May 2015
www.homsa.org
DIR CTION A monthly Publication of Ceylon Every Home Crusade
Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word tell me the story most precious, Sweetest that ever was heard Crosby
Luke’s Great Gift to Theophilus this passage of Scripture recently I felt so grateful for the written Gospel — the perfect piece of gospel literature! Then, looking at EHC's Finding the Hope
The strongest currents of ideas carried others along. We get a glimpse of this in Acts where Paul pushes against these currents, speaking boldly, discussing and arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. Ideas, ideologies and philosophies had a moulding hand upon communities and society as a whole. Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the need to work with the spiritual weapons of the Lord to demolish arguments and pretensions set up against the knowledge of God. Perhaps you've heard the saying, “If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything.” The key here is to have enough reliable knowledge to be able to stand, and then to stand firm, as we read in Ephesians. Luke knew that Theophilus would need something solid to hold onto in order to be established in the faith. Concerned, he gave him a great gift — he wrote an orderly account of the life and works of Jesus so that he could have certainty concerning the things of God and His kingdom (Luke 1:1-4). As I pondered
booklet, I prayed: Lord, use these words written about You to give people a measure of certainty about what matters most to their lives. The word certainty suggests that we are in the presence of evidence. This is what Luke's document provides for Theophilus in the form of an orderly account prepared from a careful investigation that went back to the very beginning. Certainty also implies, something that is not liable to fall. It's a conviction so solid that neither the winds of change nor arguments will be able to topple it. It is vitally important to be in possession of the facts when we take a step in any new direction. Certainty, established on facts from Scripture, becomes a powerful offensive in spiritual warfare. It is a reliable weapon against doubt and confusion. Like Luke, we write down for others the facts about Jesus and the Gospel so that they may have certainty and be able to open their hearts to Christ in faith. When we pass along these written gospel messages, we too give someone a great gift!
"Luke knew Theophilus needed something solid to hold on to..... so he wrote an orderly account of the life and works of Jesus."
By Jacqueline Dugas By Jacqueline Dugas Jacqueline Dugas is especially equipped to direct our attention to God's work of reviving His church. She serves as Director for the Centre of Prayer Mobilization of Every Home for Christ International in Canada, equipping and mobilizing Christians to develop consistent and effective prayer for personal growth and for releasing a harvest for the Lord in cities and nations of the world.
May2015 /Direction
in a were Some it out.
Luke and Theophilus lived changing world. New ideas shaping people and culture. chose their position and argued
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DIR CTION A Monthly Publication of Ceylon Every Home Crusade
Non denominational Magazine widely circulated and read Annual subscription Rs. 500/-
EHC 44 1970-2014
Vision Statement To establish a Christian witness in every village in Sri Lanka by forming Christ Groups or Prayer Cells to strengthen the Body of Christ both spiritually and numerically. Mission Statement Every Home Crusade in Sri Lanka exists to strengthen the Body of Christ and to make it grow spiritually and numerically by touching lives through the systematic distribution of the gospel message, by providing opportunities for it to be rooted in the knowledge of God through the study of the Word and by becoming responsible members of Christ Groups, and by providing training for such Christ Groups to multiply as churches. Ceylon Every Home Crusade is a non-denominational incorporated national organization which exists to serve, motivate and mobilise the Church to participate actively in the systematic personal presentation of a printed or repeatable message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to every home in Sri Lanka, and to help new believers to become responsible members of the Body of Christ. The Board of Management Sam Thevabalasingham Chairman/Managing Director Dr. Ranee Perera Vice Chairperson
Mrs. Ruba Weerasinghe Secretary
Solomon Parimalasingham Treasurer
Pastor Shanuka Elangasekera Bro. Chrishantha De Silva Bro. V. P. Sathiyandra Mr. John J. Jeevanantham
May 2015 /Direction
Direction Magazine Sam Thevabalasingham (Managing Editor) Rhuani Rambukwelle (Design & Layout) Rita Faber (Advertising) Ranjini Udawatte (Subscription) John J. Jeevanantham (Office Manager)
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The Most Ven. Asgiriya Mahanayake’s is no more Chief incumbent of the Asgiri Chapter of the S h y a a m o - p a a l i G r e a t Order Most Venerable Aggramaha Panditha Udugama Sri Buddharakkhita Thero passed away (April 8). Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter, was cremated with full State honours and a 17- gun salute at the Police Grounds in Asgiriya 0n12th April at 2 p.m. On behalf of the Christian community we convey our deepest sadness to our fellow Buddhist brothers and sisters and all clergy for the loss of a highly respected saintly Thera of our time it is needless to say that the world in general and children of Mother Lanka in particular have lost and exemplary religious leader. The thera who passed away at a private hospital at the age of 85 in Singapore was one of the prominent figures in Buddhist affairs in Kurunegala. Born on March 17, 1930 at Udugama, he was ordained as a samanera monk in 1944, under Mahanayake Ven. Udugama Buddharakitha Thera. He was appointed a member of the Asgiriya Maha Vihare Sangha Sabha in 1966 and later as the Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Maha Vihare in 1999.The invaluable service and contribution made by the Thera for the development of Buddhism both within Sri Lanka and overseas has been appreciated by many. A large crowd including many of the State leaders of the country were present at the funeral to pay their last respects to a thera who had contributed immensely to safeguard Buddhism.
Letter to Editor, Dear Bro. Sam My husband always enjoyed reading your magazine regularly. You will be surprised to hear that on the eve of his death, when we were on circuit in Bandarawella, he took this magazine and placed it on my lap and said "now you must start reading this". Little did realize that evening that next morning he would not be there. Hence forth I will be regularly subscribing to this magazine. With regards, Nalini Sivapalan
CEYLON EVERY HOME CRUSADE
6, Park Place, Colombo 5. Tel: 2587189 E.Mail : samtheva@slt.lk direction.cehc@gmail.com direct@sltnet.lk website: http:// www.homsa.org Facebook.com/ceylon every home crusade Ceylon Every Home Crusade is an approved Charity
Direction Magazine A Non denominational magazine widely circulated and read
Annual Subscription Rs. 500/-
FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD
If we turn to the biblical record of creation, in the first two chapters of Genesis we find some interesting facts about work. God considered man a supreme creation and he was provided with all comforts including a life time partner. They both settled down to work and were given a lush, abundant environment in which to live and enjoying the Creator's marvelous provision. It was all a pure gift and undeserved grace from the Creator. Relatively within a short period of time, temptation over took them and they fell into sin. In the third chapter, after man's
sin, he was forced to work by “the sweat of his face”. The Garden of Eden was fully conditioned with a right and perfect environment, completely devoid of sin. Sadly they were driven out of Eden into a cursed environment for their rebellion and greediness. This new and different environment too was under the control of the Creator just like Eden, producing abundant yield but compelled man to sweat it out to secure it from the earth. From that day until
this very day work has become sweat and pain to plant and water but it is God who gives the yield. Today in our society is a large community of hard working people involved in tilling, planting, watering, harvesting and marketing their produce. For many centuries their sheer hard work has made them wealthy, influential and powerful. Three to four decade ago the public and private sector workers, school teachers had self imposed discipline and maintained work ethics. The quality of work and output too were of high level and workers went to work with a sense of dignity but the industrial revolution changed everything for better or worse. These hard working people could no longer remain self-reliant but had to depend on so many agencies to get their fertilizers, seed paddy, irrigation and even to market their produce. Slowly but steadily the attitude towards work, general work ethics and related matters such as commitment, dedication and discipline began to disappear. Sadly in these modern days even among
the so called Christians, there is work ethics but they lack the dignity of labour. These church going Christians who talk about their faith and commitment to Christ, use mobile phones during working hours in their places of work and take excessive 'short leave' every month. Apart from this, how about the 'sick leave' they take per year?. They claim these are their legitimate rights (they forget that these are a provision made for them). Think of some of the so called Christian teachers in public schools, how they perform their duties to their students. Unlike other teachers, they rush home to earn extra money by give tuition. I know of a Christian lady, a trained teacher who taught for more than 40 years (served in different capacities as Primary School Teacher, Asst. Principal and later as Principal). She was an ideal teacher who considered teaching and spending time with school children as her religion. She never pretended to be an over enthusiastic religious person but was a work conscious woman- a wife and mother of three children. She conducted extra classes for children during the school holidays and never took short leave or sick leave during her 40 years of service. After retirement within one year she died of shock and heart failure due to a LTTE bomb blast near her home. Her motto in life was “Do your work diligently as a service unto God”. This lady was none other than my one and only older sister (Rebecca Samuel) and I was 20 years younger to her. In this month of May let us remind ourselves what James- First Bishop of the Church in Jerusalem wrote to Christians in and around Jerusalem: “Faith without works is dead”.
