge limbs that is able to support even large birds! Yes, this is the mystery of our faith and our mighty God to produce such supernatural growth from such a lowly beginning. In addition, Adrian gave a wonderful analogy of how our faith works. He said it does not take much faith for us to do things of faith. For example, a person may look at a bridge spanning a large river and wonder if the bridge will support his weight. As he is pondering it, large trucks, one after the other, cross over the bridge and then looking under the bridge he sees why the bridge supports them so well. It has large concrete pillars and thick steel supports. So he realizes that if it supports such large trucks it should support him. His faith is small, but he does cross the bridge with faith that it will support his weight. After weighing all the evidence, the faith he uses may be very small, even miniscule, but it is faith none the less. And by taking obedient steps of faith his faith grows every time he uses it and therefore he experiences the power of God in answering his prayers of faith. The hope this story gives, is that even if our faith is smaller than a mustard seed, it could be enough to produce a miracle, maybe not one so great as Jesus’, but one never the less. We must not give up on our faith no matter how weak it is, but ask God to increase it as the need is increased and when He answers that prayer that seed will produce a mustard plant much larger than any natural mustard plant. Jesus promises that it will grow so big that birds will roost in it and raise their young there.
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Question Time Question: Will Christ come again? Answer: Christ will come again, as promised, at a time not told us, in the same way as He was seen to return to heaven. 1. Christ’s second coming is clearly promised in the Bible.
4. We are told something of the manner in which Christ will come.
(a) The Lord Jesus Christ Himself promised, “I will come again” (John 14:3; Matt. 25:31). (b) His second coming is promised by the Old Testament prophets (Dan. 7:13; Zech. 14:5). (c) The apostles bore witness to Christ’s second coming (Acts 3:20). (d) The Lord’s Supper is intended to be a perpetual reminder of the Lord’s second coming for it is an “interim” measure-it is “until He comes” (I Cor. 11:26).
(a) He will come in the same way as He was seen to go into heaven (Acts 1:9,11). (b) He will come from heaven (Acts 3:21; Phil. 3:20; I Thess. 1:10; 4:16). (c) He will come in clouds with power and great glory (Matt. 24:30; 26:64; Rev. 1:7)-the glory of His Father (Matt. 16:27). (d) He will come with His angels (Matt. 16:27; 25:31; Mark 8:38; II Thess. 1:7), and with all His saints, in flaming fire (I Thess. 3:13; II Thess. 1:8).
2. Signs of Christ’s coming again are indicated in the Bible. (a) The second coming of Christ will be preceded by disturbances in nature, and distress among the nations (Luke 21:25). (b) There will be signs in sun and moon and stars (Luke 21:25; Matt. 24:29). (c) The second coming will be preceded by concern and fear over coming events: men will faint with fear and with foreboding of what is coming to the world (Luke 21:26).
5. Christ’s second coming should influence Christians in their character and conduct continually. (a) We are to rest the full weight of our hopes on the grace that will be ours when the Lord Jesus Christ returns (I Pet. 1:13). (b) We shall use the apparent “delay” to bring about men’s salvation by the preaching of the gospel (II Pet. 3:15), at the same time hastening the coming of the Lord by this activity (II Pet. 3:12).
3. The precise time of Christ’s second coming is not stated.
6. Unbelievers find the Second Coming a cause for scoffing.
(a) It is natural for us to want to know the timing of everything (Mark 13:4). (b) But no one knows the day or the hour of Christ’s second coming, except the Father (Mark 13:32; Matt. 24:36). (c) His coming will be sudden (Mark 13:36)-like lightning (Matt. 24:27) or a thief in the night (I Thess. 5:2; II Pet. 3:10; Rev. 16:15). (d) The world will be totally unprepared for the second coming of Christ even as it was unprepared for the coming of the flood (Matt. 24:38).
(a) Unbelievers often scoff at Christ’s coming (II Pet. 3:3,4). (b) Men, who prefer to follow their own passions, scoff at the promise of Christ’s coming, deliberately ignoring the Word of God (II Pet. 3:3-7). (c) Unbelievers shall, nevertheless, be overtaken and surprised by the reality of the Lord’s second coming (Matt. 24:37-39; I Thess. 5:2; II Pet. 3:10).
