The Christian Messenger: August, 2012 issue

Vol. 9, No. 4

Pages 28

AUGUST, 2012

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 Founding Editor: Robin Sam Editor & Publisher: Elsy Robin Editorial Advisor: P I Samuel Production: S Saravanan Subscription: N. Jeyanthi Guest Columnists: Grace Ida Rajan (Bangalore), Mathew Victor (Chennai), Joyce Braganza (Mumbai), Mathews George (US), Don Davis (Israel), Agnes Amos (US), Edith Sheryl (Canada), Mark Jackson (UK)

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IN Acts 12 we read about Peter’s incarceration by Herod. While Peter was in prison, the body of believers prayed ceaselessly for him. Soon enough, God sent one of his angels to release him from Herod’s chains. Out of prison, Peter rushed to the house of Mary the mother of John, where many had assembled to pray. One of their prayer points would still have been Peter’s welfare because word of his release had not got out yet. When a girl called Rhoda reached the gate to see who was at the door, she recognised Peter’s voice and rushed in to share the news. But the congregation’s reaction was one of disbelief. “And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel.” (Acts 12:15).

The same congregation that prayed for Peter’s welfare and release from jail found it hard to believe that God had actually heard its prayers. Often, most of us are like this: We pray alright but do not seem to believe that we have a God who answers our prayers. Most of us have trouble believing the adage: ‘Prayer is victory.’ In times of trouble, we pray without expecting a change in the circumstances. Why do we have trouble believing that our God is all powerful? One reason could be we hardly know Him. Psalm 145:18 says ‘The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him, in truth.’ What a blessed assurance! But look at the qualifier at the end of the verse. The Lord is nigh upon all that call upon Him in truth. Oftentimes, our prayers are not answered because we don’t call upon Him in truth.

Our prayers lack conviction and faith. A believer said: ‘Prayer should be our first response, not the last resort.’ I know a man of God who goes down on his knees at the slightest hint of trouble in his life. And almost always, he has come up tops. The Bible clearly demonstrates how we ought to pray. If you read 2 Chronicles 7:14, you’d understand what I’m talking about. While praying and seeking His face, our God expects us to humble ourselves.

He is mindful of the prayers of a poor and contrite spirit.

Haughty and arrogant people have no place in His Kingdom.

There’s no way self-will and His will can co-exist. If you want God to answer your prayer, shun evil and turn to Him. (Read I Peter 3:12).

A third point in prayer is explained in I John 5:14-15. “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us.” I cannot explain this any better. It’s that simple and direct. Are we asking according to His will? Perhaps. But how do we know what’s His will? How do we claim His promises according to His will? Jeremiah 29:11 has the answer: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” There may be storms and tempests, but above all this He desires peace in our lives. If you will acknowledge His supremacy over others and other things in your life and resolve to walk with Him, He will make sure you are not ashamed by people or circumstances. Then you will realise prayer indeed is victory.

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For Whom: This conference is for professionals and business leaders who are passionate about combining business and ministry.

D To help you understand your business as a calling

and ministry.

D To help you understand that your business as human activity reflects divine origin.

D To help you redefine your view of business with an eternal perspective.

D To equip you to succeed in business, also to share Christ’s love with your colleagues and customers.

Date &Time:

Venue:

C. Peter is the founder of Kingdom Marketplace Ministry. He has 20 years of Corporate Training and Consultancy experience in HR and OD. He has done his masters in Personnel Management & Industrial Relations and in Psychology. Besides this, he has done specialized courses in Human Process, Training & Development and in counseling... He has rich experience in the areas of Human Relations training and Behavioral Intervention in academia, service and corporate sector.

He has been offering training programmes, seminars and conferences to the Christian marketplace leaders (Businessmen/Professionals) to help them discover and fulfill God’s complete purposes through their work and to view their work as ministry since 2003. He has 8 years experience as a Marketplace Mentor.

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AUGUST 2012 w THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER 3

W

E encourage you to use these points in your daily prayer as a family, prayer group or an individual.

We would be glad if you take copies of these prayer points and share them with other believers in your church, prayer group or workplace.

If you have a specific prayer point that you would like us to pray for along with our readers, you can send it to us by email at christianmessengerindia@ gmail.com Blessings, Editor. n Pray for Bangalore city today. Despite its cosmopolitan outlook and pleasant environs, the city’s pub culture is causing havoc among young IT professionals and others. Two years ago, DNA put out a report that said HIV positive people descend on the city looking for young virgins in the hope that sex with them will cure their disease. n Will you pray for our ministry today? The Christian Messenger has opened a mission field in Chhattisgarh and is working among tribal people in two districts. The ministry has opened a mission post in Tiruchi in Tamil Nadu. Pray for our mission post in Jammu & Kashmir. Pray for our workers' health, protection and guidance. Pray that their efforts in reaching the lost will be met with success. n 2 Timothy 2:16 asks us to avoid godless chatters.

