THE PROPHET’S TASK

Do two men start travelling together without arranging to meet?

Does a lion roar in the forest unless he has found a victim?

Does a young lion growl in his den unless he has caught something?

Does a bird get caught in a trap if the trap has not been baited?

Does a trap spring unless something sets it off?

Does the war trumpet sound in a city without making the people afraid?

Does disaster strike a city unless the Lord sends it?

The Sovereign Lord never does anything without revealing His plans to his servants, the prophets.

When a lion roars, who can avoid being afraid?

When the Sovereign Lord speaks, who can avoid proclaiming his message?

(Amos 3:3-8)

This is the Word of Lord

Thanks be to the God

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

THE GLORIOUS FISH

The Holy Bible says, “When the net is full, they pull it to the shore and sit down to divide the fish; the good ones into their buckets….”  (Matthew 13:48)

PART TWO

The first creation, Adam and Eve could not foresee and overcome the cunning plan of Satan, where as Lord Jesus demonstrated that using the Word of God as a sharp weapon mankind can overcome the world and its power.  Those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons; while those who live according to the human desires are surely going to perish. Preparing yourself for the Eternal Reward is sure to raise an internal fight to overcome the lust of your eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride in gaining something and everything of this world. The fruit that God forbade them to eat was always in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve never felt the fruit as attractive as they were under the command of God’s glory. They had so much to enjoy in the marvellous creation with like mindedness and same opinion. It was only when they lend a ear to satan’s explanation of the fruit they were attracted to it and disobeyed God. Consuming the fruit opened their eyes to all dreadful views. Dislike towards each other, difference in opinion cropped up, dissatisfaction arose, aware of the things they lacked, sadness made place where joy once reigned; love gave way to hatred. In their supremacy of ignorance, they began to find fault in God’s creation- forgetting their origin of existence.  The veil of God’s glory was torn off  and destroyed by the cheater who still gains access to each one and continues his destructive work in us all.  

Our Lord then began His mission delightfully by preaching His message,“Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of Heaven is here,” demonstrating  to us how to win over the world and its tempting powers.  Through the Incarnated Word of God, Lord Jesus brought goodness of joy to all the people and in His Name the message of repentance and forgiveness of sin must be preached to all nations. God, the Lord of all, richly blesses the Jews as well as the Gentiles and all those who call out to Him, without any partiality. Every Apostle had the divine opportunity to enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven except for Judas Iscariot who became a bad fish in the net and lost the eternal reward. Likewise, the holy invitation is sent to all by the Divine Host and it is our responsibility to accept the invite, carefully guard the precious treasure that is handed over to us and be prepared to give away each and everything that belongs to the world to safeguard our Eternal Fortune. As mentioned above, Lord Jesus has already taught us the basic qualities that are required to enter the Kingdom of God. (John 3:5)Through the Apostles, everyone in Jerusalem was familiar with the extraordinary miracles performed by Lord Jesus; meanwhile the Scriptures do clear that some of them did not believe in it. The Heavenly Kingdom of God that Lord Jesus introduced and acquainted to us is entitled to all who live in His justice.

Ponder yourself with these questions: Do I belong to the Kingdom of Heaven as a good fish caught by the disciple of Lord Jesus?

If not, how can I transform myself into a good one?

Though I have heard about the love and concern of Lord Jesus Christ, yet what could it be that is forbidding me to follow Him?

Let us once again walk through the Garden of Eden and see the occurrence after the disobedience of our ancestors Adam and Eve. Sovereign God in His utmost affection for his children humbles Himself to visit and walk with them as day by day. But after the disobedience, human being, the prime of His creation loses their virtue and are aware of their ungodliness to stand in front of their Creator. The absence of holiness forbids them from partaking in His life. This is also one of the concerns why certain people cannot remain steadily in God’s presence. Even today, God visits us, but we, mere human, find excuses to hide from Him due to the uncleanness of our soul.  No one wishes to be an unclean or a rotten fish which is good only to be thrown to the fiery furnace. Forgetting that the enemy is within us we often prepare ourselves for a battle to evade thinking that our enemies from outside would attack us. 

So let us begin our fight against the forces that lead us to ugliness by casting the thief out; covering yourself then, with the veil of God’s glory can transform you into a glorious fish in the Basket that would be carried by the holy angels to welcoming Heaven where we would be enthroned and crowned.