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May 2013
D r . A l e x a n d e r K u r i a n
Digging Deeper THE GOSPEL OF GOD Romans 6 (Exposition) Dead to Sin & Alive to Christ (6:1-14) Paul is answering his critics, the libertines, who teach that abounding grace is a license to sin. Justification by faith has its practical effects on those who are saved. In chapter 6 he deals with the subject of the believer's holiness – the life of righteousness and purity that God demands and provides for His children through the life of obedience in the power of the Holy Spirit. 6:8-10:We share in Christ's victory. Because we have died and rose with Christ, we too shall never die again. Death is no longer master over us. Death is the penalty of sin. To break the mastery of sin is to break the mastery of death. Christ was absolutely sinless. Yet he died to sin. Christ died to the penalty of sin by taking upon Himself the sins of the whole world. Christ also died to the power of sin, forever breaking the power of sin over those who belong to God through their faith in Christ. This is true in the believer's life also; died to the penalty of sin as well as the power of sin. Christ died to sin once for all. His victory over sin and death is forever; it will never need repeating. The writer to the Hebrews stresses this truth again and again (7:26-27; 9:12, 28; 10:10). Believers also undergo an irreversible transformation, by dying to the old self and thereafter live as new creatures. Like Jesus the believer lives to God. 6:11-14:Verse 11 is the first command in the book of Romans. “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” This is the believer's irreversible transformation through justification by faith. We die to the old self at
conversion (6:6: “knowing that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin”) thereafter live as new creatures in Christ (2 Cor.5:17). “Consider” (v.11) means “calculate” by adding up the facts presented in verses 1-10 and then act accordingly. The mastery of sin has been broken in their lives. The tension in verses 12-14 is between what God has already accomplished in our lives and our responsibility to obey. We are still tempted by sinful desires. But we should not allow those sinful desires to gain control in our lives. The believer should stop the long process of presenting his members as tools for evil purposes and instead present himself to God once and for all as His slave for good purposes. The tenses (present and aorist) in this verse may imply “stop presenting your members as tools of unrighteousness to sin, but rather present yourselves once and for all to God as those alive from the dead and your members as tools of righteousness to God” (a free literal translation). Paul suggests a wonderful idea here in relation to our practical holiness, that our bodies and abilities are tools that God can use to accomplish His purpose on earth. God's people have the privilege of being tools in God's hand. “This idea gives a sacred aura to the believer's service for Christ” (Stewart Custer). “For sin shall not be master over you” (v.14) or sin shall not exercise power over you. This is not a command but a promise that sin will not triumph in the lives of Christians, because they are not under Law, but under grace. We are not living under the old covenant of the Mosaic Law where sin ruled over God's people, but continued in page 18...
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Do you know? Astrology is condemned in the Bible as a form of idolatry. Yet in Matthew 2:2 the birth of Christ was told to the Magi by the appearence of His Star in the heavens. How can this be? First of all, we need to define astrology as a superstitious belief in the movement or the position of the planets and stars as forewarning of the will of the gods (or the forces of fate), which the devotees of astrology may somehow cope with by taking some sort of the evasive or preventive action. Or else, as with the horoscopes and study of the signs of the zodiac so much in vogue today, astrology may indicate special potentialities in those born under a certain constellation, or signifies good or bad luck for activities that might be engaged in during that particular day. In ancient pre-Christian times, this concern for astrology was accompanied by actual worship of the heavenly bodies in a ritualistic way. All who carried on such practices in ancient Israel were subject to execution by stoning (Deut. 17:2-7). In the case of the natal star of Christ, however, none of the above elements was involved. The star the Magi saw in the East constituted an announcement that Christ the child had been born. We know this because of the scope of Herod’s command to his corps of butchers sent to Bethlehem: “When Herod realised that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi”(Matt. 2:16 NIV). Therefore the star must have appeared when Jesus was born, and it must have required the Magi more than a year to get to Jerusalem and have their interview with Herod. The star was not
a fore warning but the announcement of an already accomplished fact. Second, no worship of false gods or of deterministic powers of fate was involved in this pilgrimage of the Magi. They simply received God’s announcement through the star as requiring them to seek the newborn King, because they understood that He was destined to be Ruler over the entire world- including their own country(which might have been Persia, since the Magi were most active there in ancient times). They therefore decided to make up a caravan for the group(whether there were three of them or more, we cannot be sure,except perhaps for the three types of gifts mentioned: gold, frank- incense, and myrrh)and conduct a pilgrimage to the kingdom of the Jews. They wished to do homage to the God-sent Baby destined to become King of the Jews and of the whole earth as well. Third, it should be understood that the scripture speaks in several other passages of divine announcements in the heavens set forth by the sun, moon, and stars. For example, Jesus speaks of “the sign of the Son of Man” that will “appear in the sky,... with power and great glory’’ (Matt. 24:30 NIV). It is fair to assume that this sign will include the sun, moon, or stars-though it could be some sort of blazing apparition. But certainly at Pentecost the apostle Peter, quoting from Joel 2:28-32, was refering to these signs of the Second Coming when he said, “I will show wonders in the heaven above... The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord” (Acts 2:19-20, NIV). These celestial manifestations have nothing to do with astrology as a pagan superstition.
