INDIA’S EVANGELICAL NEWS MAGAZINE Online Portal: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com
Vol. 10, No. 1
Pages 28
MAY, 2013
The purpose of the news magazine is to report newsworthy religious events and activities within the local community, nationwide and around the world, to increase the awareness and activism of believers regarding the moral issues of today, to provide thought-provoking commentary, and to provide an effective advertising vehicle for Christian ministries and organizations, events and businesses that want to reach the Christian community. - Editor
The Team Managing Editor: Robin Sam Editor & Publisher: Elsy Robin Director (Strategy & Planning): Benjamin Ross Editorial Advisor: P I Samuel Production & Sales: S Saravanan Mission Fields: S A Peter, (Tamil Nadu) Ashok Baghel, Yunus Kashyap (Chhattisgarh) Mohinder Lal (Jammu & Kashmir) Guest Columnists: Grace Ida Rajan, Joyce Braganza, Mathews George, Don Davis, Ida Kirubakaran
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GREETINGS in the magnificent Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27). By His immense and matchless grace, we have entered a new month. To the meteorologists, May is the hottest month, and yes, they have statistics to prove their claim. To students and teachers, May is synonymous with vacation. The ancient Greeks named May after their goddess Maia who is supposed to be the Roman equivalent of Bona Dea, their goddess of fertility in whose name they celebrated a festival in May. The early Latin scholars believed May was named in honor of elders (maiores in Latin means seniors or elders), while June was supposedly named after young people (juniores in Latin refers to the youth). May is a special month for our family. There are two birthdays in our family that fall in May. However, this month is very special to us because May marks 10 years of our ministry. It has been a decade since my wife and I dedicated ourselves to the work of the Lord. What a glorious trek it has been! Despite our misgivings and limitations, the Lord has been faithful to us individually, as a family and as workers in His vineyard. We give all glory, honor and praise to Jesus Christ alone! Hallelujah! This May we are also completing one year of our missions work in Chhattisgarh. Despite some setbacks, we are sure the work will go on until the Lord’s coming. There was no one like Apostle Paul among the early church fathers who faced setbacks in missions and came out victorious. I have often wondered what kept him going despite adversities, setbacks and even danger to his own life. If we have read his epistles, the reasons are not too far to seek. He said in 2 Timothy 1:12: “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” Paul knew his Lord. And, Paul knew who his Lord was. Jesus was not only very dear and very personal to him but he also knew what He could and would do for His chosen ones. And for this reason, Paul did not have to hold himself back or the work of his hands from the One he trusted. Writing to a timid Timothy, one of his young assistants in the ministry, Paul wrote in the second epistle 1:8, 9: “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…’ You see, our saving and calling are not because of our works. We have not done anything to merit them. Salvation is a free gift while calling is His privilege. What gives me great hope and joy is not only that our saving and calling have a divine purpose but that we have His dispensation of grace that has been reserved for us before time began. As this ministry completes 10 years and as we renew our pledge to the Lord (‘as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord’ Joshua 24:15) may I ask you to pray for us to be able to build up the Body of Christ and fulfill the Great Commission? MAY 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 3
TWO Christians were arrested in Srinagar on false charges of forced conversions on April 10 after a Muslim mob attacked two men, five women and two children, all of British origin. The foreigners had been living in Shivpora district of Srinagar for four years. One of them, James Thomas, was engaged in conversion activities, locals charged. A large group of people attacked them, threw stones at their vehicles and tried to destroy their house. Police however, prevented the demolition of the house. PARENTS of a Muslim girl moved court after a Catholic school in Golaghat district of Assam allegedly asked their fouryear old to stop wearing hijab, the traditional headscarf, or face expulsion. The parents of the kindergarten student Fathima Bibi moved the Guwahati HC in April against the decision of the Catholic churchrun Kristo Jyoti School. School principal Jose Varghese served a notice to Fatima’s parents on March 28 asking them to remove the scarf within 15 days or not to send their child to school.