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favour and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

THE GLORIOUS FISH

The Holy Bible says, “When the net is full, they pull it to the shore and sit down to divide the fish; the good ones into their buckets….”  (Matthew 13:48)

Jesus Christ educated His disciples and the public about the value of the Kingdom of God in easy to understand manner and often He would explicate via His teachings that the Kingdom of Heaven would be similar to that of a fisherman’s net that would gather all kinds of fish- good and the bad. Two thousand years ago, when He called his fishermen turned disciples to follow Him, He told them that He would teach them to catch men. This call amazed and caught their interests and they set out to follow Lord Jesus. Three years of His coaching and they became scholars in His Mission. They began to spread wide the net of Heavenly Spirit of truth and cleared His way to the Father in Heaven. This mission continues and will continue till the end of age. In this parable our Lord says, the fishermen waited till their net is full with all kinds of fish. Pulling it then to the shore, they separate the catch; the good ones are collected in their buckets while the bad are thrown away. Likewise our Almighty God gives a chance to each of us through various incidents of our daily toil to seek the truth and follow the right path. Jesus Christ continues to explain that at the end of the age, the holy angels would appear to gather the evil populace from among the good ones to throw them into the fiery furnace; where they will cry and grind their teeth.  But before all this would happen, all mankind from every corner of the earth will be attracted to the Good News of Eternal Salvation by the Mercy of our Father in Heaven. His Everlasting Love for us – He sent His Son Jesus Christ among us in the form of a human in order that we follow His path to victory. Here let us reflect how to succeed in life!

Jesus Christ who is the Truth, without any deceitfulness, defeated the cunning devil before His Mission. Baptized with water and Holy Spirit, from the appointed person, John the Baptist(Matthew 3:13-16). Lord Jesus taught us that no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and Spirit. (John 3:5). Jesus then decided to fast and pray where the devil was waiting for an opportunity to attack Him. After forty days of fast, when Lord Jesus was hungry, the devil sneaked near Him saying, “O son of God Why don’t you command these stones to become bread?” Lord Jesus confessed and shooting an arrow of appropriate answer conquered the devil. He said, “The Scripture says, ‘Man cannot live on bread alone, but needs every word that God speaks.’ ” Dear devotees of Christ, through this experience our Lord teaches us how to gain control over our temporary desires. When our Father in Heaven led our ancestors He would send them hardships to test their obedience towards His commands. God would make them hungry, but at the right time He gave them Manna, the tastiest food they ever relished. He did this to educate us that man must not depend merely on bodily desires to sustain, but on everything that Lord says. (Deuteronomy 8)  Likewise, Lord Jesus, the Supreme Lord of all lords defeated the satan by quoting the Holy Scriptures from the Old testament – the Life Giving command of our Supreme God and taught us the same. St. Paul on numerous instances reminds that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and  you are to use it for God’s glory. Your body is not to be used for indecent, filthy actions or immoral and adulterous living. Lord Jesus teaches us the importance of gaining self control over temptations and desires of your body by using the suitable Word of God.  The devil again tried his chance by taking Lord Jesus to the highest point of the Temple saying, “Throw yourself down, God will protect you by ordering His angels about it.”  Seeing through the devil’s trick Our Lord once again silences him quoting the Holy Scriptures, “Do not put your God to the test.” (Deuteronomy 6:16) Yes, my dear ones, the Lord time and again through this instance  warns us never to be proud of something that you have received freely. Instead it is your duty to praise and thank your Daily Provider at all times and be loyal to Him.

Again the devil in a final attempt says to the Holy Lord that he would confer all his kingdom to Him only if Lord Jesus would down kneel and worship Him; the devil was well aware this is against the first commandment of our Sovereign God. Our Lord rebukes and banishes the devil by quoting the commandment. With this confrontation our Lord tutors us never to adulterate our worship towards anything or anyone except the Magnificent God. When we bow in submission and worship Him; His power, glory and holiness fills in us and our point of view changes. A true worship signifies that you propose yourself as an offertory a living sacrifice to your Creator, dedicated to His service and to please Him.  Then God will transform you inwardly by a complete change of mind.

(...to be continued)

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favour and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

CHRISTEN SECTION

DOMINIC SAVIO - A YOUNG SAINT

Dear young readers, I pray and hope that regular reading of the Word of God is crushing each thorn of negativity in your life and you are doing well as God’s young warrior.  As per requests from young readers, would like to mention an inspirational life of a young adolescent with a mature spirituality-a doting son, a true friend and a saint; and the same would be penned by a member of our team.