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Digging Deeper under the new covenant in Christ, the dispensation of grace – an era characterized by grace. The grace of Christ rests upon believers. We are saved, sustained, strengthened and secured by grace. His grace is strong enough to enable believers to live for Him. “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cori.12:9). Sin is no longer the believer's ruler. Sin gained its power by using the law, but the Christian is no longer under the rule of the law, but under the rule of grace. “The Mosaic system consisted of external laws which revealed the sin prevalent in human hearts. In contrast, God's grace places the believer in Christ, and the Holy Spirit in the believer. Therefore a Christian does not have to sin, he or she can resist temptation and do what is right” (NKJV Study Bible, 1775). 18
May 2013
L a u n a S t a n
What is Your Identity?
T
here are so many ways we, as human beings try to make a name for ourselves. I suppose it is how we are programmed. Some people try to make their identity all about who they love, what political party they support or what team they cheer for. Others try to make their individuality all about what music they prefer, what fashions they don, what kind of car they can afford or what they do as a career. It doesn't matter what words you choose to describe this need; it all boils down to the fact that we all are compelled to have a distinction that sets us apart from all others. We crave a unique identity. A way to announce, “Hey, look at me, this is who I am!” Are Christians any different? Should we be? Where should we derive our identity? One of my favorite stories is about Gideon; this is located in Judges 6. The chapter starts in a time of great upheaval. Because the sons of Israel had done what was evil in the sight of the Lord, He gave them over to their ruthless enemies, the Midianites for seven long years. One particular day, while Gideon was hiding in a wine press, beating out grain in order to keep it from his oppressors, an angel of the Lord appeared to him. “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior,” this shining superhuman being sent straight from God declared. “Warrior” was the identity that God had bestowed upon His servant Gideon. That's interesting. If you saw a person yelling and beating up a person on the street, would you address them as, “O gentle and kind sir?” Never, the man's actions would be contrary to the label. Was it because Gideon was acting courageously, as he cowered in the winepress, that God named him in such a way? No, scriptures say that he was hiding. What does this mean? Clearly, when we are His children, our Father does not address us based upon our behaviors, but rather calls us as He sees us…through Jesus. He has given us our own identity. We are redeemed; we are washed clean and we are new creations. Just as with Gideon, God sees us as He intends us to be, not how we presently are. And although many of us don't know what that is yet or if we are indeed walking in it, it is still how our gracious God
knows us. It is what He has purposed us to become and He is not focused on the fact that we are not there yet. We are warriors and priests and holy and valiant and gracious and beloved and tender and adopted and priceless and precious. The list is endless. Let me offer an example. My husband and I have had great difficulties with our son, who is now in kindergarten. When he comes home with a bad report from his teacher about his behaviors, we are learning not to only address these actions. If we do, he will always live in condemnation and continually think that he is a “bad boy” because he is in trouble so much. Instead, we have begun to speak into his identity in Christ. We see what God can achieve in him someday in the future. What does this entail? We tell him that God has called him to be a mighty man of God, a valiant warrior and a prophet to his generation. (We actually say this!) Then we further tell him what this looks like in normal life. For example, a mighty man of God never hits other children, especially little girls. A valiant warrior comes to the rescue of another person who is hurt or opens the door for a lady. A prophet for his generation never tells lies to his teacher; he only speaks the truth. You get the idea. Can I tell you something remarkable? This shift in our parenting methods, have truly made a difference in our son's behaviors, like nothing else we have ever tried. Why is this? I think it is because he knows that he is not the person that we are addressing yet, but he wants to live up to that calling. He wants to apprehend this identity because it is so wonderful and noble. And as Christians, so should we! We are called to have our identity completely wrapped up in Jesus Christ and not in whatever the world-system says is acceptable. We need to get into a right relationship with Him and study His scriptures diligently to find out how He sees us. When we have truly comprehended our identity from God's perspectives, our lives have got to eventually line up to who He says we are. What is your identity today? When God looks at you, what does He see? How should that affect the choices you make now?