TENS of thousands of Christians from across Gujarat besides Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh on April 14 converged at Pipalwada, a tribal village bordering the Dangs district for 'Ekta Mahotsav’. The event was organized jointly by CNI’s Gujarat Diocese and the FMPB. This was the first village in south Gujarat that had witnessed communal tension in 1996. As many as 210 churches constructed by the FMPB in south Gujarat since 2004 were merged into CNI’s Gujarat diocese. 6 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w MAY 2013
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NO parent would have ever undergone agony the way mother Mary did at the foot of the cross. Her Jesus cried in pain, thirsting and dying. Hagar, mentioned in the book of Genesis, could not bear to see her son Ishmael die in front of her own eyes. When she cried, God Almighty intervened and provided the mother and the son with a water resource. But in Mary’s case, she cried, but there was no divine intervention. Neither was there any when Jesus himself cried: “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” Mary would have found it difficult to understand that it was God’s plan that Jesus suffer to death on the cross. When a spear pierced into his body, Mary felt as if it pierced her own heart. Was not that a prophecy given to her, when Jesus was a baby, that a sword would pierce her soul one day? Remember the time when Mary and Joseph went looking for child Jesus for three days in Jerusalem only to find him discussing spiritual things with religious leaders? Twice the Gospels record that Mary treasured memories in her heart (Luke 2: 19, 51). A mom’s treasury of thoughts is precious. Luke, who has recorded most of Jesus’ childhood activities, is said to have gathered information from the primary witness, Mary herself. At the foot of the cross, Mary would have had quick flashes of child Jesus’ smiles, pranks and his obedience to the parents. At the cross, Jesus hung because of his obedience to God, the Father. It was her Jesus who turned water into wine at her request. At the cruel cross, however, his thirst could not be quenched and he was totally dehydrated at death. Can you visualize Jesus on the cross? His hands were nailed and hence he could not reach out to his mom or wipe her tears. In a feeble voice, he said: “Woman, don’t hold on to me anymore. Here is your son, John.” His eyes meet John’s and he whispered again, “John, here is your mom.” Imagine Mary’s agony when she saw her Jesus caring for her even in his last painful moments. Jesus preferred John over his own step-brothers because they had not yet become his disciples. Once when she and her other sons went to see Jesus, she could not get near him as a great crowd was thronging around him. Mary always had to admire Jesus from a distance. 8 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w MAY 2013
Jesus who understood his mother can understand how parents whose ministry prevents them from keeping their young children at home with them, (most of them are in hostels) feel. He understands parents who now live in empty nests because their children have either gotten married and moved away or moved out on work. Jesus understands how parents who have lost their children to death and those who have rebellious children at home, feel. Once, Jesus asked Mary: “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers and sisters?” Then, pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:46-50). Perhaps, Mary felt devastated then. Later, I am sure Mary understood the wider meaning of the word ‘family’. To Jesus, a family is more than a biological connection. That realization must have led Mary to accept the need to become Jesus' disciple. Jesus told the women who were wailing and mourning (including Mary, I imagine): “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.” Now that made sense to Mary. She wept for herself and her other sons. Mary and the brothers of Jesus accepted the Lordship of Jesus after his resurrection. For all who weep over their children for whatever reason, remember that if we are followers of Jesus, we have to take up our cross and follow him. Swords may pierce our souls like how it pierced Mary but crosses and swords are not the end. The resurrection morning is the end. There is victory for sure! Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com
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BY JOHN DULIP KUMAR OUR son has got cancer – Leukemia of the more virulent type” on December 18th 2012 and “Your son is not going to make it past a few hours” on March 18th, 2013 were two statements, we wished, we had never heard the doctor tell us. These two statements mark the beginning and the end of a journey, that we were all a part of us for 3 months – a journey that had all the ingredients of an incredible miracle that was waiting to happen – a journey where storming the gates of heaven was a way of life for thousands - had all the optimism of a journey that was to reach an expected end – total healing for Neville. Did the Lord hear us? Yes, and He has given Neville total healing. Neville today is totally healed with no more pain or suffering, no more medicines or blood tests, no more bone marrow tests or lumbar punctures, and no more fear of relapse. To achieve this on earth Neville would have had to wait for a minimum of 5 years before the medical world would have said, Neville
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has ‘survived’ cancer and they would never acknowledge it is cured. The next few years would have included at least 2 more rounds of chemotherapy and blood tests twice a month initially and then moved on to once a month and the fear of relapse lingering in the minds of us and our seven year old Neville. This too is the best case scenario. BUT we prayed that Neville would LIVE and not DIE. God chose to answer a BIG NO. The test of faith for each one of us today is - can we take NO for an answer from God and still believe it is the best for us and that our God is sovereign and He makes no mistakes and trust Him to lead us forward? Now as we wait on the Lord we realize, that what we thought was the end of the journey is in fact just the beginning – beginning of unearthing many truths that are so very often taken for granted, or misunderstood or misquoted from the Bible. It is the beginning of the Lord helping us understand what it means when HE says “My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are wiser than yours”. When we look back over the many events that earmarked this 3 Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com