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Born on 2^nd April 1842 in Italy to poor, hardworking and pious parents Dominic Savio had a deep reverence and extraordinary love for God. Lessons to love God, never to displease or offend Him and to be aware of self actions were inculcated in him. By the age of four, he could pray on his own and would be regular in prayers.  Once at the age of four this young child when missing and his mother hastily went in search of Him. He was found in the woods, all knelt up with eyes closed reciting His prayers by heart.He was punctual in Christian duties towards attending the Holy Mass. Due to his dedication and habitual devotional he was eligible to accept the Sacrament of Holy Communion at the age of seven (twelve was the age considered fit during those days).  It is well recorded that Dominic Savio was well aware of the purity that belonged to Sacrament and he prepared days in advance in prayers and asking forgiveness to his parents for any failure towards his duties. From this day he made some firm resolutions:

1.      I will go to confessions and receive the Holy Communion as advised by the priest

2.     To observe Sundays and religious festivals in a special manner

3.     Lord Jesus and Mother Mary will be my friends

4.    I prefer death than sin

He studied hard and would walk for miles to reach school daily. If anyone would ask him, if he feared the dark and dusty road, He would reply, “I am never alone, my guardian angels walks and protects me.” Such was the remarkable faith this young man had. This long walks in the due course took a toll on health and for secondary education his parents decided to shift him to the nearby village to be closer to school.

There are various instances that indicate how Dominic Savio was a true friend and wanted his friends to be always in line with piety and awareness of God. As boys of his age he too would participate in games. When two boys had a severe argument they decided to settle it with a fight. When Dominic Savio heard about it he rushed to the spot with a Holy crucifix, to the place where the fight was to take place.standing between the groups with the Holy Crucifix, requesting that they throw the first stones at him. “Christ, who was innocent, died for us rather than seek revenge from those who hated him." Ashamed of their act, the two boys gave up their fight and our young saint persuaded them to go for the Sacrament of confession. Just as his name ‘Savio’ meaning wise- he was gifted with wisdom and control over his emotions from a tender age.

The meeting with his spiritual mentor, St. John Bosco was a turning point in his life. His school was situated in John Bosco’s native village and it was a custom that the priest would visit his hometown in the month of October. Dominic’s teacher at school had remarked in high regard about this young boy to John Bosco. A meeting was arranged. Now John Bosco was a Roman Catholic priest who had dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquent and other disadvantaged youth. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment,

After initial greetings and a series of conversation, Dominic Savio bluntly asked the priest, how he had found him to be? While the priest answered that to him Dominic Savio looked a good material. Savio then replied, “Then take me with you, Father. You can be the tailor, and I'll be the cloth. Make me into a beautiful garment for Our Lord." This meeting was the beginning of their relationship, the result of which was that John Bosco agreed to take Dominic to Turin with him.Arriving at Turin, Dominic Savio placed himself under his mentor’s guidance. He enthusiastically followed the rules, listened to sermons and was obedient to his teachers. He once happened to listen to a talk on sainthood and these three points impressed him:

1.      That it is God’s will that every one becomes a saint.

2.     That it is easy to become a saint.

3.     That there is a great reward waiting in heaven for those who try to become a saint.

When he learnt that ‘Dominic’ meant ‘belonging to God’, the flame to attain sainthood increased and he began to do intense penances. It was St. John Bosco who forbade him and instead told him that as a school boy the best penance would be to do all his responsibilities with perfection humility and obedience. Thus this formed the philosophy of his life, “I can't do big things but I want everything to be for the glory of God.".

His devotion to Mother Mary was ignited under His mentor’s guidance.

Steadily failing health and severe cough forced Savio to be sent home to recover for few days. Though Dominic insisted that he wanted to spend his last few days at the Oratory his mentor decided to follow the doctor’s recommendation. Despite his affection and his wish John Bosco sent Dominic home with his father to recuperate. Four days at his home and he knew his end was near. As tutored by his mentor, he received his last sacraments and asked his father to recite prayers for a happy death. Then he slept off and after a short while awoke bidding good bye to his dad, “"Goodbye, Dad, goodbye . . . . . Oh, what wonderful things I see ...".

To those around him initially appeared as though he was in a deep sleep but then the truth struck that Dominic Savio had passed away at a tender age of 14. To his father who was deeply distressed and wanted to know where his son was in the other world, he appeared to his father in a dream a month after he passed away in the midst of dazzling light. He spoke to his dad saying “I am in heaven.” His father requested him to pray for his family members. “Yes, I will pray” was the answer.

Let us pray:

Almighty and Heavenly Father we praise you through St. Dominic Savio. Fill our hearts with heavenly wisdom and fear of God. Grant us the strength to resist all temptations and impurities. Fill us with Holy love for you and all. Raise us to perfection to the state of life to which we have been called. Through your powerful intercession we surrender the entire youth.

Almighty God, may your kingdom come, may your holy will be done.