C S Thevabalsingham
EDITOR’S
COMMENTS
May 2015 /Direction
We as a nation are proud about consistently observing Workers Day. May Day is to recognize workers and their rights to celebrate a day as their own day- a day without religious, language or racial distinction. Sadly in the recent years it is very much politicized and highly polarized to shout slogans that are invariably unrelated to workers rights. It is needless to say that we are one of the nations own 'home made' workers charter and that we are conscious of workers welfare. As part of the welfare, committed to implement such a welfare programme, we have the mechanism of Employee Provident and Trust Fund. Unfortunately workers have no say over this Fund which is totally under the jurisdiction of the Government appointed Board and Central Bank. Since workers have no say, a great deal of irregularities have taken place. It is now history that large sums of money have been withdrawn and invested unwisely in unprofitable ventures by the highly paid Chairpersons and fellow Officers of the Board without consulting or getting the approval of the workers/contributors themselves. It is reported that large sums of money has been lost and nobody seems to take responsibility for such losses. This and many other factors have contributed towards distress, disappointment and discouragement so much so that workers consider work as a destructive burden than joy. Hardly anyone talks about going to work as a joyful act nor do they recognize it as a gift of God.
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May 2015 /Direction
EFFECTIVELY EQUIPPING NEW BELIEVERS! Throughout Every Home for Christ’s 68year history of home-to-home evangelism, we’ve seen more than 150 million people respond to the Gospel (a milestone the ministry passed this January), and that number grows daily. Our pioneer missionaries are reaching more and more remote areas of the world where the Gospel has never been heard. The harvest among these unreached people groups is growing steadily, to the glory of God! However, these brand new Christians willnot grow in their faith without instruction from the Word of God and fellowship with other believers. We believe the local church is the natural place for new believers to be encouraged and grounded in their faith. It’s where spiritual roots are established and grow deep. We partner with local churches throughout the world in their evangelism efforts, providing resources and training for them to evangelize their communities. Then we train their leaders to effectively disciple the new believers through our Be Fruitful and Multiply (BFAM) discipleship curriculum. But in many isolated areas where our teams arereaping such a bountiful harvest, there are no local churches. If new believers don’t become firmly established in their faith, they remain stuck in the infant stages of belief, soon becoming discouraged and struggling to survive. Where there is no local church, our national leaders form fellowships where new believers receive godly encouragement and biblical discipleship training. We call these fellowships Christ Groups. These “mini churches” are generally small—often about ten to 20 people, but some can grow to more than100 in a relatively short amount of time.
We are extremely grateful for the way God has blessed this method of establishing new believers in their faith! Every Home for Christ has planted more than 245,000 Christ Groups worldwide, with a current average of 70 new ones forming every day! 2014 marked the fifth consecutive year of more than 20,000 new Christ Group fellowships being formed annually! Over time, these i n t i m a t e fellowships often become mature, self-supporting churches. There are many thousands of these established Christ Groups globally that meet in nontraditional settings. Some meet deep in the jungle under shady trees. Others meet in college dormitories or in the back rooms of local businesses. There are Christ Groups of high school students that meet during their lunch breaks. Christ Groups exist in maximum security prisons around the world where inmates meet regularly for worship, Bible study and prayer. Christ Groups meet in secret under the cover of darkness in nations where the Gospel is strictly forbidden. These courageous brothers and sisters take great risks to gather for corporate worship and Bible study, many of whom have faced imprisonment or even death. There are even Christ Groups in indigenous tribal areas around the world. Christ Group fellowships are led by trained Every Home for Christ leaders who guides new believers in the discovery of who God is and why His Son Jesus had to come to earth as a sacrifice for sin. By using Bible stories with the study of the Scripture, biblical principles are taught, new believers begin to mature in their faith. Lives begin to be transformed, families are restored— even feuding neighbors
Dr. Dick Eastman
begin to forgive one another. As the new believers learn how to share theirfaith, entire communities are reached! This months edition of Every Home international magazine features the incredible work happening in avariety of these global Christ Groups. No matter where they exist, what happens inside a Christ Group is simply miraculous. The stories and testimonials represented are only a small fraction of the ministry that is taking place around the world in areas where there are no churches.
May 2015 /Direction
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations... teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NASB).
Please pray for our Christ Groups around the world and their leaders. Many of whom travel many miles to minister to new believers week after week. We thank God for these dedicated m e n a n d women.
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Come, Sit, Listen and See I was alone, I was upset and worried, I was wondering. I looked for hope, joy, and peace. I went into my room, shut the door and said, “Dear Lord! I am here; I want to listen to what you will say to me. Open my inner ears, so that I may listen to your soft and tender voice. Make me sensitive to what you say.” The Master said to me, “Come! Come close to Me and sit. Look at me and listen. You are my beloved, I love you, I care for you, and I sustain you. I have redeemed you. I gave My life for you. I have shed My precious blood for you on the cross of Calvary. You are very precious to Me. I always watch over you. I protect you. I stand with
you during times of trial and hardship. I am yours and you are Mine.”
May 2015 /Direction
The Master further said, “Look at My hands, and look on these holes in My side. I was pierced for you. When the soldiers put the sharp nails into My hands with the heavy hammer they also drove the nails into My feet, I could see the sharp nails; I could see the heavy hammer. I could see the angry faces of those soldiers. I was not angry. I knew that they did not know what they were doing. With pain, patience and calmness, I pleaded to my heavenly Father. 'Father, forgive them! Father, forgive these soldiers who are so cruel and harsh to Me'.”Immediately I could see that I myself was like that soldier who
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Rev. Samuel Gill Director for Ambassadors - Pakistan
fixed the nails into my Master's hands and feet. I was the one who hit heavily on the Master's hands with the hammer, and I felt ashamed. The Master said, “Come, sit, listen and see. I have forgiven you, don't worry. I love you. I took all the pain for you on the cross. I took all the shame for you on the cross. Now I have purchased you with My precious blood. You are Mine. You are Mine forevermore. Nobody can snatch you from My powerful hands.” The Master extended his hands so that I could hold them, and I kissed His hands. He said, “Look at My hands closely. Don't be afraid, don't worry; don't feel guilty. I love you and you are mine. I love you so much. Look at my hands. I put these hands before God, My Father on your behalf. I put out My hands and asked My Father, 'Please don't punish him…' and I took your punishment. On your behalf, My hands were pierced so that you could be spared, your hands could be spared.” Come, sit, listen and see… I was sitting so calmly and I listened to the soft and tender tone of my Master. His words were so soothing, so sweet and so comforting. He was putting a balm on my wounds. I was comforted. I was delighted. I was uplifted. He gave me a sense of worth. My eyes became wet with tears, tears of gratitude. I could see my old self, which was against God and His son Jesus. I could see my old life, how I persecuted Christ. How I was crucifying my Savior, piercing His hands. I wept. As I wept, the Master removed the burden of my guilt and sin. In fact,
he took my entire burden upon Himself and whispered in my ear, “Come ye heavily laden, you who are tired, fatigued, you who cannot carry your burdens. I will give you rest. My rest is free; this rest is in abundance. It is for all mankind. I will take you to
green pastures; you will lie down beside still waters. I am yours, and you are Mine.” I held His hands, He held my hands. He further said, “Come, sit, listen and see. I am with you always, don't be afraid, be strong. Wherever you will go, I will be with you. You are precious. You are Mine and I am with you till the end of the age.” God bless you. Samuel Gill has been serving as a National Director of Ambassadors for Christ International Pakistan since 1982. At present, he has working w i t h t h e International Director AFCI Rev. Paul Hanak and Regional Director Rev Barnabas Mam from Cambodia. Samuel has travelled widely in the country as a Bible Teacher, Preacher, Church Planter, Trainer and Counselor. Samuel has earned his Bachelor’s degree major in Psychology from University of Punjab and then his Masters of Divinity degree major in Church Studies from the Asian theological Seminary Manila, Philippines. Samuel has served as a Pastor at Emmanuel Church Islamabad for 25 years. He has also ministered in Continents of Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. He and his wife, Iris have been blessed with three children; Ruby, Robinson and Solomon. They and their partners are also serving the Lord.
Soursop or Katu Anoda (annona muricata)
The Miraculous Natural Cancer Cell Killer The fruit popularly known in Sri Lanka as 'Katu Anoda' or 'Katu Aaththa' has been identified as The Miraculous Natural Cancer Cell Killer. Graviola, guyabano are other identification names for this fruit. In Malayalam it is known as ' mullaatha' and in Malay 'durian belanda'. Ripe Katu Anoda has a very special sour-sweet taste with a very pleasant sweet smell. Sri-Lankans are very familiar with the fruit because it grows in several areas of our country, but its medicinal value is little known to most of the consumers. Special mention has to be made regarding the fact that the Katu Anoda fruit has a very long history in our country. In the Rama - Ravana story it is mentioned that king Rama and his aide Hanumantha , have consumed Katu Anoda on their way to Sri-Lanka!