month journey, we begin to realize how the Lord has been so beautifully constructing the various phases of this journey. In May 2012, my job had taken us as a family to a beautiful and a quiet sea side city in Indonesia – in the island of Java – Semarang. We were settling down very well with both our boys – Nathaniel (9 years) and Neville (7 years) enjoying the bliss of a beautiful green country, in an international school they loved going to each day and a lovely Church with a Sunday School where the Bible was all about creative learning and fun. It was all going good, when beginning the 15th of November 2012, for the next 30 days, Neville was affected by one infection after the other – starting with chicken pox, its secondary infection, inflammation of the lymph node and finally ear infection. He was hospitalized on the 15th of December for treating the ear infection. A routine blood test done that day revealed that there was something abnormal with his ‘WBC count’. What should be between 4000 and 11000 for a normal human being was 233,000 for Neville – a condition called “Hyperleucocytosis”. The doctors could not believe it and wanted to check it with another lab. The blood sample tested the next day showed his WBC count at 300,000. The hemoglobin count had dropped to a critical level of 5.4. A bone marrow test was immediately done and on the 18th of December it confirmed that Neville had cancer – the more virulent type – ‘Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia – type M2’. He had 68% blast cells (cancer cells) in his body and the WBC count was at 435,000 – they were galloping along at an alarming rate. We wanted to fly Neville down to India immediately for further treatment. At this WBC count and Hb level, the doctors said it was a miracle he was still alive and normal, but that he had no more than 5 hours to live – his blood had become so viscous that it could not be flowing smoothly to the various critical organs of the body which will lead to multiple organ failures, eventually resulting in death. They said we should not risk flying him as he will not make it and he needed immediate medical intervention in the form of blood transfusion and hydration. The doctors in India agreed. This news of Neville suffering from leukemia shattered us and as an immediate response we asked our close family, our church in Semarang, and our church in Chennai to support us in prayer. Before we realized, there was a multitude of people praying for Neville, literally round the clock for these 3 months, as it was happening across many countries. There were prayers happening in churches and in various Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com
prayer groups. Families were praying and even children joined in, passionately crying out to the Lord. Warriors of faith stood in the gap and prayed. They all said the same thing – “Lord, heal Neville”. It is true that the Word of God says: Matthew 18:19 – “truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” Psalm 50:15 - “call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.” Mathew 17:20 – “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” The promise I had received at the beginning of this journey was from Deuteronomy 31:8 – where the Bible says, “The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” All of us believed that the Lord will heal Neville, simply by the enormity of the prayer support that was happening. The Lord DID HEAL Neville – with the exception being that he was healed and taken to live in the presence of the Living God. How much ever Sherene and I as parents wished the very best for him on earth, we couldn’t have given him what he has received now – a place in eternity, where there is no more pain or suffering. A place where there is joy and happiness. Many of us are perhaps left wondering as to why the Lord did not answer our prayers. The Lord did answer. He answered in the negative and said ‘NO’ this time – as it was part of His sovereign and divine will and plan to receive Neville into Glory. Was all the prayer in vain? NO. It was the prayers of His saints that helped Neville and us and everyone linked to him, to be on this journey for the last 3 months. Though he was going through the most potent of chemotherapies, it was because of the prayers that Neville had no sideeffects except that he lost his hair but amazingly by Neville’s own admission it too started growing back towards the end. He had no nausea or vomiting at all. He had loose stools just one day in the last 3 months. He was neurologically alert. The doctors in Jakarta and Chennai confirmed that he did not look like a child who had leukemia. He was different because he was resting on the prayers of all the saints. It was the prayers which held the family together. It was the prayers which enabled Nathaniel to stay away from his parents and his loving brother for 3 months with his grandparents. The extended family that supported Neville had the strength to give all that MAY 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 11