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How the Apostles Died? 1) Matthew:He was killed by a sword wound thus he suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia.
the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.
2 ) Mark : died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.
8) Bartholomew: was also known as Nathaniel, he was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in the present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.
3) Luke :He was hanged in Greece as a result of his zealous work in preaching Christ to the lost. 4) John: John was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome . However, he was miraculously delivered from death. He was then sentenced to banishment on the prison Island of Patmos. It was on this island that John wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation. Apostle John was later freed and he returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern day Turkey. He died as an old man and was the only apostle to die peacefully. 5) Peter: He was crucified upside down on an xshaped cross. This was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died. 6) James: was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies had beaten James to death with a fuller’s club. This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation. 7) James the Great: was the Son of Zebedee. He was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. For the sake of his passion and zealous work for the Kingdom of God James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James was amazed to see how James defended his faith during his trial. Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to 20
9)Andrew: He was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: ‘I have long desired and expected this happy hour.’ He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired. 10)Thomas: He was stabbed with a spear, during one of his missionary trips to India in order to establish the church in the Sub-continent. 11)Jude:He was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. 12)Matthias:This apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded. 13)Paul: Apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which teaches many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament. This is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith.
May 2013
M r . T h o m a s U l e d a r
Testimony
AMAZING GOD A miraculas escape from the terrorits: How God saved Me & 100 of others on 26th November, 2008
M
y name is Thomas Uledar, I am a believer, Jesus saved me in May, 1996. He saved my life then and now, He’s given me a new meaning to my life. I am involved in Children & Youth Ministry. On 31st October 2008, I got married to a girl who is a believer and has the same calling i.e. involved in Children Ministry. I have been preaching and teaching the Word of GOD since many years, however this was the first time I experienced this reality in my own life. I used to think of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego how GOD saved them miraculously, however the LORD helped me and my friends to experience this in our lives. This is how God saved me from the hands of Terrorists. My sister (Gracy Timmesh) was admitted for delivery in Cama Hospital just adjacent to Chatrapati th Shivaji Terminus (Victoria terminus). On 26 November 2008, myself, my mom, elder brother, elder sister, aunty, cousin brother, two brother in-laws and two of my believer friends (total 10 persons) went to visit her. It was quite late about 21:30 Hrs (IST) that we decided to go back home. We wanted to leave in two groups. Five left earlier and the rest of us were also leaving the Hospital. Suddenly after 15 minutes, the 5 who left earlier came running into the Hospital asking us to run and shouting that ‘Terrorists are firing bullets at the CST station’. We all started running back into the Hospital as we saw Two Terrorists entering into the Hospital premises. They shot dead two persons at the entrance. After few minutes I noticed that a tube light at the corridor was on and so I went out of the room to switch it off and my younger brother- in-law (Timmesh Chinakar) Who is a priest and one of my friends (Soumen Ghosh) followed me. I could not locate the switch, when I turned back to head for the ward, I saw
the 2 Terrorists coming up the Stairway and they were armed with AK-47 Assault Rifles & Guns. One of them (Ajmal Qasab) came directly towards me and pointed the Rifle at my chest and asked “Where are the other people”? I replied “They are inside but I don’t know where they are” as I came running up the stairs. He looked at me in anger and took us inside the Ward. Then they told us to lie down on our stomachs and then started loading their rifles, after loading their rifles we were asked to stand with our hands up. However there was hope according to the situation but “Our GOD is GOD of Hope” (Romans 15:13). Then Abu started looking around for people in the ward like a hungry lion. But the LORD took control of each and everything. The most incredible thing was that, there were many newborn babies and some ladies who had undergone operation just few hours back but nobody made any kind of noise. I believe the Holy Spirit took control over the little babies and all were protected and kept them unharmed. As they terrorists Abu and Qasab heard the noise of firing by policemen down the building he stood on my brother’s thighs and started firing from the window. Then they told us to go inside the bathroom and Qasab followed us. As Abu was searching in the ward he found an elderly man (Harischandra Shrivardhankar56 yrs old). He was asked to stand with us but he refused and kept pleading with him. So they caught him by his hair and pinned him on the ground. They told him say “Allah” and shot him on the shoulder (we later found that the bullet went through his body and had hit the floor) and stabbed him on his back. We were praying in our hearts “LORD save him” knowing that next is our turn. But the Word of GOD says “I will satisfy you with long life” and “Call ME in the times of trouble and I will rescue you and you shall glorify ME” continued in page 22...