Katu Anoda is rich in carbohydrates, particularly, 'fructos'. The fruit also contains a significant amount of vitamin C, vitamin B1 and vitamin B2 . The most important factor is its medicinal value. The fruit, seeds, and leaves have a number of medicinal values. The leaves of the tree can be used as tea and it can help cure many illnesses like insomnia, cough and migraine headache. The miracle of this fruit is, when it is consumed by a cancer patient, it produces an active agent which travels finding the location of the cancer cells in the patient's system and starts destroying the cancer cells. It is really a wonder working natural herb which fights against deadly cancer cells. Like most of the other very expensive chemical drugs Katu Anoda does not cause side effects because it is a natural fruit.
The Cancer Research U.K. has identified the active principle in Annona muricata (Katu Anoda). The ultimate glory should go to our Creator God who created this wonderful tree in the Garden of Eden for the consumption of human beings. It is our duty to obey our Creator God who commanded us to 'cultivate and keep it' by encouraging people to grow and consume more Katu Anoda in our home gardens. Caution: Connection between consumption of Soursop and a typical form of Parkinson's disease has been identified due to very high concentration of 'annonacin' in the fruit. Maximus Fernando.
Pain Killer in your Kitchen A GREAT ALTERNATIVE TO TAKING MEDICATION!!!!
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Experts credit ginger's potent compounds called gingerols, which prevent the production of pain-triggering hormones. The study-recommended
dose: Add at least 1 teaspoon of dried ginger or 2 teaspoons of chopped ginger to meals daily.
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When Danish researchers asked achy people to jazz up their diets with ginger, it eased muscle and joint pain, swelling and stiffness for up to 63 percent of them within two months.
May 2015 /Direction
When Danish researchers asked achy people to jazz up their diets with ginger, it eased muscle and joint pain, swelling and stiffness for up to 63 percent of them within two months. Experts credit ginger's potent compounds called gingerols, which prevent the production of pain-triggering hormones. The study-recommended dose: Add at least 1 teaspoon of dried ginger or 2 teaspoons of chopped ginger to meals daily.
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EASTER ADVANCE
May 2015 /Direction
Advancing the Gospel is our business. We are commanded by the Lord to take the Gospel to every home and to every person. Easter time was a very ideal time to proclaim to people about the Resurrection Power of the Living God. A group of men and women of all ages from the Light House Church, Gampola led b y S a m i t h a N u w a n p r i y a –Student Pastor doing Theological s t u d i e s a t S A I T, Norton Bridge and Vino GeorgeAsst.Pastor of the church visited every home and business establishment in and around Gompola - a subdivision of Kandy District They did this home to home visit on 6th, 7th and 8th of April. Some of the most hard to reach villages are situated in Gampola area and they are: Arangala, Mawela, Maswela, Doragala, Newpeacock, Kurunduwatta and Hellboda. People are very hospitable but their dwelling places are very isolated but to behold they are very beautiful. It takes great deal of effort to reach homes in this area as they are scattered. According to all those who participated this Easter Advance were so glad for the opportunity of taking the Gospel message to people who have had no fortune to hear the good news of salvation and forgiveness.
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On 10th and 11thApril, student pastors of Eastern Theological College, Sathurukondan, Batticaloa went out to share the Easter message to several villages in and around Kokkaddicholai and Ariyampathy in Batticaloa district. People in the villages were very happy to receive God's message of salvation. According to Bro.Satyendra who was leading the students for home to home visitation informs that several Muslim villages were visited and most if not all people happily received God' s Word and it was very unusual to see such openness from them towards the visit of Christian to their villages.
The song of the Bow have knocked off Saul out of his eulogy but he has already decided in his heart by the principles he would live by. To David, making a decision on whom to praise was not a question. Because, for him Saul was God's anointed and he esteemed both equally – for the sake of God and for the sake of Jonathan, who loved him. It is ironical that although Saul's tribe being experts in bow and arrow, he got wounded by an arrow that led to his death. They were mighty but they opened themselves up for the devil to have a go at them. That is why David lamented over Saul and Jonathan because they were mighty but they were snatched away from the world all of a sudden. David could have rejoiced over this but he chose to mourn the loss, because he understood the loss for the kingdom of God. That is why it is repeated thrice in this portion: 'How have the mighty fallen?’If we understand this kingdom principle, we will understand, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17). In this sense, we have a twofold mandate to fulfill in our Christian walk. First, that no one should perish without Christ. Second, that no man or woman who is called by God to serve Him should fall by the wayside, snatched away before they could fulfill their commission and live their full years, as designed by God. We are called to disarm the enemy by our love towards the one he is keeping ransom, because the ransom has already been paid in full.
The writer Jeanne W. Edward comes from a ministry background. By profession, she is a human resources practitioner.
May 2015 /Direction
“David took up this lament concerning apart and we so carelessly attribute it to Saul and his son Jonathan.” (2 Samuel 1: God's dealing with them but fail to see the sorrow it causes in God's heart and how 17-27). His work is being hindered by His enemy. The key to looking at the good of a person We do not realize the evil hand behind the is to look through the eyes of God's love: destruction and deception that takes both from the perspective of what God has parties into a trap. We also see that David called and anointed that person to be. If gives a title to this lamentation as, 'the we look from any other angle, we will see song of the Bow'. It was aptly named nothing positive. Even among the best of because Saul and his tribe the Benjamites people, we are bound to see flaws. were highly regarded for their skills with Therefore, the only way to keep our bow and arrow. That is why we see in hearts from being defiled by what we say v.23 David mention how Saul and about others is to speak what God has Jonathan were among the best and called them to be.We see a classic fastest. He reminds how Israel prospered example in this portion where David because of Saul and Jonathan. To him, laments over Saul and Jonathan. His first focus in this song is God's calling on Israel. He sees Saul's death as a black mark on Israel, a reason for national mourning because the uncircumcised Philistines have done this to God's pride and joy. For David, 'the beauty of Israel was slain. “How have the mighty fallen”. (v:19). Second, he did not want the Philistines to rejoice over Saul's death. (v:20). The natural instinct when those who hate us are destroyed is to broadcast. We feel God has done us justice; we want the world to know when our innocence is proven. But, if we see those who were against us (especially in God's family) as David saw Saul and Jonathan – as appointed and anointed by God, then we will have half of the heartaches and injuries in the Body of Christ, over in no Jonathan was the God given friend and brother. It is very easy to brush aside time. those who are gone from this world and Then, we see an amazing statement that David makes, when he move on, if they meant harm toward us. declares the ground where Saul and But, it is difficult when those who are Jonathan were slain, as useless. This close to us are defeated. To David, it was portion of land was expected to be a mixture of both. He genuinely loved fruitful fields yielding first fruits Saul, though Saul never reciprocated. To offerings. To David it did not matter, as compensate, God gave Jonathan a heart compared to the loss of Saul and to love David in spite of all the opposition Jonathan. n our walk with our fellowmen, from Saul. God raised Saul's own son to sometimes we face scenarios where we love David even to the point of laying see the downfall of those who opposed us down his life for David, and wanting David to be king after Saul. David could or God's people. Their ministries fall
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ON THE VERGE OF DEATH NEPAL By Jordan Middlebrook
A Christ Group in Nepal needed a miracle. These brand new believers, less than a year old in their faith, knew if they prayed for healing, God would answer. They called the Every Home for Christ pioneer missionary who had been discipling them, knowing he would make the two hour journey to pray with them.
May 2015 /Direction
When pioneer missionary Shindru Threska received the call, he found out that a 17-year-old girl in their village named Jima was seriously ill. Jima had not yet accepted Christ, and her death seemed imminent. The Christ Group members simply could not bear the thought of this young girl suffering for eternity.
Shindru left for the village immediately. He had established this Christ Group in the recent months and was still laboring to encourage the new believers in their
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faith, routinely teaching and training them. There are no roads to this village, but Shindru made the familiar trek as quickly as he could.
his journey home, leaving the Christ Group to continue praying over Jima. Jesus often taught His disciples just like this, giving them on-the-job-training and preparing them to do the work themselves in due time.
“When I arrived,” Shindru recalls, “I saw Jima lying still as a stone. Both her legs were terribly swollen, and she ached from her waist down. Her mother said she had already taken her to a hospital and to a witch doctor, and nothing could be done. But she had found a spark of hope when one of the women in the Christ Group witnessed to her of the healing and saving power of Jesus—even offering for the Christ Group to come and pray.”