was needed. None of the prayers that were made was in vain. When we look back at these 3 months, when we started the treatment process in Indonesia and then moved to India, when Neville by God’s Grace, received the best of everything that we could offer as earthly parents in terms of providence and medical care, we are so overwhelmed to see how things have panned out, thereby giving us the assurance that this was part of the Lord’s will – that Neville’s time on this earth was coming to an end. We would like to highlight the lessons we learnt. At this point we want to nullify the fears of doubt which the enemy will sow in our minds to trust God in Jesus’ name. We could have lost Neville on the 18th of December 2012, when his condition was so critical and unstable. Neville was not prepared then, to be received into the presence of the Lord. Despite the fact that both Nathaniel and Neville were brought up in Christian values, only at the time of hospitalization, for some strange reason, Neville found it difficult to pray in the name of ‘Jesus’. He 12 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w MAY 2013
prayed like before, however, he would not mention the name ‘Jesus’. As we began to spend time with Neville each day in the hospital and kept talking to him, encouraging and motivating him, the Spirit of God was working on him, too. The transformation was evident, when Neville on his own fasted, read the Bible and prayed Jan 14. Progressively, he began to draw so much closer to the Lord, that towards the end of his stay on earth, he spoke to both Sherene and me and said: “Jesus is in my heart – and I’m a JESUS’ boy.” There were times when he told both of us “Please pray to Jesus that the bacteria would be kicked out of my body.” There was total transformation in the manner in which he responded at the beginning of the treatment process in December 2012 to what he was the last few days, particularly the last days of his life. The prayer that Neville prayed every morning and night – “Lord, if your coming is today, please help me to be found in it.” This prayer was taught by Sherene to the boys to help them understand that whenever the Lord’s appointed time to meet Him arrives, we need to be Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com
prepared to go to heaven – either it's His second coming or when we meet our earthly death. The Lord heard Neville’s prayers and answered him – the time of preparation was why the Lord extended his life on earth by 3 months – from December 18th, 2012 to March 18th, 2013. The transformation in his life was evidence of this. A big mansion in heaven – words of Life In January, Sherene spoke to Neville and told him what he was undergoing and the impressive manner in which he was handling it, despite being only 7 years old. And that, whenever he gets to heaven the Lord Jesus will have a big mansion for him. She told him no matter what our struggles on the earth are, if we remain faithful and true till the end the Lord will prepare a big mansion. She had no idea that Neville was going to meet the Lord so soon, but it was part of the Lord’s counsel upon her as a mother in preparing Neville for the path ahead. I told Neville pretty much the same 48 hours before Neville breathed his last – when I was with him, seeing him suffer in the ICU. Little did I realize that his end was near. Neville was alert for most part of his stay in the ICU and I’m sure he would have understood the meaning of those words and he perhaps knew it better than us that he was getting ready to meet the Lord. Leaving Neville at the altar of the Lord – Prayer of submission. Here again, Sherene had prayed the prayer of submitting Neville’s life into God's hands earlier in the first week of March. I hadn't – until the morning of March 18th – when at 3.30am I prayed a prayer of submitting Neville’s life into God's hands. Sherene, as the mother, had done her part earlier. We prayed together in the ICU room on the night of March 17 before Sherene left the hospital, making the same dedication. When I did my part alone again as the father, and when I went back to the ICU room, the doctor met me and told me that Neville's life was soon going to end that day. When we look back, whether it was preparing Neville for heaven, guiding him through the transformation process or by Neville’s own admission that he belongs to Jesus and that Jesus is in his heart – this period of 3 months was utilized for this change. It was appointed for Neville to finish his race on the earth after completing 7 wonderful years as our son and as Nathaniel’s brother – at the appointed time, the Lord helped us prepare him so that Neville was accepted into heaven with the assurance – “well done, good and faithful servant.” I would like to mention a few visions and dreams that saints of God had seen about Neville. Those Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com
In January I had a dream where Neville, dressed in white, was walking on a blue crystal floor. I did not understand the significance of it then. I do now. have encouraged and reassured us that Neville going into the presence of the Lord was part of His sovereign plan. Just before Neville breathed his last, on the morning of 18th March, this sister shared this vision with us–as she was worshipping the Lord early that morning, she saw a vision of a fleet of stairs leading up from earth to heaven. Either side of the stairs was packed with angels for there was so much rejoicing as they were ready to receive Neville into heaven. Although she did not like the vision it has encouraged us so much. And we understood all that was happening was not due to lack of prayer or application of faith, but the Lord’s greater plans for Neville were being carried out. Another instance is from Neville’s uncle who could not be with him during the treatment. On receiving the news of Neville's death, he prayed saying: “Lord even at this time we have the faith you can revive Neville.” Just after that, as he was resting he saw the Lord speaking to Neville saying “Neville your dada and momma want you back on earth. Will you go back?” but he said he saw Neville, pleading with the Lord saying “I am happy here, please don’t send me to earth where there is pain, suffering and torture.” In January I had a dream where Neville, dressed in white, was walking on a blue crystal floor. I did not understand the significance of it then. I do now. Another elderly lady from the church mentioned, how she was praying for Neville for so long that she couldn’t accept the fact that Neville had died. When she asked the Lord why Neville did not make it, she said the Lord told her: “Through the life of Neville I have touched the lives of so many people and I will continue to touch lives.” Her son, a pastor, said he heard the voice of God saying: “I need Neville back in heaven.” A pastor we know sent the following message when he heard Neville had died: “I want to share with you a vision I felt God gave to me in January, while praying for Neville. I didn’t want to share it before, because I didn't understand it fully. Now I believe I do. I saw Neville dressed in a white gown. I was praying that God would lead him safely through the Red Sea. Well, I saw what I thought was a deep blue sea behind him, but it looked like a floor, not water, and he seemed to be walking on it! But what MAY 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 13