St. Dominic Savio, pray for us! Amen

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

QUESTIONS ABOUT PAYING TAXES

The Holy Bible says, “...then Jesus said to them, “Well, then, pay the Emperor what belongs to the Emperor; and pay God what belongs to God.”  (Matthew 22:21)

We are all aware how the Pharisees kept an eagle’s eye on Jesus Christ’s public life to uncover faults in Him. The Roman Emperor issued a Law enacting that all should deposit the temple tax in the treasury that could rebuild the destructed Temple. This change was against the traditional belief of the Christian Jews who believed that taxes should be paid to God and His Temple and rebellion began to spread and question against the Jewish Christians disloyalty. On this background the Pharisees gathered some of their people and sent them along with Herod’s group to trap Jesus Christ with questions.

They asked Jesus, “What do you think? Is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor, or not?” (Matthew 22:17). The question, though, very simple, Lord Jesus saw through their evil intention.  Aware of their corruptness, Jesus did not take any of their side because if He would speak in favour of Caesar, He would be declared an enemy of the public and labelled as anti-patriot.  And if Lord would answer as it is not lawful paying taxes to Emperor then He could be easily handed over to the authorities in charges of conspiracy and be put to death. Lord Jesus’ mission of Salvation was above all this. He was not on this earth to be politically right or to help in political liberalization.  Jesus’ insight knew that their intention was not based on God or Caesar but it was God and Caesar. Therefore Lord Jesus summons, “Show Me the coin for paying the tax!” When they brought it He asked again, “Whose face and title are these?”  When they answered, “It belongs to the “Emperor”.  Lord Jesus concluded by saying, “Give therefore to the Emperor his dues and to God the things that belong to God.”

The ruler had the right to impose the law of taxes and the public were to accept the amended Law and pay the rightful Tax with the currency imposed by Him. It was the duty of a man (civilian) to obey and pay His dues to God who had dominance over him. A Christian has a dual citizenship- He is a citizen of His country as well as a citizen of Heaven. As a habitant of the earth (country) He is as expected to contribute along with the authorities for the betterment of the society in alignment to loving and serving his motherland in a spirit of truth, gratitude and justice.

Take for instance another occasion in the Holy Bible. When the temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the Temple Tax?” Here instead of offending the public Jesus Christ handled the situation in a practical manner. He tells Peter, “Go to the lake and drop a line. Pull up the first fish you hook and you will find a coin in its mouth.  That will be enough to pay our taxes.”  (Matthew 17:24-27) He instructs Peter to work and get enough money to pay the taxes for both Jesus and himself. Through Peter, Jesus Christ teaches and instructs that we ought to work hard and that every person has a duty towards God and the nation. Our expression of love to our country is evident when it benefits from our co-operation and in our eagerness to develop and built it.  An honest citizen will defend his/her country at the cost of their life. A good Christian honours both God and citizen by paying his dues to both. 

Through this incident our Lord Jesus teaches us about the value of honesty during tax payment. Instead of performing a miracle that could produce sufficient coins to pay the authorities which would have resulted in Peter not taking any physical effort; contradictory to all this Jesus enlightens us that we are called to work hard for our sustenance and pay our dues in a truthful and  sincere light. Jesus Christ never performed any miracle to showcase His popularity or power; instead His deep intention while performing miracles was to fulfil the purpose of the God’s Mission through Him.  

Expecting a miracle in our daily life is also a dishonest and easy act.  The Lord need not perform a miracle when He has freely provided all requirements to achieve our goal in life.  He will definitely come to our help when we approach Him in faith and trust Him in our deep distresses and troubles.  All that we have belongs to God the Supreme Creator and the Source of existence. So whatever you do towards your nation and God in His Name will make you entitled for an eternal reward.  

So let us give our dues cheerfully and honestly as Jesus taught, “Giving to Caesar is giving to God.”

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

SOVEREIGN GOD- I AM WHO IAM

The Holy Bible says “Be glad we belong to Him, let all who worship Him rejoice.” (Psalms 105 :3)

In response to your comments and queries on Sound Worship, let me once again bring in my disciple who is a devoted worshiper of Almighty God:

Dear Friends, I would like to respond to the questions that were based on my testimony. As far as my life as a minister is concerned God transformed my love for music towards His hymns and devotional songs and soon I was appointed in the KLWC Music Ministry.

By the grace of the Almighty God, I am continuing my personal worship with Him; the inner voice inspires me to praise God accepting all trials and trouble. I am assured that He will guide and lead me to the shore. I acknowledge His constant mercy and love towards us- mankind and that is sufficient to offer Him garlands of gratitude. I do not wish to be self- interested; and the consciousness that we are sent on this land to share Christ-who lived and sacrificed His life for the love of us. These thoughts encourage me to live for one another and draw those who are ignorant; to Christ through my deeds. I believe that when we bend our knees before our God who is ‘I AM’ is all this possible.