Those who indulge in it become more and more ungodly. Pray that all believers would pray like David in guarding their mouths. n Pray for good rains in India this year. Although, the Meteorological Department has said the monsoon deficiency is expected to narrow down soon, the current deficiency is 22 percent. Monsoon rains are crucial for the agricultural sector, which contributes about 15 per cent to the country’s GDP. n Proverbs 28:19 talks about how hard work fetches good dividends. Let us pray that all the spirit of sloth be removed from our midst. n Pray for peace in Assam today. That state was rocked by ethnic violence in which 25 lives were lost. Curfew had to be imposed in two districts after Muslims and Bodo tribals clashed with each other.

Close to two lakh people are said to be in relief camps while 11 people are still missing. n Growing number of teens and even younger children in the US who think they were born the wrong sex are getting support from parents and doctors who give them sex-changing treatments.

According to a report, as many as 97 girls and boys were treated between 1998 and 2010. Pray. n Pray for peace between India and Sri Lanka. In the recent past, the two neighbors have had more than their share of troubles the most niggling being the rights accorded to Sri Lankan Tamils by the

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government of the island nation. n Pray for peace in Pakistan. The nation continues

to be tormented by bomb blasts orchestrated by fundamentalist groups and terrorist outfits. n Let us pray that material blessings of the world will not affect our spiritual growth in Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 30:8 has an excellent prayer for an earnest believer. n Pray for all you know who are involved in the Lord’s ministry, for their efforts to bear fruit, for their spiritual growth and for peace and harmony in their homes. n Pray for Goa. Tourists flock the tiny state for not only its idyllic beaches but also for the roaring liquor trade and sex trafficking. According to the book ‘Rape for Profit,’ girls mostly between the ages of 9 and 16 are sold to brothels. Pray for more churches led by the Holy Spirit to come up in Goa. n 2 Peter 3:11 says what sort of people ought we to be in holiness and godliness since the day of the Lord is nearer than we think. Pray that we are not caught up in laying up treasures for ourselves on earth or caught up in the worries of the world. n Pray for respite from heat this summer. Pray for adequate water to be available throughout our country, containment of common summer diseases and God’s canopy of grace over us and our families. n Philippians 4:6 outlines the line of action expected of us by God. ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’ Let us offer Him thanks, praise and continue to pray.

God will meet us at the point of our need. n What do you want your children or grandchildren to be? There is no greater joy than our progeny knowing the Lord closely and walking with Him. Luke 2:40 says what kind of boy Jesus was.

‘And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.’ May this be our prayer for our children, too. n The Bible warns us that love will be a casualty in the last days. Pray that we don’t become dispassionate or disillusioned but be optimists for Christ forever. n Riches in life can often hinder us from coming to Christ. What should be our mind-set when it comes to wealth? Proverbs 30:7-10 has a wonderful prayer that we can emulate. n Matthew 7:19 says every tree that doesn’t grow good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Let us ask God to prune us periodically.

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BY ROBIN SAM

A

S a youth, he was a mischief-maker who did not shy away from a fight.

Although he was born into a traditional Christian family, church was only for Sunday and religion just a ritual to him.

Later in college, he became active in politics and messed up his degree exams. However, he made a name for himself in journalism. As an investigative reporter with Tehelka, he teamed up with Aniruddha Bahal to expose corruption, wheeling and dealing and skullduggery in Indian cricket and the defence establishment. Despite being propelled to the big league in Indian journalism, thanks to the sting operations, he also got embroiled in court cases that continue to this day - 11 years since the exposés shook the nation. Although even now, his detractors question the method he employed (use of spy camera) to get to the truth of the matter in the exposés, not many question his intent. However, when the man whom many corrupt politicians and dishonest bureaucrats would like to avoid like the plague became aware of his own rotten spiritual condition he yielded himself to Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life. After Jesus Christ touched and transformed him, he put an end to smoking (80 cigarettes a day) and drinking (Rs.17,000 a month for booze).

He was cleansed by the blood of the Lamb! He had finally found his position in Christ.

Excerpts from an exclusive interview: How did you get into journalism?

I was pretty active in politics as a college student.

Since I was the college union secretary most of my time was spent outside the college. As a result, I did not even have the minimum attendance required to appear for my graduate degree examinations. After I flunked my college exams, I took a train to Delhi.

Sightseeing was the idea. However, I lost my wallet in Delhi and had to stay in a friend’s room in the city.

Later, I joined Mangalam Malayalam newspaper's Delhi bureau as an editorial assistant. I roamed the streets of Delhi looking for stories and oddities. Six months later, I joined Mid-Day newspaper and began reporting for them. It was there that I learned the basics of news reporting and writing. After two years, I joined ‘Competition Career’. Around that Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com

time, I had also started freelancing for Outlook magazine. When Tarun Tejpal started Tehelka as a news website in 2000, I joined them as a staff reporter. (Later, it debuted in print as a newspaper and transitioned into a magazine in 2007. Ed) Tell us about your involvement in the cricket match-fixing and defence procurement scam stories.