amazed me most was his smile. It wasn’t just a happy smile, it was a smile that said “I know something you don’t know!” Then God gave me a verse, Gen 15:1 – ‘...I am your shield, your very great reward.’ I felt God was saying to me that Neville’s smile means he understands this verse more than anyone on earth can possibly understand it. That’s when I realized that Neville was not walking on water, but on the floor of God’s throne....” He then went on to add saying “A member from our church just called me and said she had a vision of Neville sitting next to Jesus with a smile on his face....” All of these have been a great source of comfort for us. This separation, although painful, has meant that Neville has gone into the Lord’s presence and his death is part of the will of God. Neville knew his end was near. Many of the things Neville did in the last one week prior to his passing away, did not make sense but his death has given us proof, that he knew that he was reaching his end. He always had a puzzled look on his face every time we said we will go home from the hospital. He always had the look “I know something you don’t know” and Sherene was waiting for an opportunity to ask him about it when he got home. At the time of our marriage, the passage that led Sherene and me through the confirmation process of accepting each other as the Lord’s will was through the life of Isaac and Rebekah. At the time of our most difficult journey to date in our lives, the passage that ministered to us was from the life of Abraham. When Abraham was called to sacrifice Isaac at the altar, he obeyed unconditionally and laid him on the altar. Abraham did not lay Isaac on the altar, expecting God to reward him for his faithfulness and obedience and hence expecting Isaac to be given back to him. The Lord though did reward Abraham for his faith. In our case too, the Lord wanted us to lay Neville at the altar – again, not with the expectation that Neville will be given back to us as a reward for our obedience and faithfulness. We did, and the Lord took Neville to be with Him. The Word of God says: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ (emphasis added). 14 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w MAY 2013
Neville has run the race with dignity and grace and he was faithful until the very end – however short his life on earth was. He has received the crown of life and the gift of eternity. He was faithful in the little time he had on earth and I’m sure the Lord will make him head of bigger things. The responsibility now rests on us – that we should run the race as well as Neville did, so that when we meet the Lord face to face, at our appointed time, we would be able to receive the gift of eternal life, and the opportunity to meet and be with Neville again. Oftentimes we are so used to receiving “YES” from the Lord, that it becomes almost unbearable when we are faced with a “NO” from the Lord. Let us not limit the sovereignty of the Lord to just the healing part – “that we all prayed for Neville, and yet the Lord did not heal Neville.” While we believe that Neville was healed and has gone to a place where there is no sickness or disease, pain or suffering, the sovereignty of the Lord is beyond just healing. It is about the fact that He knew us, even while we were in our mother's womb, called us by our first name and birthed us into this world, to live according to His glorious purposes and to be found holy and acceptable in His sight when the hour comes. That’s the reason He died for us and rose again the third day. The family of four has now become a family of three. The joyous part of this otherwise painful separation is that one of us – Neville – has already booked his berth in heaven and gone there. If we run Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com
the remaining part of our time on earth, looking unto Jesus, we will become a family of four again – in heaven. That’s the hope with which I would like to conclude here – let us RUN this race with eyes on eternity. Let us not allow the devil to sow seeds of doubt into our minds by questioning the purpose of prayer and the application of faith and that despite it all, Neville was not “healed”. Our Lord is sovereign, is able to heal even today. He is the healer God, Jehovah Rapha. He does heal even today – but according to His glorious plan and purposes. It is also appointed for every man – once to die and then the judgment. The timing of one’s lifespan on earth is not in our hands. We can, however, choose to make it count or waste it – that determines eternity. God never made a mistake when he planned the lifespan of Neville. The call for us is to trust and obey – knowing that the Lord is able to heal and deliver, while also seeking God’s grace to accept it when God answers “NO”, for we know that, in Isaiah 55: 9 the Lord says – “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Submitting to His will and plan in every circumstance and situation is perhaps the best way to exercise our faith in the omnipotent, omniscient and miracle working God. John Dulip Kumar is a senior management executive with an apparel-manufacturing company in Indonesia. He and his wife Sherene can be c o n t a c t e d a t jdulipkumar@yahoo.com and jsherene@gmail.com Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com