The entire nation of Nepal is mountainous with remote villages scattered across peaks and through valleys.
Shindru shared with Jima about Jesus and invited her to commit her life to Him. The young girl accepted Christ, and Shindru began praying for healing. The swelling in Jima’s legs looked better almost immediately, so Shindru began
Roads can be difficult to come by, and those that exist can be treacherous. As a result, much of Nepal’s population has little or no access to the Gospel or to a believing fellowship. Opening its doors to the Gospel only in recent years, Nepal
The next morning, Shindru received another call— Jima was completely healed! She is now a member of that Christ Group and is excited about getting baptized very soon.
surrounding district. Diro has already planted a large Christ Group in Hapud. He regularly mobilizes teams of believers to take the Good News home to home and plant Christ Groups in surrounding villages.
It is through movements like this—Christ Groups reproducing through evangelism and discipleship— that the Lord is establishing His Church across the The Christ Group in the village of Hapud nation of Nepal, reaching those who is another such fellowship. Hapud is would otherwise be lost in the darkness located in a remote district of a of their remote villages. mountainous province. An Every Home for Christ worker tells us, “Life in this This year, Every Home for Christ Nepal is area is very difficult because there are no planning to reach 15 districts with the roads. Construction is underway, but it Gospel. “This is almost impossible,” the could take many years because of the Nepal National Director says, reminding challenging geography.” For this reason us that it has taken the last nine years to there are no local churches in or around reach nine districts, “but the Word of God encourages us that nothing is the village. impossible with Him.” Now that Nepal But one Every Home for Christ pioneer has become more open to the Gospel missionary, Diro NaKar, has made it his and political conflicts have quieted, the mission to reach Hapud and the Every Home for Christ team believes the
Lord will work through them to reach an unprecedented number of homes in their nation. Reaching more homes means more people will need to be discipled, and that means more Christ Groups will be planted. Join us in prayer that the Christ Groups planted this year will be fruitful, multiply and fill the nation of Nepal with the glory of the Lord and the Good News of His Gospel. *All names and locations in this article have been changed for security reasons.
May 2015 /Direction
is a field ripe for the harvest. As Every Home for Christ workers trek through the mountains and Nepali people respond to the Gospel, a great need for discipleship grows. In places where no local churches exist, Christ Groups like Shindru’s meet the need. Pioneer missionaries gather groups of new believers into Christ Groups for fellowship, discipleship and worship. Even if they must travel many hours for meetings, pioneer missionaries continue to care for these groups until local leaders are identified and trained.
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LOCAL
May 2015 /Direction
CHRIST CHURCH MIRIHANA CELEBRATES 125 YEARS Christ Church Mirihana celebrated held its 125th anniversary on April 7, 2015 and a Festal Service was held on the 11th. The little church was built when a group of Christians living in Mirihana, headed by the members of the Christian Missionary movement in Mirihana, felt that the Christian community needed a place of worship. A Christian without a church is like an organ without a body, sheep without a flock or a child without a family. Realizing this, Joseph de Silva spontaneously offered 11 perches of land from his property “The Mirihana Walawwa” (now the Mirihana Police Station) for the construction of the church. When completed it was a beautiful little building. The then Bishop of Colombo Rt. Rev R.S. Copleston conducted a dedication service on Monday, April 7, 1890.Christ Church Mirihana became an independent parish in 1998 and its first parish priest was Fr. Emmanuel Gnanapragasam. Prior to 1998, more than 10 priests have served the congregation. At present, the church is under the care of Fr. Asiri Fernando Jayasuriya.
NCC SPONSORED WORKSHOP IN MURUNGAN National Christian Council of Sri Lanka sponsored a three day Physo-socio Motivational and Prayer/ Discipleship Workshop at Don Bosco Centre, Murunagan, th st. Mannar District from April 19 – 21
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PRAYER AND PRAISE FOCUS - SRI LANKA We thank God; for President Maithripala Sirisena's participation at the Easter day special rally in Batticaloa organized by Pastor Roy Isaac. This is the first time ever that a president of Sri Lanka has participated in an evangelical Christian evangelistic public event. YOUTH CONFERENCE Youth of the Koddaimunai Circuit, Batticaloa held their 3 day camp from April 11th-14 at HOMSA Centre, Norton Bridge. During the camp, they went out to an Estate in a tea plantation in Lakshapana and distributed gift parcels of dry rations and household items. The gesture was very much appreciated by the tea plantation families. THANKS GIVING MEMORIAL SERVICE A service of Thanksgiving for the life and service of Sevak S. S. Selvaratnam (Peryannan) was held on March 28th at Christu Sevak Ashram, Kiran, Batticaloa. The Sevak Selvaratnam established Christu Sevak Ashram in Maruthanamadam, Jaffna and a few years later in Kiran.
The AOG Church, Ginigathhena celebrated its 21st anniversary on the 22nd of March during the Sunday service. Rev. S. Kumar, the senior Pastor along with Sis. Shanthy his wife and two daughters have come a long way, through many hardships and difficult times to bring this Church to its present state of a fairly large congregation comprised of both Sinhala and Tamil believers. This was the first Christian place of worship at its inception in Ginigathhena. Bro. Christopher Arulanandam and His wife Thelma were
invited as chief guests and God's word was shared by him. The service was followed by fellowship lunch INTERNATIONAL COURSE - 2015 IN NETHERLANDS
THE AOG CHURCH, GINIGATHHENA CELEBRATES ITS 21ST ANNIVERSARY The Dutch Religious Organization (DVN) and the Christian University for Applied Sciences (Viaa) jointly organised the "Annual International Course 2015" at Zwolle, Netherlands. The Conference took place from the 7th to 27th of April with 26
Church leaders from 11 countries. Focus was on how to view and respond to joy, pain, suffering and blessing in a Biblical manner on the central Theme: "Living in God's Kingdom" Those who participated from Sri Lanka were: Pastors Donbosco Croos (Grace Fraternal), Manohar Huthin (Baldaeus Theological College), Mrs. Dilushka Mahadevan, Mr. Heshan Soysa & Rev. Shirley Faber (Christian Reformed Church).
were very happy for this teaching program and Pastors requested our team to return to hold longer session. INTER CHURCH GAMES 2015 Inter Church Games 2015 the Tri Annual event bringing denominations together to bless and transform the nation organised by Enforcers of the Call was held over a period of one week at the P Sara Stadium. Over 1500 athletes from all over the country took part in this nation transforming event. Dave Bilbrough worship leader and song writer from Britain and Thomas Joel Raj from India
THANKS GIVING MEMORIAL SERVICE A service of Thanksgiving for the life and service of Sevak S. S. Selvaratnam (Peryannan) was held on March 28th at Christu Sevak Ashram, Kiran, Batticaloa. The Sevak Selvaratnam established Christu Sevak Ashram in Maruthanamadam, Jaffna and a few years later in Kiran..
KAIROS IN TAMIL LANGUAGE Kairos course which was introduced a few years ago has challenged and made an impact on many Christian believers from different churches and denominations in Sri Lanka. Through an initiative by Global Impact a 3 day simplified program will be offered to Tamil speaking Christian believers and their Leaders from May 25th to 28th. There are many emerging young leaders in the hill country who will be blessed and encouraged by this course. HOMSA in partnership with Global Impact is organizing this program and the SAIT Campus at Norton Bridge will be made available by HOMSA to facilitate this program. For Registration call Suraj (077 1113986) BFAM INTRODUCTORY PROGRAMME Full Gospel Charismatic Church in Negombo organized a one day Introductory BFAM Program on 17th April when about 45 participants from neighboring churches attended. Three sessions were conducted after a short time of devotions and welcome by the Pastor of the church. The first session was to introduce BFAM. Bro. Jayarajah De Mel explained the purpose of this program and the need for study of God's Word through the Storey Telling method.He explained that this method is becoming very popular in making disciples. The second session was conducted by Bro.Satyendira and he used the Parable related to talents (Matt 25: 14-30). In one hour and 30 minutes he was able to get the participation of the people and it was a new experience to all participants. Third session after Lunch break was conducted by Bro.Chrisantha De Silva on Prayer using BFAM method. Participants
Gospel Tabernacle. Inter Church Games 2015 overall winner who carried away the Massive Challenge trophy were the team from Kings Revival with Colombo Gospel Tabernacle coming a close 2nd. Calvary Centre, Assembly of God Ja Ela came third. The over all points table was as follows in 8th place Bethnay Christian Life Centre 236 points, Jeevanadiya Faith Church 258, Calvary Church of Sri Lanka 259, Calvary Warriors 260, New Living Flame 328, Calvary Centre Assembly of God Ja Ela 340, Colombo Gospel Tabernacle 1046 and Kings Revival with a grand total of 1324.