As a student I never saw success without a second attempt. After knowing the Lord and obligation to my duties; I stood second in my entire college and came out with flying colours; a shock to those who knew me and a proud moment for my parents who were now at peace for their son.  At the right time Sovereign Lord blessed me with a good job, followed by a loyal life partner and two sons. Till date it has been 23 years when I first stepped into KLWC; the journey still continues. My every little effort towards God produces good fruit. While blessing my soul and heart with courage and strong will power; He also blessed me with sound health and good personality. To those who asked about my routine, I do try to go to bed before 11 p.m. When God who is alive and active take charge of me and my day, how can I be sleepy? Instead I am all the more refreshed after my dawn prayer to continue all my work without pending. When your soul silently sings a new song in His honour; you tend to be joyful in all hardships.  All darkness be it in the form of fear, sorrow, anxiety, anger, grudge or pride can never work its power in you. You will surely see the changes in your colleagues and friends when they approach you. My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God has blessed each one of us with good health and brilliant skills.  Work hard spiritually and physically for your daily bread in union with Christ sacrificing some solitude moments every morning and evening at His feet and you will be relaxed and comforted by Him.  In His name forgive others as He is forgiving you and blessed with adequate and proper sleep!

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When God chose Moses to save His people who were treated cruelly in Egypt, He heard their cry to be rescued from the slave drivers. So Moses asked God what he would say when the Israelites would ask the name of their ancestor’s God who send them help. God in His response explained to Moses to tell them, ‘The One who is called ‘I AM’ has sent me to you! I the Lord of their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have sent you to them. This is My Name forever; this is what all future generations are to call Me.” (Exodus 3)

The Mystery of I AM WHO IAM is beyond human understanding and insight. The Lord ‘I AM WHO IAM’ is comprised of the one who is constantly ready to rescue His people, He is the One who never changes His word, the Promiser who fulfils His promise. Later on ‘Lord’ God pronounced His Holy Name ‘The LORD’.  Once He appeared to Moses in a cloud, saying,”I, the Lord, am God who is full of compassion and pity, who is not easily angered and shows immense love and faithfulness.” Lord God continues that though He will keep His promises to thousands of generation; forgiving  evil and sin yet He will not fail to punish children and grandchildren till the third and fourth generation for the sins of their parents. (Exodus 34:6-7)

“I AM” signifies for One who does not change because He is the Eternal truth and wisdom and upholding the name He says to us, “My Love is forever” and “I have always loved you and continue to show my constant love. Once again I will rebuild you.”We, the human race, are called to share and live in the shadow of His saving Love. Let us be glad and rejoice for this everlasting Love.

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

WHAT GOD REQUIRES

Lord, who may enter your Temple?

Who may worship on Zion, Your sacred hill?

A person who obeys God in everything

and always does what is right,

whose words are true and sincere,

and who doesn’t slander others.

He does no wrong to his friends

nor spreads rumours about his

neighbours.

He despises those whom God rejects,

but honours those who obey the Lord.

He always does what He promises,

no matter how much it may cost.

He makes loans without charging interest

and cannot be bribed to testify against the innocent.

Whoever does these things will always be secured.

(Psalms 15)

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

GOD AND POSSESSIONS

“No one can be a slave of two masters; he will hate one and love the other; he will be loyal to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and money.

“This is why I tell you not to be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body.  After all, isn’t life worth more than food?  And isn’t the body worth more than clothes?  Look at the birds: they do not sow seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them!  Aren’t you worth much more than birds?  Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?

“And why worry about clothes?  Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves.  But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers.  It is God who clothes the wild grass—grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burnt up in the oven.  Won’t He be all the more sure to clothe you?  How little faith you have!

“So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?  (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.)  Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.  Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what He requires of you, and He will provide you with all these other things.  So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own.  There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.

(Matthew 6 : 24 – 34)

This is the Word of the Lord

Thanks be to God!

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favour and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

YOUTH CORNER

SOUND WORSHIP

“How good it is to give thanks to You O Lord, to sing Your honour, O most high God, to proclaim Your constant love every morning and Your faithfulness at every night.” (Psalms 92: 1-2)

PART TWO

Click here for the earlier part

As the Holy Scriptures says, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, peace and Joy in Holy Spirit and the rest shall follow.”