“YES, We Can” may sound familiar to you as the campaign slogan of Barack Obama during his run for Presidency in the United States of America. The same can be an every day slogan for everyone who is fighting cancer. I have fought the battle and now I am on the winning side. With our Lord Jesus Christ on my side, I found that nothing can shake me – not even the dreaded disease. Psalm 16:8 was all that I depended on. “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved!” In the year 2006, I was struck with uterine wall cancer. When cancer strikes, it doesn’t strike you alone; your family is struck, your finance is struck and everything around you just crumbles under your feet. Friends and people help by way of being a moral support. They also come up with various suggestions with all good intentions, though some of them are impossible from your point of view. But it is you and you alone who should make up your mind. At this juncture it is your greatest asset if you already know and trust your Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ. I believe in the Word of God, the Bible. I believe in all the miraculous healings of Jesus when He was on the earth. I believe that it is possible even today and even in my case. With that faith aiding me I went through an operation followed by radiation. Well, I was happy that my ordeal was over and that I could get back to my normal chores. However, what I did not know then was that there would be another attack of a totally different type of cancer within a year and a half! It was a skin cancer called melanoma! The very meaning given by the dictionary that it was the worst type of all cancers frightened the daylights out of me. I wished I had not looked up the dictionary. There was this temptation again to Google Search to learn more about this disease. But I curtailed my curiosity thinking that God is in control of me and my situation and He knows everything. To this day I know nothing more than that dictionary definition. Neither did I have the courage to ask the doctors about it. I did not want to fill my mind with fears of what the disease is all about, how it will manifest itself, its symptoms, how it will spread and so on. The fear will kill you even before the disease does! Fear is a weapon, a powerful one at that, used by Satan to tear you down and draw you far away from the God whom you worship. He will strike you with fear when you are at your low. So if you want to beware of Satan beware of fear as well. The disease did take its course and I had to undergo 3 operations within two years. The doctor advised me to go for chemotherapy, the treatment that I feared the most because of its debilitating toxicity. With tears in my eyes I told the doctor, “No doctor, my God will heal me.” He replied, “Yes, God will help those who help themselves” and he thrust the letter to a chemotherapist into my hand. Once out of the consulting room I decided to go home instead. My family suggested that I go for a second opinion which I did. This oncologist said he needed time to consult his friends and books as the skin cancer is rather a rare one. I was told to come after three days. This was the time I valued the most. I cried to my Lord Jesus to keep His healing touch MAY 2013 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 15
upon me. I pleaded with Him to spare my family of the financial bankruptcy that this disease and its treatment will drive us into. Why do I need treatment at this age of 60? All my hard-earned money should be preserved, I thought. So I begged Him to speak to me through the doctor about what I should do. Unbelievable as it may sound, the doctor spoke to me the very same words that I wanted to hear - “the chemotherapy for this type of skin cancer is very toxic, amma, and you will not be able to lead a normal life. So I suggest that you go home and pray to your God!” I was so thrilled to hear this and my joy knew no bounds. Jesus heard me and has answered too. Psalms 30: 2-3 speak exactly what I experienced at that time. “O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You HEALED me. O Lord You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.” Again as in Psalm 40:1-3 “He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth- Praise to our God.” From that day onwards there was no turning back. I go for my routine check-up only to prove to friends and people around that Jesus’ healing touch is continually upon me. I do not in any way advocate that one should not go to a doctor. Nor am I against any treatment prescribed by them. Doctors are a means of grace to us. It is God who has given them the knowledge and the skill to serve His people and
alleviate their pains and diseases. An earthly doctor will always want to make sure that the disease has not spread. That’s why the reviews, the scans, the tests and the like. However, healing from the Heavenly Doctor is quite different. He doesn’t need to review or see the scans. His healing is permanent, it is TOTAL! He can terminate even the so called ‘terminal illness’ – the cancer! But we need to work up our faith against all odds and surrender to His will. Life without any trials is hard to find. It is simply not there. Tribulation is often the catalyst that produces perseverance, character and finally hope (Romans 5:3, 4). Hope thrives when there is no hope but God. (Romans 8:24, 25). Like Job we should learn to say, whether ill or well, “the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). I believe that when we surrender completely, the Lord will fight our battles; and with Him on our side, is it too difficult to say, ‘YES WE CAN’?! This article is a declaration of my faith and a medium through which I wish to proclaim what Jesus has done in my life. We need to make sure that the world around us knows that God is good and His mercy endures forever. My total strength is drawn from the Book of Psalms and recently I have authored a book titled ‘Strength from the Psalms’. Rosalind Percy is a retired principal in-charge of a college of education in Chennai. She can be reached at rosypercy2002@yahoo.co.in and 09941308440.