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AMAZING GOD (Psalms 91:16, 50:15). Both of them (Abu & Qasab) were trying to shoot us but amazing miracle took place we could hear the firing of the guns very slowly 4 times but what a miracle the bullets were not coming out they tried for few seconds but were unable to do so because I believe that the LORD sent HIS angels to save us (Psalms 91:11,12). We were just waiting for them to shoot at us and suddenly they stepped backwards and went out of the bathroom and locked us from outside. I was happy to know that they are out and locked from outside so I wanted to lock from inside. As I turned to lock Alas! However inside there was no latch to keep ourselves safe. Through this the LORD was showing that “ I AM the LORD besides ME there is no other SAVIOUR” (Isa 43:11). When Qasab confessed the crime he told that, he locked five people (but there were only four men Myself Timmesh (Priest), Soumen & the watchman of the Hospital) in the bathroom, so I believe as King Nebuchadnezzar saw four men in the furnance according to Daniel 3:25 I believe Jesus was the fifth person because He is the God of Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego. The 22
LORD confused them to such an extent that they wasted their arms & ammunitions by exploding 4 Hand Grenades and firing 100s of bullets on the walls, ceilings and empty elevators (we could hear the gunshots). Meanwhile we were praying and interceding inside the bathroom and the HOLY SPIRIT led us in prayer, we were confessing the Word of GOD, binding the spirit of terrorism and death simultaneously releasing the Spirit of Life. No one came till 2 hours, and then 10 policemen came and opened the door. When the doors were opened we saw the old man who was the shot, lying on the ground, my brother who was unharmed and other people injured on the floor. We helped to take the injured to G.T. Hospital. After this incident we (Myself, Timmesh & Soumen) went to the police station to collect our Mobile Phones as they had got from Qasab’s Bag. We shared our testimony with the policemen and they were amazed. After that Timmesh & Me were summoned to the court to testify against Qasab who was caught alive. On 4th July 2009 after our testimony, within 10 days the LORD made him to confess that what we had testified was true. He said ‘Mujhe Guna Kabool hai’. Every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess that JESUS is the LORD (Philippians 2:10,11).
May 2013
R e v . B a r n e y K i n a r d
Leadership: Weakness!
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hat images come to mind when you consider Weakness? May be weakness is just the opposite of strong or strength. Weakness might look like the lack of muscles, like feeble or the under developed weakling. Maybe you remember Mighty Mouse with super human qualities, but a diminutive form of a mouse. In our culture weakness is not to be emulated as a quality of leadership. No one wants to be a Weak Leader! So are we missing something here? I think so! Weakness for Christian leader has more to do with humility and lack of arrogance, or pompous proud behavior, grand standing, if you please. It is not childish, but more child like. It is not a kind of dependence on oneself, but rather an intentional dependence upon God. So how does this kind of weakness work in leadership? First of all, I think weakness means everything is subject to the will of God. We believe God is sovereign and is in control of all things. We plan, but ultimately, we are subject to comply with God's plans. We could say, “not my will, but thy will be done.” Secondly, weakness means that we are totally dependent upon the blessing of Almighty God. We pray, not so much to tell God what to do, but humbly asking that we might accept what God will do. It is not about us trying to work it all out, but rather, it is about Him working in our lives to do His good pleasure through our leadership. Further, weakness involves a resolve to obey God and do what He wants to accomplish through us. Leadership implies that God is instructing us, directing us, and guiding us in what we are doing in His Kingdom. If we lack this Kingdom orientation, then being strong in this World's orientation is our only other option. Listening to God and obeying God is a much higher calling.