Now my life as a minister of God began under the guiding light of my Spiritual Mother, the founder of KLWC. Through special classes conducted for those in the KLWC ministry, I got acquainted with deeper knowledge about Personal Prayer and the importance of it. It was a rule that all ministers had to be with God of KLWC during the dawn at the first hour of the day. Following this would inculcate emotional and physical maturity; become devout disciples; impart patience; and built in us a respectable behaviour to tolerate each other. As a student would obey his teacher, so would I in simple obedience follow the instructions. These blessed spiritual trainings compiled with my obedience began to transform me internally and externally and thus began my fellowship as a minister.  Few are the days when I have faltered on this rule of my spiritual mother; and if I delay due to unavailable circumstances (shift duties) a strict penance from my end follows it. So today, let me help you too just as I received a lifeline years ago. Strictly adhere to it and you will never fail to see God’s Hand above you even during the most testing times.

My day begins at 4 am, with the sign of the Cross, one Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be. Then I move to my place of worship and kneel, where I believe Lord sends his army of angels to watch over me.   Acknowledging the Blessed Trinity i.e. Supreme name of Abba Father, Lord Jesus- the only Son of God and their mighty power the Holy Spirit I either praise or sing songs of praise. I thank Lord for the new day in anticipation, for the protection and the blessing that awaits me today. I visualize my past and offer garlands of thanksgiving. The presence of God blesses me with the grace to confess Him as Lord and Saviour spontaneously. The experience of praising the Blessed Trinity, along with all the angels and saints leads me to feel the Divine Presence and I bow down and submit myself to Him.  With my consent the Holy Power, touches and heals the wounds of my heart, soul and body and I am made aware that my past, present and future, God’s plan for me and my plans are already in His brilliant Hands. The relief and liberty is indeed worth experiencing and here I am enlightened to confess my faith; while the Holy Showers are cleansing and healing me. All my burdens are rolled off; the aches and pain healed as I experience myself as a small child sitting at the feet of my Mighty Father; who is already lifting and embracing me. As I sing songs of the Holy Spirit and continually confess the name of the My Promiser; the fondling of the Holy Spirit can be felt by a special warmth all over my body that lifts away my physical strength while His spiritual power takes charge of me. The holy relaxation brings great enthusiasm to live for my Lord in all circumstances increases in me and I begin worshiping my Most Holy God in a refreshed spirit and pure, new heart. The next segment is to sit in absolute silence to listen to His voice that speaks in my heart or pay attention to God’s strong inspiration. My soul is content during those days when God chose to commune silence.  After moments of solitude, with utmost gratitude I reach out to my Most Holy Bible for a Biblical message. With complete concentration and devotion I read one chapter/ passage and by heart one inspired message at once. Now is the time for intercessory prayer; through the Divine Inspiration,  I pray for my Spiritual Mother, for all our team members and their families, ministry groups, all KLWC petitions, my family, parents, relatives, neighbours, church, rulers and nations. My workplace, colleagues, all needy persons and areas that God desires me to pray on that day, those at their deathbed and souls in purgatory are also included.   All these are covered within a span of 15-20 minutes, using the Gift of Tongues. This powerful Divine gift received during an anointment of the Holy Spirit, ignites the use of my voice combines with the spirit of God and relates to Him through my spirit rather than my mind and words. As I conclude, I thank God for answering and listening to me, a poor sinner and for the precious time and place He provided me in His abundant grace. Then I step into the day all charged up spiritually, emotionally and physically.

I learnt and experienced that through my personal prayer, the Holy Lord actually prepares me to face and overcome the day confidently and successfully. It keeps me grounded and however situations may take a turn, my faith in the Lord is never questioned or shaken.

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How wonderful it is to begin your day in the Lord arising to kneel in prayer at the early hours. Lord Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to His Heavenly Father and gave them to his disciples who distributed to a tired and hungry five thousand multitude, fed them enough and still gathered twelve baskets of left over. Similarly, when you begin your day by gazing to God and allow Him to look into your life, He, the supreme ruler will put His angels in charge of you and your day distribute your time among your family, work etc. you will find your day enriching and your hard work fruitful. Setting aside a dedicated time and place to meet the Lord, will help you to schedule your day and its hours in a more responsible and harmonial manner. Submit the most beautiful hours of the day to Lord for your welfare and He multiples your day with bountiful blessings. Look at the creation. Listen how they greet the creator in their special manner; the chirping birds, the roaring ocean, the twinkling star, the bright sky, the swaying trees, cock that crows etc., everything silently praises and bless His Name. Its only the human beings who are sound asleep and when awake rush to their routine without a word of gratitude to the Lord who enabled them to see another day. So commencing from today let us begin our fresh mornings thanking God and repenting and asking forgiveness for our ignorance. The Lord’s ways are right and righteous people live by following them but the sinners stumble and fall because they ignore them.