BY ANGELA KARUNYA MY mother Chandrika was diagnosed with breast cancer on Jan 19, 2011. The family was shattered on hearing the news. The doctors said she was in stage 4 and said her treatment had to begin immediately. The cancer cells had even penetrated her bones and they said her chances of survival were slim. She was put to various tests and scans. And, naturally, she broke down. We poured out our hearts to God and upheld her in our prayers. Lord Jesus Christ gave her the strength to battle cancer. Mother went through nine cycles of chemotherapy. This therapy often results in severe side-effects such as loss of hair, nausea and fever. However, God was with her and she responded quite well to the treatment. She also went through 10 rounds of radiation and God healed her miraculously. The cancer cells that had spread to the bones disappeared by the grace of God. Those days, her
treatment would take place in a cycle of 21 days. The hospital became our second home. In every step that we took, we felt God’s mighty presence. That lifted our spirits and gave us the courage and strength to handle the situation. In Feb, 2012 after almost a year of struggle, doctors suggested mastectomy (medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely). Tearfully, we prayed to God for her. And, God comforted us through Job 5:26: ‘You shall come to your grave in ripe old age, like a sheaf gathered up in its season.’ And, yes she came out of the surgery safely and God pronounced healing at every step. I exalt God’s Name and thank Him from the bottom of my heart for giving her second life. Angela Karunya is a software engineer and lives in Chennai. Her mother Chandrika is a homemaker.
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REV. Wilfredo ‘Choco’ De Jesus, an Assemblies of God pastor, has been named by TIME magazine as one of ‘100 Most Influential People’ in the world. In a public statement, De Jesus said: “I am honored to be named to TIME’s 100. It’s a great privilege to be a voice not only for the Latino Christian community, but also for the poor and voiceless in our society.” “The Hispanic community in the U.S. is over 51 million strong. “We’re people God has chosen to govern and to lead communities and cities with conviction, unapologetically. There are many great leaders in this community, and I am truly humbled by this recognition.” Forty-eight-year old De Jesus’s megachurch in Chicago is home to 5,000 members locally, and a total of 14,000 globally through New Life Covenant Ministries’ church plants and various outreach programs. De Jesus is described in the TIME ‘100 Most
Influential People’ feature by Pastor Rick Warren, previously named to the list in 2009, as embodying “the true definition of what Christ said the church should be.” The Pentecostal minister is one of three religious leaders chosen for TIME’s ‘100 Most Influential People’. This list is in its 10th year and previously described by TIME’s managing editor as comprised of individuals “who are using their ideas, their visions, their actions to transform the world and have an effect on a multitude of people.” The other two faith leaders included in TIME’s list are Pope Francis I of the Roman Catholic Church and Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish author and educator and Islamic scholar. Under his leadership, the Chicago megachurch developed several programs to minister to surrounding communities, such as a homeless shelter, an afterschool program and an intensive discipleship program for college-age students. Christian Post
CHINA, the world’s largest producer of textiles and manufactured goods, is now also the largest producer of Bibles. In 2012, the country’s sole Bible printer, Amity Printing, produced 12 million Bibles and New Testaments. Although the increased availability of Bibles is a big step forward from China’s strictly Communist days, a closer inspection reveals the country continues to control how many Bibles are printed and who can get them. Amity Printing started in 1988 as a joint effort between the British United Bible Societies (UBS) and Amity Foundation, the charity arm of the Three Self Church. Bible production increased from 500,000 the first year to 12 million last year. But many of the Bibles aren’t going to Chinese Christians, as Amity Printing has found it can turn a profit by exporting its goods. Bibles are printed in more than 90 different languages, and of the 88.9 million Bibles printed between 1988 and late 2011, 33.2 million were exported. And the number of exported Bibles is increasing. In 2011, about two-thirds of the Bibles printed went out of the country, with only about 4 million copies remaining in China’s borders. Not only is the number of Bibles printed by Amity
unable to keep up with the growth of Chinese Christians, the 50 million believers in unregistered house churches do not have direct access to them, said Paul Hattaway of Asia Harvest. The Bibles are distributed to the 55,000 registered churches, and anyone can purchase them there for an affordable 9.50 Yuan ($1.50). Christians found owning an Amity-printed Bible do not face punishment. But Christians in rural house churches far from registered congregations have a difficult time getting Bibles. Christians who ask for more than a few Bibles at a time raise suspicion.
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OVER half of those who made a decision for Jesus over the Internet have subsequently shared their faith with others, Global Media Outreach’s study reveals. Additionally, 34 percent read their Bibles daily and nearly half pray for at least 10 minutes a day. “These findings are remarkable because they reveal that online evangelism isn’t just an in-themoment decision, and people continue to grow in their faith after they have indicated a decision,” Global Media Outreach (GMO) founder and chairman Walt Wilson said in a statement. The study, called the Christian Growth Index, measured the responses of more than 100,000 people from around the world. For Wilson, the results of the study indicate “that online evangelism and discipleship is truly measurable and effective.” Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said they shared their faith three times or more and 37 percent said they shared their faith at least once or twice. GMO is a global ministry that presents the Gospel online through websites such as WhoisJesusReally.com and GrowinginChrist.com.