Lastly, I would say, weakness in leadership is NOT really about YOU. We represent another leaderJesus. Ultimately, our leadership is not about us. He has chosen us and called us to be a leader. He leads us. We follow His lead. HE is the leader! Being submissive and subject to Him is clearly involved with weakness of leadership. Here are My Top-Ten Tips for working Weakness in your Leadership Profile. 1. We must affirm this mantra: “Not my will, but thy will be done.” It helps to use this phrase at the end of most verbally stated plans, “the Lord willing.” 2. When you pray, humble yourselves to the sovereign plans of God and the advancement of His Kingdom. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all these things will be added...” 3. Our supreme motive in all that we do is the Glory of God. We lead, not for the applause or praise of men, but for the praise and blessing of God. Will God be glorified by how I lead? 4. Be careful not to be tempted to appeal to your own authority. It is God who gives us our leadership
May 2013
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SATHYAM SERVICE TRUST WANTED 1. Administrators- Graduates with good administration and co-ordination skill and capable of working with minimum supervision. 2. Communication Co-ordinators- Graduates with good command over English and should have a Christian Mission commitment.
ADVT wanted 3. Social WorkersShould have Msw qualification.
4. Accountant- B.com / M.com graduates. 5. Editor and proof reader- Candidates with Biblical Knowl-edge and good command over English and Malayalam language. 6. Office Secretary- Should have good Command over English and good knowledge of computers. Should have a Christian mission commitment. 7. Physiotherapist and Speech therapist for special children.
Phone: 9447126182
8. Special Teachers- With Special B.Ed MR.
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Leadership: Weakness!
Kindly forward your resume to administrator@truthintl.org
authority. Appeal to God's authority. Know what God has said in the Scriptures. Represent what He has whispered to you. 5. Make it your daily quest to determine what God is doing and do it with Him. Find out what God is blessing and be a part of that. Doing together (with God) what you cannot do alone. 6. Be on the lookout for other weak leaders who demonstrate submissive humility to God and His work. These are the real movers and shakers in the Kingdom. 7. Daily express to God your gratefulness for his mercy and grace. None of us deserve the favor of God in our leadership. Be thankful that He wants to use, even you. Praise God that you are weak, which is your strength. 8. Determine to trust God to accomplish something bigger than you can do in your ministry.
SATHYAM MINISTRIES THOTTABHAGOM P.O., THIRUVALLA-689 541, KERALA, INDIA. Mob. 9447126182, 9446026182 E-mail: satyam_india@yahoo.com, web: www.sathyam.org
It takes faith to believe that He will accomplish something greater through you can. 9. Learn what these passages mean: “His strength is made perfect in our weakness. He has chosen the weak to confound the wise.” 10. Practice saying: “I am strong because I am weak!” It is a good thing to be reminded. If you are guilty of loving God, listening to God, obeying God, and working for the Kingdom, This is the strength of the quality of weakness! God will use this kind of leadership. The story of David and Goliath comes to mind?
“For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first, After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” - 1 Thess. 4:16, 17 24
May 2013
INSPIRING THOUGHTS
Self-Control 1. The most precious of all possessions, is power over ourselves; power to withstand trial, and to bear suffer. It is the power over pleasure and pain; power to flow convictions, however resisted by menace and scorn; and the power of calm reliance in scenes of darkness and storms.-Locke 2. It implies command of temper, command of feeling, coolness of judgment, and the power to restrain the imagination and curb the will.- Adams 3. Every temptation that is resisted, every noble aspiration that is encouraged, every sinful thought that is repressed, every bitter word that is withheld, adds its little item to the impetus of that great movement which is bearing humanity onward toward a richer life and higher character.- Fiske
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Christian……What is it? who are hearing the term Christian are starting to hear it in a new way. In 1 Peter 4, Peter is now encouraging those believers about their faith and about this very term: "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you... ...However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name." Peter is saying that when we are persecuted for labeling ourselves as Christians, praise God. Praise God that if you say you're a Christian and someone has a bad connotation with that term, like Paul you have an opportunity to show God's grace to that person. The term itself is an opportunity to praise God as we represent him. In October of 2010, my husband and I went to South Africa for a Christian conference. While we were there we met a young Iranian man named Farshid. He told us about his church and how it's growing. It is illegal in Iran to share the gospel, to give out a Bible, to preach openly, to worship openly. Yet Farshid, with this term Christian all over him, talking about Christ, was bold in his faith. We were so impressed by him.