PROMOTED TO GLORY MOTHA J. R. BRITTO Beloved husband of Therese, father of Lal & Vajira Motha, Priyani Kellman, Dilip & Niranjali Motha, Sharmini & Rohan Wickramaratne, grandfather of Rajeev & Joahanne Motha, great grandfather of Danielle, brother of Geraldine Gomez (deceased), Fr. Philip (deceased), Dela (deceased), Julius John (deceased), Schola Roche (deceased),and Guy (USA). Entered eternal rest on March 30, 2015. Funeral was held the same day according to his wishes.
were some of the worship leaders from over seas who graced the opening ceremony of the games. The winners of the Swimming event were Kings Revival, Winners of the Cricket were Jeevandiya Church Kirulapone and the winners of the Track and Field were Colombo
REV. CANNON UDENI DE SILVA, At rest with Jesus. Beloved son of late Shelton and Celita, brother of Shanthi, Kumudu and Upul. Remains will lie at No. 62/5, 3rd Lane, Negombo Road, Kurunegala, till 8.00 a.m.on 27th Friday thereafter to Cathedral Church, Kandy Road, Kurunegala and will be removed for burial after service. THAMBER – JONATHAN VANNIASINGHAM Dearest husband of Grace (Poo), precious father & father-in-law of Joy & Jeyakumar Thurairatnam, Jayantha & Suven, Shanthi & Priyan Dias, and Ravi & Premila. Much loved Grandpa of Ashwin & Sanjit, Jeremy, Tahlia & Shan and Avisha & Chiara. Son of late Dr. John & Nesam Thambar and son-in law of late Rev. Dr. James & Packiam Mather. The funeral service took place at 3 pm at Kollupitiya Methodist Church, followed by burial at General Cemetery Borella, General Christian section.on 7th April
May 2015 /Direction
Continued
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The Lord is Not willing that any should Perish… By Valentine Fernando Licensed and ordained Minister of Gospel since 1997. Graduate of Calvary Bible College, Mahaffey, NY, USA, and Towson State University, MD. USA. Received professional credentials from California College of Health Sciences, San Diego, and CA. USA. By profession a Health Care Administrator and Respiratory Care Practitioner, St. Joseph’s Medical Center, MD. USA. Served as assistant Pastor of Gospel Lighthouse Revival Center, PA. USA; currently active missionary to South America, Africa, and in evangelical ministries in many part of Sri Lanka.
May 2015 /Direction
The spiritual climate of our day seems very distressful and disheartening in the nations, where many churches have fallen away from the fundamentals of faith, and walking in the dangerous path of disintegration. Jesus rebuked the Ephesus church for her fallen condition, and warned them to repent and return; this church apparently did that which was right in their eyes, exercised patience in their tribulations, abstained from evil, rejected the influence from the false prophets, and labored without growing weary. Nevertheless, Jesus found believers there not worthy of Him. His words were: “I have somewhat against thee, because thou has left thy first love; remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Rev. 2:2-5). In comparison, I see similarity in the present day church like that of the Ephesus church, and her precarious unpreparedness for the day of Lord’s visitation. We may in fact, be in the last days of Lord’s return, whether ready or not. The time is shutting fast! Jesus warned that His return may be at a time when the 14
church least expects His reappearance: “Be ye also ready: for such an hour as you think not the Son of man cometh” (Mat.24:44). Though, in my opinion, it is difficult to imagine revival of any sort as possible in suchexisting condition of the church, yet we should feel the deep sense of urgency in our hearts to cry out to God with fervency and passion for His merciful intervention to deliver the nations. We read in the book of Esther about an ungodly man named Harman, plotting a wicked plan to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the kingdom of Ahasuerus. Mordecai, a god -fearing man, discerned this evil device of Haman and exhorted Esther, whom God has appointed at the right time to be the Queen to King Ahasuerus, to intervene for the saving of the
Jewish people. For the fear of the wrath of king, Esther at first did not want to make an appeal to the king. Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther: “think not with thyself that thou shall escape in the King’s house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Est. 4:1314). To avert the extermination of the Jewish nation Esther chose to fast for three days with her other maidens, and also invited Mordecai to gather all the Jews and declare a three day fast on her behalf, so that she may find favor in the sight of the king.
Esther’s decision, endeavoring to go before her husband, this heathen king, showed her entire confidence in God’s will and wisdom, and not of her own (Job 13:15). God thwarted Haman’s mischievous plan, and miraculously delivered His people thus demonstrating again His absolute control and loving care of His people (Psa. 121:4). People do change but God does not! Seeing the evil saturating fast throughout the earth, we cannot be certain for how much longer His Sprit shall strive with men (Gen.6:3), but God has been so far longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet.3:9). Our cry upward to God, born out of sincere humility, is our definitive admission of need before Him. He deeply cares for His children and would graciously repeat, not because of us, but because of Him, if His people get desperate and humbly cry out to God with intensity and despair. God has placed this responsibility of interceding not on the unsaved people, but distinctly upon His own people: “If My people which are called he by My name humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and forgive their sins, and will heal their land: (2 Chr.7:14). When look down from the annals of the history, it is evident that the humble and repentant cry of God’s people moves sinners toward His presence. It is unfortunate that more Christians, in many nations who once loved the Lord have now turned to other gods, to ungodly ways, and dreadfully waxing more and more corrupt. Even the small number of so- called Christians over in this nation are increasingly following the same trail, giving heed to doctrines of devils (1 Tim.4:1), and blatantly doing what is right in their own eyes, thus refusing to obey God’s word in its entirety. As the perilous times are being manifested, majority of them have lost, or in
the process of losing their honor and reverence to the Lord and to His unchangeable Word. We should little wonder why we are nowadays experiencing problems and difficulties in the church, in the economy, in our families, in governments, and in schools. As Lenard Ravenhill once put it,”The church is waiting for the world to become regenerate, while the world is waiting for the church to become repentant.” Since nations are continuing to move further away from the Lord and His ways, the more failure we experience, and greater the breakdown there is. There are no human answers for these problems. The solution for the prevailing moral, social, and economic problems which the whole world is facing will ultimately never be found in the governments or in any Peace keeping agency, but only in Christ, and by coming to Him with a humble and contrite spirit. ”…As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the wine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). At this critical hour, there is an urgent need for committed intercessors, who are deeply concerned like Nehemiah, Mordecai, and Esther, to stand in the gap before the Lord for the nations, and plead with Him for His solution for this treacherous condition. Psalmist David cried out to God in despair: “Wilt Thou is angry with us forever? Wilt Thou draw out Thine anger for all generations? Wilt Thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?” (Psa.85:5-6). The Lord’s eyes are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry (Psa.34:15), and therefore, I believe, that the heart cry of God’s own people might be the solution for the deliverance of this godforsaken nations today. The Bible warns us that the meeting with the Lord and His second appearing approaches nigh, when
every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Rom.14:12). Thus there is an urgency that we draw ourselves nigh to God crying out for God’s merciful intervention for the deliverance of backslidden nations from their stagnant state of hardheartedness, coldness, and god-forsaking spiritual complacency. May we ask the Lord to give us such burden as Jeremiah had to cry out to the Lord: “My eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, and my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because {my people are destroyed} the children and the suckling swoon in the streets of the city” (Lam.2:11). We need God’s cure for the change of hearts of all nations and kindreds, and Lord’s mercy for them to return and repent before Him. This seems to be the way that the forthcoming great disaster of God’s righteous judgment may be averted. It is our duty to recognize this distressful situation and pitch in without any deferment. Jeramiah lamented over the state of his people: “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jer.8:20). We are challenged with a tremendous need to seek the face of the Lord for His intervention. God who has chosen us is faithful and He will avenge His own elect who cry day and night unto Him speedily (Luke 18:7-8). Time is so desperate and the question we need to ask of ourselves is do we feel that desperation in our hearts! If we do not get ourselves off of this lukewarm and nonchalant attitudes, the Lord will spew us out of His mouth (Rev.3:16).On the other side, if we press on persistently as the man with importunity (Luke 11:8). I believe, God would abundantly answer our humble and earnest prayer.
May 2015 /Direction
Because of her true passion for her people, Esther risked her own life and, bravely stepped into the King’s chamber stating, “If I perish, I perish” (Est.4:16). Because of her earnest prayer, fasting, and intense work of boldly pleading with the king, the Jewish people were spared from total annihilation.