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SOCIAL media has become a source of growing incivility and even ruined relationships, says a recently released survey conducted by a corporate training firm. According to a survey by VitalSmarts, 19 percent of respondents have decreased their offline contact with someone because of something that person said on social media; 35 percent reported blocking, unsubscribing or ‘un-friending’ someone because of an argument held on a social networking website. Conducted by VitalSmarts, the survey sampled 2,698 individuals during the month of February with online questionnaires. The estimated margin of error is 2%. The findings were announced recently. Joseph Grenny, co-chairman of corporate training firm VitalSmarts and co-author of the New York Times best-seller ‘Crucial Conversations’, said that the results were not surprising. “We weren’t necessarily surprised by the findings because we’ve been observing these trends in our own social media feeds,” said Grenny. “We conducted the study to get an accurate read on how emotionally charged conversations held via social media affect relationships.” The main means to curb this trend would be ‘for manners to catch up with technology.’ Seventy-six percent of respondents said they witnessed an argument on social media, 78% reported rising incivility on social media, and 88% stated that they believe people are less polite.
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No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (LUKE 16:13)
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YIPEE! It’s that time of the year again. No, we are not talking about Christmastime but the next best time of the year – the HOLIDAYS! Yes, holidays are here again! For kids, the countdown to holidays begins well before a month of the actual vacation. Did I hear a ‘How do you know’ chorus? Hey, I’ve been there and done it too, kids! So relax and stick with me as I try my best to help you make the most of the days ahead of you. Holidays give us a big high, but after a few days it can also get boring. Yes, boredom strikes when you do not know what to do next. And it seems like you have exhausted all options of having fun! Well, you know what! A child of God can never say: ‘I am bored!’ Do I really mean it? Yes, turn with me to Proverbs 11:25 where it says: ‘He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.’ That’s the key to having an inexhaustible reservoir of fun. Think of how you can refresh (please, gladden, cheer up, bring joy to, pep up are some of the synonyms for the word ‘refresh’) others and you yourself will be refreshed. I have just listed down a few things you can try out during the holidays. Try out these and I assure you that boredom will not affect you and those around you. So, here we go: 1. Make a timetable, if possible, in the beginning of your holidays about all that you want to do. 2. Plan to attend some short-time courses which you can finish during the holidays itself. 3. Do something different from your normal routine and schedule. 4. Plan frequent outings and shopping that are very expensive. 5. Visit places like libraries or museums – places that you always wanted to go to, but never had time to. 6. Have a long chat with your grandparents and maybe just the two of you can go out for a snack. 7. Help your mother in drying or folding clothes and your father in washing the car or polishing shoes. 8. Help someone at home by relieving them of their daily duties like clearing garbage. 9. Learn to cook your favorite dish; it will turn out to be of a great help to you later in life. 10. Call up your old friends with whom you have lost touch and catch up on their latest news. 11. Play with your siblings or do something interesting and useful with them. 12. Do you have videos of you as a baby? Dig them out of your home library and watch them again. 13. Teach your younger siblings something they 26 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w MAY 2013
have been asking you to do for a long time. 14. Dust and clean your shelves and cupboards. 15. Rearrange furniture in your room. Change the way you place your bed or table as change is refreshing. 16. Stay indoors when it is very hot outside. 17. Make a list of things you do not need and give them to others who need them badly. 18. Throw away the old and unnecessary things that occupy space. 19. Take a short nap during the afternoons to be refreshed. 20. Exercise or go for a regular walk and maybe you will make it a habit for a lifetime. 21. Keep yourself clean and fresh because when you are lazy you might even miss your regular bath. 22. Take a break from text messaging and online chatting. 23. Spend some time every day reading the daily newspaper. 24. Spend some quality time reading the Bible and other related biblical books and magazines. 25. Set a particular time to pray and make a list of prayer points concerning others and you. * Reading the Word, meditating on it and praying will definitely bring you closer to God. Although I have mentioned them at the end, those habits form the basis for our lives. Let this holiday be a time when you grow and nurture yourself as a child of God. Be blessed and be a blessing to others. HAPPY HOLIDAYS! FORM IV 1.Place of publication: Chennai 2.Periodicity: Monthly 3.Printer's name and nationality: L Cyril Sagayaraj, Indian. Address: 1, Narasingapuram Ext., 1st Lane, Maduvankarai, Guindy, Chennai 32. 4.Publisher's name & nationality: Ely Robin, Indian. Address: 329/4, HIG Flats, 2nd Avenue, Anna Nagar, Chennai 40. 5.Editor's name & nationality: Elsy Robin, Indian Address: 329/4, HIG Flats, 2nd Avenue, Anna Nagar, Chennai 40. 6.Names and address of individuals who own the newspaper and partners of shareholders holding more than one percent of the total capital: Elsy Robin I, Elsy Robin, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. Date: 1, May, 2013 Signed: Elsy Robin Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com