A BEAUTIFUL SHORT PRAYER OF REPENTANCE

Lord Almighty, God of our fathers,

God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

God of their righteous descendants,

you created the universe

and all the splendour that fills it.

The sea obeys your command

and never overflows its bounds.

The power of your wonderful, glorious name

keeps the ocean depths in their place.

When you show your power, all creation trembles.

Your glorious splendour is overwhelming,

and your anger is more than sinners can endure.

But the mercy you promise is also greater

than we can understand or measure.

For you are the Lord Most High;

you are patient and show mercy and compassion.

You make our punishment easier to bear

when we suffer for our sins.

O Lord, in your great goodness and mercy

you promise forgiveness and salvation

to those who repent of their sin against you.

You, Lord, are the God of righteous people.

Repentance was not necessary

for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,

for they did not sin against you.

But for sinners like me

you have made repentance possible.

I have committed more sins

than there are grains of sand along the seashore.

They are so many, Lord, they are so many.

I have done so much that is wrong

that I am not worthy to turn my face towards heaven.

I am crushed beneath the weight of my sin;

I am bowed down by its heavy iron chain.

I can find no relief, for I have made you angry.

I have set up idols everywhere; I have done what you hate.

But now I bow in deep humility, praying for your mercy.

I have sinned, Lord, I have sinned;

I confess the wicked things I have done.

I beg you, Lord, I earnestly pray; forgive me, forgive me.

Do not destroy me because of my sins;

do not be angry with me forever or store up punishment for me.

Do not condemn me to the world of the dead,

for you, O Lord, forgive those who repent.

Show me all your mercy and kindness and save me,

even though I do not deserve it.

Then I will go on praising you as long as I live.

All the heavenly powers sing your praises,

and your glory endures forever.

Amen.

                  

(Manasseh)

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

LIFE IN HOLY SPIRIT

PART VI

“Your life in Christ makes you strong and His love comforts you.  You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another.”  (Phil 2:1)

KINDNESS

The Holy Bible teaches us that the Almighty God is full of kindness and goodness which is Eternal. The Lord who has compassion on you says, “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of peace be removed.”  (Isaiah 54:10)

In the Book of Exodus we observe that the God of Israel came down in a cloud, stood with Moses and pronounced His Holy Name “I, the Lord AM God who is full of compassion and kindness.  Who is not easily angered and who shows great love and faithfulness.”  Praise the Lord for Holy is Name!

The Book of Nehemiah explicate the kindness of God that was illustrated to the Israelites.  “O Lord, You saw how our ancestors suffered in Egypt.  You worked amazing miracles against the king, because You knew how they oppressed Your people. Through the sea You made a path for Your people and led them through on dry ground.  With a cloud You led them in day-time and at night You lighted their way with fire.  At Mount Sinai You came down from Heaven; You spoke to Your people and gave them good laws and sound teachings and taught them to keep Your Sabbath Holy.”

“When they were hungry, You gave them bread from Heaven and water from a rock when they were thirsty.  You told them to take control of the land which You had promised to give them. But our ancestors grew proud and stubborn, refused to obey; they forgot all You did.  They forgot the miracles You had performed in their trouble.  In pride they chose a leader to take them back to slavery in Egypt.  

But You are a God who forgives; full of kindness and goodness, slow to anger. 

 Your Mercy is great, You did not forsake them.  How much they insulted You!  They made an idol in the shape of a bull – calf and said, ‘it was the god who led them from Egypt’.  Even then You did not abandon them there in the desert, for Your kindness is greatest.  You did not take away the cloud or the fire.  In Your goodness you led them.  Through 40 years in the desert You provided all that they needed.  

Their clothes never worn out, their feet were not swollen with pain.  They insulted time after time.  They killed all Your prophets who warned them to turn back to You.  They enjoyed all the good things You gave them and they rebelled, disobeyed and in their pride they rejected Your laws.

O God Our Lord, how great You are!  How terrifying and powerful!  You faithfully keep Your covenant promises.”

Prophet Joel calls us, “Come back to the Lord Your God, He is kind and full of goodness; He is patient and keeps His promises.  Remember that He is always ready to forgive and not to punish.”  Praise the Lord!

Prophet Jonah also says to us, ‘I know that you are a loving and merciful God, always patient, kind and ready to change your mind not to punish.” (Jonah 4:2)

In the New Testament we can seen that during His public ministry, Lord Jesus was moved with compassion.  For example, Jesus raising a widow’s son from death is indeed worth meditating.  Through many incidents Jesus warns the people to honor and protect widows.  The Bible says that when Christ Jesus saw the widow crying for her son His heart was filled with pity for her and he comforted verbally as well as he raised her son from dead and handed over to her.

The Beloved God created Eve to break the loneliness of mankind.  God commanded us to live in unity. 

The teaching was followed by the Lord’s Apostle.

Another event is also noticeable.  Lord Jesus arrived in Bethany after hearing about the death of His friend Lazarus.  There the Lord saw the sisters and the people weeping.  His heart was touched and He was deeply moved.  Jesus could visualize the two sisters’ future life, having no protection of ‘man’ power.  Having a compassionate fleshy heart He restored to life Lazarus and protected the sisters.

Having a compassionate fleshy heart is a blessing from God and it is already given to the mankind.  Since kindness and goodness are virtues given by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul warns us, “Chosen people of God so then you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and politeness.” 

Dear devotees in Christ, if you lack any of these virtues ask the Lord to send His love upon you.  Through His love alone you can repair yourself and be saved from the awaiting disaster.  I don’t feel hesitant to rewrite to take proper care of your good qualities as your Loving Father has kept you a reward for it.

Testimonies that reflect on kindness of our Lord

 My nephew was blessed with a good job. Due to some satanic inspiration he took a large amount from the office locker and spent it.  The authorities tracked it out and the matter turned out to be very grave. Anxious and distressed about the fact that we would be unable to repay amount incase his authorities would demand I put a petition at KLWC.

Participating in the prayer service I asked forgiveness to the Lord for him.  The Lord gave courage to my nephew to ask forgiveness to the authorities for his wrong-doings.  He bestowed his forgiving love in the minds of the authorities too, who not only warned him but also allowed him to continue his job.

 Thanks be to God who showered His grace of forgiveness on us and bestowed his grace on the officials to write off the amount.  I proclaim the forgiving love of my Good Lord.  I glorify His Name and offer gratitude to my Lord who removed all my anxieties and fear.

                              ---- Published Feb-March 1996 Issue, LWE 2000

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From the past 4 years, I have been receiving empty promises from agents who had fooled and acquired a large sum of money from me. I had begun to lose all hope of obtaining the amount. One day while attending the prayer service at KLWC, Respected Sister taught us the forgiving love. Mesmerized with the message, Lord enabled me to forgive the agent and to pray for them.

The Results were laden with high hopes and worth believing!! The entire amount that they had acquired from me was returned along with interest sum to my home. I glorify the forgiving power of the Eternal God. 

Similarly, the obstacles in the settlement of my brother’s life were also removed by the Almighty God. Lord has removed the scarcity of joy and peace.  Praise the Lord.  These are only few in thousands of blessings that I and my family received.  I thank the Lord for the numerous spiritual and physical blessings.

                                                             …Published April 1996 Issue, LWE 2000