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May 2015 /Direction
Following the martyrdom of Coptic Christian men by Libyan Islamic State (IS) militants in February 2015, the names of 21 of the martyrs were widely shared. The martyrs were kidnapped from Sirte, Libya, w h e r e t h e y w e r e working.Initially, it was believed that all of the men killed for their faith were from small villages in Egypt. However, the name and background of one of those killed, a black man, was unknown. Mathew Ayairga was soon identified by friends after being recognized in video footage of the killings released by IS. According to AhramCanadian News, Mathew was from Chad. Mathew had gone down their lives for their faith in Christ. missing in January 2015, captured by one of the radical groups in The Names of the 21 Martyrs Libya who have kidnapped hundreds, 1. Milad Makeen Zaky both Muslim and Christian. 2. Abanub Ayad Atiya The video made public on Feb. 15 shows Maged Soliman Shehata each of the men dressed in orange 3. jumpsuits, kneeling on a beach, with 4. Youssef Shukry Younan their black-clothed attackers standing 5. Kirollos Boshra Fawzy behind them. Each one is systematically Bishoy Astafanous Kamel beheaded and the video clearly shows 6. Samuel Astafanous Kamel many of the men praying “Lord Jesus 7. Christ” in their final moments. 8. Malak Ibrahim Sinyout According to reports, Mathew Ayairga 9. Tawadros Youssef Tawadros was not a Christian. However, when 10. Gerges Milad Sinyout moments before his death the IS Mina Fayez Aziz extremists demanded that he follow 11.
Islam, Mathew turned them down. After 12. reportedly witnessing the “immense 13. faith” of the Egyptian believers, and he 14. decided to become a follower of Christ. 15. On camera, one of the terrorists asked 16. Matthew, “Do you reject Christ?” “Their God is my God,” he responded, 17. and he became one of the 21 men laying 18.
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Hany Abdel Mesih Salib Samuel Alham Wilson Ezzat Boshra Naseef Luka Nagaty Anis Gaber Mounir Adly Esam Badir Samir Malak Farag Abrahim
19.
Sameh Salah Farouk
20.
Gerges Samir Megally
21.
Mathew Ayairga
Sources: VOM sources, Bombay Orthodox Diocese, Diocese of Los Angeles Coptic Orthodox
When the Moon Turns to Blood nations will be sheep nations if aligned with Israel. Goat nations carry their sin. Mat.25,32 After the recent Israeli elections, US has declassified their military intelligence, making them vulnerable. Let God be true.
Dr. Ranee Perera
Four blood moons (tetrad) occurred as soon as Israel was established back in their own land in 1948 and when Jerusalem became the united capital in 1967 all in the midst of wars. Earlier it was after the Spanish expulsion of the Jews in 1492. Blood moons are not only coming on festival days but they are coming on the shemitah cycle this year leading in September to the Jubilee year of freedom and liberation from debt. God gave a lunar calendar as a new beginning to Israel Exod.12, 2 after deliverance from Egypt and made a covenant on Mount Sinai at Pentecost. Their 11 day journey to the Promised Land took 40 years because of the sin of unbelief. The resurrected Lord warns His church not to be lukewarm. Rev.3, 16.
When Joel prophesied restoration of the land by the outpouring of the Spirit, he spoke of the moon turning to blood as a sign. Joel 2,31 Peter spoke of partial fulfillment of this blood moon prophecy on the day of Pentecost. Acts 2,20 When the sixth sealed judgment is released in Rev.6,12, the moon becomes like blood. Nevertheless God's judgment of the nations is seen in Joel 3,2 because the land of regathered Israel is divided and people scattered. As we watch the build up to an upcoming war starting in the Middle East, many prophecies are coming into convergence. Gog and Magog north of Jerusalem will invade with Syria and Persia. Ezek.38 Jerusalem is a stumbling block for the nations.Zech.12,3 Jesus Himself confirmed that
A rededication back to God followed by covenant and communion, will allow his hand in the elections ahead. “If my people…2Chron.7, 14… I will forgive and heal their land.” His word does not return void. All glory be to God. Amen
May 2015 /Direction
Since there have been many accounts of the four blood moons occurring during the feasts of the Lord, Passover and Tabernacles during the years 2014 and 2015, we need to have revelation about God's truth concerning them. God wants to bring understanding to his people and he sends signals according to his calendar in this generation, that something big is about to happen. The heavenly bodies are for signs as well as seasons or appointed times (feasts) of God to speak to his gathered people. Gen.1,14.
What does this mean for us in this nation? The earth belongs to the Lord. This land belongs to God and we are stewards. If we consecrate and rededicate ourselves and the land back to Him, even in small groups, He alone has the answer and the church alone has the key to bring in His Kingdom. God can turn the heart of the king as he wishes but we need to break covenant with death and cultural worship of sungod as in April. We need to worship only our Creator God, obey his word and live at peace with all.
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Government education policy forcing Christian children to study and practice Buddhism By Harim Peiris B.Sc, MBA, M.Div “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” (Mark 9:42) The following are true accounts, with the names changed on account of the minors involved. True Account 1: Dayani is the teenage daughter of a pastor and was a student in a government school in the Western Province. One day, a Buddhist monk, along with the school authorities came to the school in pursuit of children not regular at Buddhist religious events. The monk came to the class and spoke harshly to the pastor's daughter and rebuked her for not attending “Daham Pasal” and the pre poya pirith chanting at the school. The exercise was meant to pull up all Buddhist students who were not practicing their religion diligently. However, the pastor's daughter was also included in this and not by accident. The fact that she was a pastor's daughter was known by both the school authorities and indeed the Buddhist monk, who knew her father. She was also a Tamil, studying the Sinhala medium. She was pulled up in front of the other children, scolded and humiliated. Terrified and ashamed, she developed a fever after the incident and fearful of going back to school, dropped out of school permanently and today is at home, her education ruined and her future prospects bleak.
May 2015 /Direction
True Account 2: Ashan is also the young teenage son of a pastor, who was an accomplished student studying in a government school in the Western Province. As per the existing government policy, once the student reached middle school, or year six, the school authorities started pressuring the student to attend and participate in the Buddhist religious observances of the school. This despite the fact, that the child had been admitted as a declared Christian and the father's occupation had been declared as a Christian pastor. The school authorities had a simple rationale. This is a Buddhist school, either the student practices Buddhism or he leaves. His parents opted to remove him. Today he commutes for over an
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hour and a half by train and bus to a Christian school in Colombo. Because the pastor's church is not a member of the National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL), but rather only of the Evangelical Alliance, the Christian school belonging to a denomination of the NCCSL will not waive the school fees, as it would for the child of a clergy of an NCCSL member church. The pastor's family struggles to make ends meet, with the high commuting costs and the fees. The education policy of the Government of Sri Lanka is one which actively works against Christian children, it is discriminatory and coercive in practice, violating all norms of decency and possibly several of Sri Lanka's international obligations on the rights of the child. Firstly the Government of Sri Lanka classifies schools by religion. So schools would be Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or Catholic schools. This is with the intent of government providing education within a specific religious and moral framework as is desired by parents and leaders of all faith communities. However the problem is that except for the private Christian schools, there are no government Christian schools. Also in the 1960's many of the Christian schools, mostly Anglican and Methodist were taken over by the then SLFP Government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Having stripped the church of her schools, a generation later, Christian children are unable to learn Christianity in school and forced to learn and now increasingly coerced to practice Buddhism. The Church leadership must engage with the Government and insist that the Ministry of Education immediately issues a circular, informing all government school principles that Christian or other non Buddhist children may not be coerced to practice Buddhism, even if they are learning the subject as a curriculum requirement. Further, religion is declared as a compulsory subject in the government syllabus. Accordingly a student in a government school must study a religion. However, Christianity (non RC) as it is commonly called is only offered in the larger schools in the main urban centers. Outside the main cities, no government school offers Christianity as a subject. The
National Christian Council (NCC) spends close upon three quarter million a month paying volunteer teachers to teach Christianity in schools where it is not taught but this is not the responsibility of the NCC and the reach of their program is still grossly inadequate for the need. Furthermore it is the Government's responsibility to provide Christian teachers, if it wants the subject to be compulsory. We have an anomalous situation where the government mandates a requirement of religious education but does not provide the teaching resource for the same to the Christian community. In the alternate the compulsory nature of religious education should be removed, so that Christian children can study something other than another religion. Religious education in school can be voluntary, at least for Christian children. After all, the home, the temple, the kovil, the mosque and the church is there to teach religion. In school, it is best if religious education is optional. International school curriculums do not have religious education. What is particularly saddening about this situation is that the Church leadership has not really engaged the political leadership of the country at the highest level on this problem or demanded solutions. We have thereby failed our next generation and the consequences to us and our children are dire. One wonders, how much of this lethargy is due to it being our poor brother's problem. After all the traditional mainline churches have their historic schools, which are still the envy of society, while the evangelical church leadership, largely urban and middle class have the international schools. It is the poorer, rural and sub urban first generation, Sinhala speaking mostly evangelical Christian community, which bears the brunt of this burden as the incidents of the two pastors children mentioned above demonstrate. The Church leadership, divided and distracted, is failing the next generation of the Christian community.