Unlike the disciples  who hurried to the Master,who was conversing with His Father, when the storm rose shouting, “Awake, awake Master! Dont you care that we are sinking.” Similarly, let us realise that when awful disasters surround us and we question God, it not that our Lord is sleeping but our faith is dead. So awaken yourselves, prepare the way for the arrival of the King joyfully and welcome him each morning, noon and evening.

Let us pray

Almighty God, please forgive all my cruel behaviours and ignorance towardsYou and accept my prayers. I will praise and thank You in all circumstances trusting you will bring joy to my day. I acknowledge that my laziness and complaints can never save me from the present hardship and miseries. I do not wish to be a slave to laziness or own a heart thats cold towards Your teachings. Lord I pray to show mercy to me, to those who return to you and also to those who have no one to turn to. Amen!                            

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

YOUTH CORNER

SOUND WORSHIP

“How good it is to give thanks to You O Lord, to sing Your honour, O most high God, to proclaim Your constant love every morning and Your faithfulness at every night.” (Psalms 92: 1-2)

PART ONE

The apostles watched as the Resurrected Lord Jesus ascended into Heaven and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They stood gazing to the sky until two angels appeared, consoling them, “He will come back.” We, devotees of Christ believe that He will come again, as He said to His disciples, “I will go and prepare a place for you, then I will come back and take you with Me to the Father.” (John 14)The Holy Bible emphasises, “He will appear a second time not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for Him.” St. Paul warns us, “For you yourself know very well that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night.” He further advices us, “Let that day not take you by surprise like a thief; we all should be awake and sober.”

How can we keep ourselves prepared when we do not know the day or the hour? Through His daily life practices, Lord Jesus Himself set us an example on how to prepare ourselves to be perfect and holy to welcome Him as King. The Holy Scriptures teaches us that very early morning, long before daylight Lord Jesus woke up, leaving the house to go out of the town to a lonely place, where He prayed.

Our Master taught us to be vigilant and to pray at all time to overcome temptations. It is a righteous and proper act to worship the Lord before beginning your daily schedule. Look at the nature and its creation. The birds sing praises to their Creator before the sunrises, making us aware of the rising sun.  Instead of enjoying the wonders and splendour works we seldom shut the doors and windows of our life. Every morning He showers upon us fresh love and mercy forgetting our past. We human beings are foremost among God’s creations, but how do we reciprocate to His blessings?

Let’s take a look at the lives of various religious men in the Holy Bible and how they succeeded in uprooting their temptations and received favours from God. Take a look at David who prayed three times in a day with a contrite heart. He says, “I pray to you Lord; you hear my voice in the morning; at sunrise I offer my prayer and wait for your answer.” (Psalms 5:3) Even when he arose to the status of a king, he continued his practice. Read further and you meet Job, a man who was upright in the sight of God. He would wake up early every morning to offer sacrifice on behalf of himself and each of his children. His practice of daily worship gave him the courage to face the fortunes and misfortunes as the will of God. During moments of crisis, kneeling down Job acknowledges his faith “I was born with nothing, and I will die with nothing.  The Lord gave and now He has taken away.  May His name be praised.” Instead of blaming God and rebelling against His plan, Job offered all his emotions as a sacrifice of praise to God and gained deep rooted foundation of His Faith.

Are you like the above men a morning worshipper? Do you have a generous heart to offer the early morning hours of your day to God who has gifted you another twenty four hours. Overcoming all obstacles and laziness, instead of listing out excuses that you do not have the time or the familiarity to pray, rather by acknowledging your unworthiness to receive another day if you could sit in His Holy presence; you would be one of the joyfully blessed person on this earth! The well experienced St. Paul repeatedly requests us to be joyful at all times and to be thankful in all circumstances.  This is what God wants from you and me in our life in union with Christ Jesus.

Let me take this opportunity to introduce a young man, who is also a member of our team who would love to share his testimony with our dedicated readers:

I, the youngest of five siblings was a very jovial and social person who had lots of friends. I was in love with my life and would prefer watching movies, spending time with friends, roam around. I had a small gym set up at home and would love to spend the mornings exercising to gain good health and be proud of my physical structure. Studies never interested me and I would find out some innovative excuses to explain those who lectured me to study well. At the home front, my parents would be worried seeing my carefree and disobedient nature. For them my future and career seemed blank. They would pull and push me to certain prayer meetings and I had to sit myself those hours uninterested. Prayers never fascinated me. My idea of stress buster was listening to bollywood films and I could spend hours noting, singing and listening to it. During those days, KLWC- a new prayer meeting evolved and everyone seeking peace of mind to miracles would participate in it. My parents began to be a regular in those prayers. One day, it so happened that I had to meet my parents urgently due to some reason and on enquiring knew that they were at KLWC prayer service; I decided to meet them there. Just few minutes at the KLWC venue and unconsciously some force attracted me to the prayer and Word of God there, however intentionally left the place in a hurry. That night I turned and tossed in my bed, pondering over the Word of God I heard at KLWC that shook the core of my heart. Something like a magnet kept attracting me towards KLWC and I found myself finding excuses to visit the prayer centre. Slowly without any hesitation or compulsion I began to be a part of the crowd. The preaching and explanation of the Word of God attracted me; I fell in love with the melodious devotional songs that had been sung there; the prayers felt more interesting and lively. A young and fresh KLWC did wonder in me and I began to realise the knowledge of the True God, His Love for me. I realised my exact state. Born into a Christian family, I was far away from the deep knowledge that God eventually knows my secret thoughts, deeds that comprised of good and bad. First day at KLWC prayer service, tears of God’s Love filled me and a mighty power granted me courage to renounce my way of life. The knowledge of  God created in me fear of God and my obligation towards obedience.  I began to make the required changes to my lifestyle, so that I could be a person of true faith. This inspired me to be more mannered in my approach and seek out time to be in His Presence. But the waves of temptation would hit hard on me that I would slip and fall often; weakening thoughts like I would never stand firm in my faith would cover me making me more restless and dissatisfied. That’s when my Loving God sent me another lifeline from KLWC prayer group. They were conducting a meeting and prayer service designed exclusively for the youth. After the initial greet and introduction, Respected Sister, began her oration on the importance of Personal Prayer. I listened attentively, the guidelines were easy to follow and moreover I was inspired to submit myself further to my God than self struggling. Respected Sister stressed the holy verse, “His grace is all you need; for His power is greatest when you are weak,” throughout the entire meeting. Everyone, present at the meeting were asked to memorize this Word of God, as a weapon to recite and fight against emotional and personal moods arising from laziness, arrogance and pride.  Glory to the Marvellous God! He diverted my young mind towards Him thus making me a mature and obedient son of God. Soon by following these instructions, I was chosen by God who separated me from the crowd and called me to be a budding minister for His service in the KLWC Music Ministry.

(...To be continued)

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ

CHRISTEN SECTION

WORD OF GOD- THE SWORD OF A WARRIOR

After Lord Jesus was baptized, He went into the wilderness for forty days and nights. He did not eat anything during those days and by the end of the forty days He was hungry.  Here, Satan tried finding ways to test our Lord to disobey God. Since Jesus was hungry, satan said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, change these stones lying on the ground to turn into loaves of bread and you will have food to eat.” In spite of his appetite, Lord Jesus rebuked satan with the Word of God,  “The Scriptures say that it is more important to obey God than to feed yourself.”

 Lord Jesus came to this world to save us from our sinful state, to create a new and pure heart in us; satan knew this very well and he wanted God’s plan of Salvation to be brought to a standstill.

Satan tried his chance to persuade Lord Jesus again but our Lord defended Himself from its attack with the Word of God. Finally, as a last trick He tried to convince Lord Jesus to worship him and in return would give Him power over all the kingdoms of the earth. Again Lord Jesus shielded Himself from the devil with the Word of God, “Get out of here, Satan! It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You shall worship only God and serve Him alone.” Then Satan left the Lord; and angels came and cared for Lord Jesus. See the power of the Word of God.

From the beginning of the creation; time and again satan is out to test us. It is up to you to decide if you wish to attack the Satan like Lord Jesus or fall into its sin-coated desires like the first parents, Adam and Eve, who could not resist it boldly , thus creating generations of sinful mankind.

You must be wondering when you have encountered temptations. Let’s go through your routine? Every time when you disobey, create or indulge in a fight; snatching or grabbing other’s things, when you are rude and lazy, utter small and big lies; waste your food; when you fail to do your duties at its proper time; turn a blind eye to those in need of your help etc….

These are some of the crucial moments when you fall short to receive your blessings. So this week we insist that as young prayer warriors, you ready yourselves with ample Word of God. Make the Holy Bible a part of your life, give it a suitable holy place it deserves and read and memorize it.

So educate yourselves with appropriate Bible verses, so that you can shoo away Satan, win your daily temptations and testify us, your victories in the Lord.

LET US PRAY

Infant Jesus, incarnate Word of God, make me a servant of Your Word.

I love You Abba Father;

I trust in You, Lord Jesus;

I hope in You, Holy Spirit;

Mother Mary, pray for all children. Amen!

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings, 

Your Sister in Christ