showing the hope he holds on to even in the midst of this struggle. You can learn more about Farshid's story at http://www.freefarshid.org/. Farshid's story is a difficult one, because he is suffering so much for following Jesus. It seems hard, but Jesus tells us when we follow him there is an adventure that comes with it. There might be suffering, but there's also great blessing. We may not be called will suffer like Farshid, but many of us are affected by the negative press the term Christian holds. We cannot let that branding problem affect our allegiance to Christ. If anything, we ought to live its true meaning out so that the world will know the true beauty of the term Christian. What would be different in your family, in your neighborhood and in our world if you increased your commitment and faithfulness to the teachings and guidance of Jesus Christ? We live out the word Christian -“follower of Christ”- because it's a great adventure and we are never alone. Being called a Christian, a follower of Jesus, is both a privilege and a responsibility. Look at how The Message translates Romans 8. May you be encouraged by this beautiful expression of this life of adventure with Jesus?
Just a couple of months after met him, Farshid and his network leaders were all arrested. They were interrogated and treated terribly because of their faith. Many of them are now out of jail and escaped from Iran, but Farshid is still in prison. He was sentenced to six years. Farshid is in prison just because he's a Christian, but he wears that label proudly. From prison, he's ministering to others and writing beautiful letters, May 2013
"This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike 'What's next, Papa?' God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us-an unbe-lievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!” 25
Ines S. Franklin
Christian……What is it?
C
hristianity has a branding problem. Some Christians are known for being generous, kind and caring people, but others complain that Christians are hypocrites, judgmental and preachy. Part of the problem is terminology. We have different definitions for the term Christian: a religion passed down by parents, a moral framework, a culture or a follower of Jesus Christ. Have you ever wondered where the term Christian came from? What would happen if Christians actually followed and lived out the teachings of their Lord, Jesus Christ, and showed the world what being a true “Christian” really means? Interestingly, the word “Christian” did not come from Jesus or the apostles. After Christ went back to the Father, the disciples were excited to share the gospel with others, so everywhere they went, they talked about Christ. Soon, they experienced persecution. They remembered that Jesus had commanded them to, "Go out and make disciples of all nations,” so they went to different places to talk about Christ and protect themselves from persecution. As they traveled, the disciples found that people were hungry for the message of Jesus, and they received it well, and the church grew in great numbers. Word came back to Jerusalem about one location in particular, Antioch. In Acts11:25. Barnabas, one of the disciples, travelled to Antioch looking for more help, since the church was growing. "Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul [whom we now know as Paul], and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." It's interesting that this term is used by outsiders watching, trying to define this group of people that was growing in great numbers. They were different. They were generous, kind and forgiving. They were taking 26
care of widows, orphans and the poor. They were Gentiles, Jews and barbarians no one was excluded. They were annoying, because they were talking about Jesus to everyone, everywhere. But, more importantly, they were infidels because their allegiance was to a different king. Followers of king Herod were called Herodians. The word Christian in Greek is Christianōs. It comes from the word Christos orChrist. A Christian is an adherent or follower of Christ. A Christian belongs to Christ. A Christian holds allegiance to Christ, not Herod, and this was seen as a bad thing. Later in Acts 26, we see that Paul, who had now preached the Word of God all over, got arrested. He testified before King Agrippa about how he was once a zealot against the Christians, even killing them for their faith. Jesus met him along the road to Damascus and changed him forever, and now he too was spreading the message about Jesus. Here's what King Agrippa responded with: "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?" We can read the sarcasm, but what was meant as an insult, Paul turns into beauty. He says, "Short time or long, I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today, may become what I am, except for these chains." Now Paul gives Christian a whole new meaning, doesn't he? Now this isn't just a title for a group of people. There's a meaning behind this word, and those continued in page 25..
May 2013
S e c t i o n b y w r i t e r Ă s n a m e
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S e c t i o n b y w r i t e r s n a m e
Truth Alive
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