(The writer is the Missions Director of the Foursquare Gospel Church and previously served as the Official Spokesman for President Kumaratunga)
The Salvation Army’s 13th international leader: The General Eva Burrows (Retired) had been promoted to Glory on the evening of 20 March 2015.
She became the leader of the Salvation Army's Social Services for Women in Great Britain in 1975, and leader of the
General Eva Burrows Promoted to Glory
Recently the NCEASL distributed Bibles, prayer mats and school packs to the underprivileged church members in the Polonnaruwa and Ratnapura districts who have been affected by the floods and persecuted for their faith. Members of these churches came from difficult economic conditions and with several needs that had to be met. For instance, most of them did not have Bibles as they did not have the means to buy t h e m . Furthermore, t h o s e worshipping in small churches and home cells did not have a place to sit. H y m n a l s w e re also needed for worship. School children too faced many challenges due to poverty conditions. The NCEASL reached out to these churches with 590 Bibles, 600 school packs and 220 prayer mats. “I have been attending church for the past 20 years but never owned a Bible. But today I am excited because I am going to Underprivileged churches receive Bibles receive my very own Bible” beamed Sita Ranjini one of the beneficiaries of the Bible distribution. The NCEASL would carry out this programme amongst the Pastors’ Fellowships across the Island distributing 5000 school packs, 5000 Bibles, 5000 hymnals and 1700 prayer mats.
Call 0777684292
May 2015 /Direction
A daughter of Salvation Army officer parents, Eva Evelyn Burrows was born on 15 September 1929 in Newcastle, Australia. She committed her life to God for service as a Salvation Army officer while she was studying at Queensland University in Australia. Having received her Bachelor of Arts degree in May 1950, with majors in English and History, she entered the William Booth Memorial Training College in London, and was commissioned a Salvation Army officer in 1951. In 1970, Eva Burrows was appointed to London where she spent five years at the International College for Officers, first as vice principal and then principal.
Salvation Army's work in Sri Lanka in 1977, Adaptation to a new culture became necessary when in January 1977 She becameTerritorial Commander for Sri Lanka. In less than three years she had made such an impression in that predominantly Buddhist country that The Ceylon Observer said of her: "People like Eva Burrows grace any country they serve in.. The Salvation Army has been very pragmatic and practical about its work, and Eva Burrows is a symbol of the Army's attitude to the poor and meek." General Burrows’s passion in her public utterances was to preach Christ. This came out of her own personal experience of him, which she described thus: ‘The focus and dynamic of my life is Jesus Christ. I will lift up Christ and would challenge all Salvationists to a commitment to Christ which makes them a powerful witness for him in the world today.’ And on another occasion she declared: ‘I do not preach Christianity; I preach Christ, as a living Saviour.’
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The Price of a Man By Dr. Delron Shirley Walking through the street market in Lagos, Nigeria, I caught sight of a vendor hawking some antique-looking items. As I stepped closer, he extended his hand to show me what looked like a crescent-shaped bracelet and explained that he had "old Nigerian money." When I asked him again what he had and again he repeated that it was "old Nigerian money," I realized that he didn't even realize what he was selling. I bartered for a few minutes and reached a price agreeable with both of us and then walked away with my treasure -- the price of a man! What I had purchased was an antique slave token, a semi-circle of iron used in the slave markets as the medium of exchange when dealing in human beings. Since the bangleshaped token is just about the size of my wrist, I slipped it on as if it were an ornament, but somehow my whole personality was overwhelmed with a strange sense of emotion that I was actually bearing the life of another as I walked down the street. The piece of metal around my wrist stood for someone's loss of freedom, identity, and dignity. It represented the loss of joy, peace, and family. It symbolized a life of abuse, sorrow, and hard labor. It was someone's death sentence, a judgment to living death, a condemnation to experience the pain of death each day while he yet lived.
May 2015 /Direction
When I calculated the US dollar to the Nigerian naira exchange rate, I realized that I had paid only about three dollars for what amounted to some unnamed victim's life. As I pondered the icon on my wrist, I began to wonder what its value might have been when it was actually used to purchase living, breathing humans. With a little research into the history of African slave trade, I learned that enslavement was a major by-product of the internal wars in Africa. Since most of the nations in the conflicts did not have prison systems, prisoners of war and others convicted of various crimes were often sold in the local slave markets. The victims were then transported to the coast and sold at European trading ports in exchange for rum, guns, and other manufactured goods such as cloth. In the 1690s, a slave could be bought for goods equivalent to about four English pounds. About a hundred years later, as some records show, a British slave trader purchased one male slave for ninety-six yards of cloth, 20
fifty-two handkerchiefs, one large brass pan, two muskets, twenty-five kegs of gunpowder, one hundred flints, two bags of shot, twenty knives, four iron pots, four hats, four caps, four cutlasses, six bunches of beads, and fourteen gallons of brandy. The slaves were then transported to the New World slave markets where they were eventually auctioned. At one such auction, held in 1859 in Savannah, Georgia, four hundred thirty-six slaves including men, women, children, and infants were put on the block. Molly, who originally tried to disqualify herself from the sale by pretending to be crippled in one foot, was proven to be able-bodied and sold for six hundred ninety-five dollars, the equivalent of over fifteen thousand dollars in today's economy. Male slaves in the prime of life, sold for sixteen hundred dollars, approximately thirty-five thousand dollars at today's rates. Ones with ruptures, or missing limbs, or other injuries sold for about a quarter of that price. The auction went on for two long days, with total sales equivalent to almost seven million dollars in present-day value. As much as these historical facts made me cringe, I was taken even more aghast by what I learned about the continuing practice of barter in human souls. While we so thanklessly revel in our freedom without taking a second thought, human lives are being bought and sold on a daily basis. In fact, slave trafficking rivals guns and drugs as top criminal activity. Official estimates say that human trafficking is a ten-billiondollar-per-year industry, but many researchers feel that the actual number is at least three times that high. It has been calculated that there are more slaves being bartered today than in four centuries of Trans-Atlantic slave trade Although slavery was declared abolished three times since the Islamic Republic of Mauritania's independence in 1960, black Africans continue to be enslaved by their Arab-Berber masters. These poor victims are given as wedding gifts; traded for camels, guns, or trucks; and passed on from father to son as inheritances. In the Islamic Republic of the Sudan, black Christian women and
children are captured in raids on their villages and sold as chattel slaves. The price varies with supply. In 1989, a woman or child could be bought for ninety dollars. In 1990, as the raids increased, the price fell to as low as fifteen dollars. It has been estimated that there are at least twenty-seven million slaves in the world today. In Colombia, I encountered open slave trade as the drug lords of the country raided villages, confiscating the farmland, slaughtering the adults and enslaving the children to work for their parents' former property that was now turned into cocaine production. In Nepal and Thailand, I've witnessed the ruin of young children and women who are marketed in the sex industry. Throughout the third world, I've seen entire families enslaved in the sweatshops that operate unashamedly. One example is the carpet loom sheds in Nepal where toddlers to grandparents work around the clock weaving carpets to earn barely enough rupees to pay the rent for their little home. It just so happens that their little shack also belongs to the carpet factory owner -- in essence, this poor family works twenty-four/seven simply to be allowed to continue living so they can work even more. This was the same practice that inspired Tennessee Ernie Ford's 1955 pop song Sixteen Tons in which he proclaimed, “Sixteen tons and what do you get -- another day older and deeper in debt. Saint Peter, don't you call me, 'cause I can't go; I owe my soul to the company store.� This song was based on the practice of companies that not only hired the coal miners but also provided their housing, groceries, and medical needs. Since they charged more for the services they provided for the workers than they paid them in wages, the miners were essentially their slaves. Even though these practices are history within our own borders, the same kind of enslavement of illegal immigrants is a present-day reality. Afraid to try to escape for fear of being prosecuted as illegals, these poor deceived souls work long hard hours to pay off the debt they incurred in being smuggled across the border, a debt that they will never be able to retire since the interest rates ensure that they are never able to pay toward the principle. In essence, they were smuggled into the land of liberty to live as s l a v e s , l i t e r a l l y i n p l a i n v i e w. Imagine -- a human life reduced to fifteen
fifteen dollars or a bottle of rum, a gun, or a piece of cloth! Yet the truth is that many of us have willingly put our lives for sale for even lesser amounts. We all know the biblical story of how Joseph’s brothers sold him for twenty pieces of silver (Genesis 37:28); yet,the fact is that those pieces of silver more truly bought the souls of the eleven brothers. Though the monetary exchange left Joseph in physical bondage, it was the brothers whose emotional freedom was bartered away as the coins fell into their hands. Years later, they were still suffering under the guilt of that transaction when they were thrown into the presence of an austere ruler in a strange land. And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. (Genesis 42:21-22) Centuries later, another villain discovered that the price he pocketed for betraying his friend had actually purchased his own soul and doomed it to spiritual slavery and ultimately to death. Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself. (Matthew 27:3-5). The Bible brims with stories of those who failed to value their souls and sold themselves into bondage for a pittance. TheOld Testament prophet Hosea tells the story of his unfaithful wife Gomer who eventually found herself on the auction block at the slave market being sold into the “white slavery” of prostitution. Her loving husband was able to redeem her for fifteen pieces of silver, an homer of barley, and half an homer of barley (verse 3:2), but that was much more than what she valued herself at when she freely abandoned her family to engage in illicit relationships. Esau forfeited his spiritual heritage and physical birthright for the price of a single meal. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And
Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. (Genesis 25:30-33) Eve did even worse. She exchanged her soul for just a single bite of fruit from the forbidden tree. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. (Genesis
3:6). David not only set the price of his soul as a few minutes of pleasure with another man’s wife; he also declared the price he should pay in redemption for squandering his moral fiber and nature. And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. (II Samuel 12:1-7). His son Solomon upped the ante by a thousand times, but his illicit desires and relationships eventually cost him his soul. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other
gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. (I Kings 11:3- 4). It has been said that every man has his price; and, in some sense, that is true. However, before we begin to set our price, we should think of the difference between value, price, and worth. Perhaps we don’t readily see that these terms are not synonymous. However, if we simply take the reverse of each term, we will immediately see how radically different they must be. Just consider the world of difference between the words “worthless,” “valueless,” and “priceless.” By seeing the dramatic difference between their negative forms, we can instantaneously see the significant difference between the original words. Even though we may set our own price, our value or worth is a quantum leap beyond. Regardless of the price you may have settled for in bartering your soul, God has evaluated you and determined that you are worth the
cost of His own Son’s sacrifice on the cross. Today, my slave token is mounted in a shadow box with the inscription from Matthew 16:26, “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” It hangs just across from my desk as a constant reminder that Christ has already made an exchange for my soul and that I must never barter it away at any price.
Delron is a graduate of North Carolina State University, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Indiana Christian University. He served for 25 years as Dean of World Harvest Bible College and Indiana Christian University. He is founder and president of Teach All Nations Mission, focused on training local leaders in Africa, Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, and Europe Delron and his wife, Peggy, have three sons
T S I N O I T P E C RE
Navajeevana Healthcare Centre, a Christian medical centre, is looking for a committed Christian to serve as the receptionist. Being the first point of contact with the institution, the receptionist has a critical role in influencing patients’ perception of the organisation. Fluency in all three languages will be an advantage Please send your applications with names of two referees as soon as possible. Admin Coordinator, Navajeevana Healthcare Centre, Email: info@navajeev.org or mahenwatson@gmail.com Post or email to: 1/1 P T De Silva Mawatha, Dehiwela.
May 2015 /Direction
MANAGER - KITHU SEVENA
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Kithu Sevana is an Institute of the AnglicanKithu Sevana is an Institute of the Anglican Church and is primarily a student and youth center. The Board of Management seeks to employ a full time Manager to manage and oversee the operations of this facility. The applicant should be a Christian with a high level of integrity and good interpersonal skills. Previous experience in managing a similar facility would be a distinct advantage. The scope of work will include the administration of Kithu Sevana from bookings to budgeting and reconciliation, development and implementation of programs and providing leadership to the staff. The Manager must also be able to competently manage computer software systems and follow all laid down processes and procedures. Salary will be based on competency and experience. Please send application with CV and two References by email or by post to: Chairperson, Board of Management 374, Bauddhaloka Mawatha Email : nirmalampieris@gmail.com Kithu Sevana Colombo 7
MARRIAGE PARTNERS Parents seek a God fearing partner for their 36 year old son who is a committed Christian working as a chef in a star class hotel. Height 5’7". Please Contact: 077 30 70906 A 42 year old Christian Lady divorced after a brief marriage of three months (innocent party), 5’4" in height, pretty, kind hearted – looking for a God fearing Christian Partner. Presently employed in a state institution as an assistant Manager. For more details Please Call: 072 2834138 Christian (Sinhalese) parents from Colombo seek a devoted Christian daughter preferably involved in music and other church activities for their son aged 29, a final year medical student studying abroad. For more details Please contact: On 0713968170 Christian (Sinhalese) parents from Colombo seek a practicing Christian for their daughter 26, a teacher at an international school, educated abroad with a masters degree. For more details Please contact: On 0713968170 Christian (Sinhalese) parents seek a devoted Christian daughter interested in church activities for their God fearing son aged 28, an IT engineer with a MBA working in a reputed company in a managerial position.For details please write to e-mail: maesunil@yahoo.com Tamil Christian Parents seek a suitable partner for their 40 years old, born again son, Chartered Accountant living in New Zealand. For more details: e.mail:partnerforchristian@gmail.com or Telephone: 0112694623. Sister in law seeks a partner for burgher born again Christian widow in late fifties a kindhearted devoted gentleman for marriage. Colombo, Kegalle, Kandy, Matale, Kurunegalle, preferred please contact 0713574013 Academically qualified partner is sought by a Tamil born again Christian family for their daughter (Montessorian) interested please call 0112648108/ 077 9539640 or E.mail: jramypillai@gmail.com. Widower husbands are considered. 32 years. Interested should be below 40. WANTED An Elders’ home with 15 inmates, situated within church premises in close proximity to Colombo and run by the church requires an experienced matron on full time basis. For further inquiries and forwarding applicationsEmail:esor23n@yahoo.com Energetic House Maid aged 35-50 required for house in Colombo 7 for upstair cleaning and to attend to a school going 6 year old child remuneration Rs. 22,000/-. Please Call: 077 3064000.
WE ARE
EHC
stadium Rino joined them, and surrendered wife, Nilda, his life to Christ. pastored a church they Rino found an evangelical church where he started through their personal home-todeveloped a passion for evangelism. One home outreaches. The Bellos led that Sunday, a guest speaker announced the church for many years before Rino joined opening of a new ministry that provided Every Home for Christ as National printed evangelism materials—World Director of Argentina in 1980. Literature Crusade. Rino was the first to As National Director, Rino has pioneered new territory with extensive outreach to the Wichi Indians, as well as starting Argentina's thriving prison and hospital ministries. “There are many other ways of reaching people where they are,” he says, “and we implement them.” National Director, EHC Rino has led the work of Every Home for Argentinaa Christ Argentina for the past 35 years and shows no sign of slowing down. He and approach them for their resources. The guest Nilda have three adult daughters and eight speaker that day was Jack McAlister, grandchildren who are all serving the president of the organization that later Lord. became known as Every Home for Christ. “Philosophical ideas that God doesn't Dedicating his life to ministry, Rino earned a exist left him questioning. It was then he degree in Theology at the University of began his personal search to settle the Buenos Aires. To support his family, he matter once and for all—was there a God worked at a private bank while he and his or not?”
RINO BELLO
Stranded in the middle of nowhere, five strangers find themselves marooned in a small deserted roadside diner. An arrogant businessman, (Steve “Sting” Borden), a lonely single woman, (Jaci Velasquez), a couple on the verge of divorce, and a youthful runaway, all come face to face with the diner owner who serves them more than temporal nourishment. This very nice host called Nazarene, (Bruce Marchiano) who knows all of their secrets and possesses the answers to all of their problems, if only they would trust him. It is this miraculous Encounter that will leave them all changed. The Encounter is an inspirational and intriguing faith-filled family drama about five people who are brought faced to face with Jesus and encouraged to examine the true condition of their lives.
May 2015 /Direction
MOVIE REVIEWS
He wasn't raised in the church, but Rino Bello always believed in God, though he had no logical arguments as to why. But those views were challenged when he became a university student. Philosophical ideas that God doesn't exist left him questioning. It was then he began his personal search to settle the matter once and for all—was there a God or not? It was during that season of seeking that Rino received an invitation to a conference featuring Canadian pastor and missions advocate, Dr. Oswald J. Smith. It was there that Rino heard his first Biblical teaching. Though he didn't understand everything that was said, one thing caught his attention—the words of John 3:16, “For God so loved...” Rino had gone to the conference expecting to hear philosophical teaching, but what he heard instead was that God loved him, just as he was. It was a new concept— one he pondered for the rest of the service. When an altar call was given, Rino was captivated by something else he heard: If he accepted God's love, his life would change for all eternity. As a choir began to sing “Just as I Am,” Rino watched many people leave their seats and walk down to the platform where the preacher stood waiting. From the top of the
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