One of the first assignments I was given at Tehelka was to blow the lid off match fixing in Indian cricket. That was in 2001. The same year, in an operation called ‘Operation Westend’, we led an investigation into defence procurement in the Indian Army. (Mathew Samuel worked with Aniruddha Bahal, the co-founder of Tehelka.com on both the investigative stories. Ed) How did you sniff the first whiff of corruption in defence deals in the country?

Around that time, I was working at interviewing LTTE leader V Prabhakaran for our publication. It all began on a train journey, in the Deccan Queen in fact. I was on my way back to Mumbai from Pune.

One of my co-passengers was a supplier to army canteens. Some of his revelations led us to plan the Westend sting operation for Tehelka. The management thought about for a while and decided to fund the operation.

How did you go about the story?

We began by creating fake brochures for a fake firm in London, ostensibly dealing in equipment for the armed forces. We called our firm Westend. We printed visiting cards and began by meeting people in the bottom rung.

We told them we had a product – handheld thermal imagers – that could be of immense use to the military. We paid money at every level and worked our way up to several officers in the defence ministry. The entire operation lasted eight months.

We could have gone even farther but lack of resources curtailed our operations. We were also scared that our bluff will be called if we kept pushing our luck.

Was it all worth it? You have been hounded by court cases ever since the story broke in 2001.

The sting operation was useful in that it exposed the seedy underbelly of the defence establishment and how things work there.

However, in retrospect I think it was a wasted exercise as nothing has really changed. Everything remains the same as it used to be, in fact, things have gone from bad to worse.

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THE CHANGE-MAKER: Through his exposés, Mathew Samuel has turned the spotlight on corruption in high places. Although he does not do any sting operations now, he continues to stand for what is right.

On the personal front, you have had a transformation. From being a nominal Christian, you have become a born-again Christian. How did that happen?

I was born into a well-to-do Orthodox Christian family in Pathanapuram, Kerala. My dad was a military officer while mom worked in a co-operative bank. My parents wanted me to become an engineer.

However, I was sloppy in studies. As a member of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church religion was a ritual, a chore if you will. Although my mother was a Sunday School teacher and I went to Sunday 8 THE CHRISTIAN MESSENGER w AUGUST 2012

School as a child till I became a born-again believer three years ago, I did not really know what was in the Bible. There was no intimate knowledge of the Risen Savior. The church has its own set liturgy, kauma and order of worship. There is no real worship in its truest sense. My hometown in Kerala, Pathanapuram, is also known for a strong Pentecostal community. My father’s uncle, Ooryakunnathu George Upadeshi (Pastor George of Ooryakunnathu) was a Gospel preacher. Whenever I bumped into him, he would say: “Son, you need to come with us. You should be saved, born again.” I Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com

ONE FOR THE ALBUM: Mathew Samuel’s family had to face a lot of heat from various quarters due to the sting operations. His wife, a journalist herself, had to quit her job because of unending police enquiries. used to make light of his prodding. I disliked the Pentecostal Christians because I was greatly put off by their holierthan-thou attitude. All the same, the transformation of some of my college mates and close friends was so dramatic and real that it sowed the seeds of faith in me.

Josemon, a senior in college, was a devil-may-care guy. He was always involved in college violence, but one day he was saved and became a man of prayer. He called me for a prayer meeting. That was the first time I felt perhaps Jesus Christ is real and the change He effects in those who trust in Him is true. Josemon is now a missionary in Gwalior with Jesus Mission.

me. A few years ago Emmanuel Missions International, a missions group based in Kota, Rajasthan and founded by M A Thomas, was going through a series of crises.

The organization came under attacks by some groups and individuals. The Rajasthan government, then led by the BJP, had foisted several cases against them and jailed Mr. Thomas and his son, Samuel Thomas.

The then DGP of Haryana police, Mr. John V George, IPS, a friend of EMI founder Thomas, wanted me to highlight the injustice meted out to the fatherson duo through the media and secure their release from prison.

So, I used my influence and got them out of the jail. Subsequently, to the Lord? they also got back their Yes. I’ll narrate another orphanage, school and church We re t h e re a n y o t h e r instances that drew you closer incident that left an impression on property. I cannot forget Bro. M A Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com

My own life was in a shambles. I used to smoke up to 80 cigarettes a day. At one point, my monthly bills for alcohol came to a cool Rs.17,000/- My wife and children were terrorized to see me return home fully drunk. I was such a brute, arrogant and hurtful person. I lived a wretched and sinful life. Thank God, Jesus saved me!

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Thomas holding my hands and telling me: “Sir, we are grateful for whatever you have done for us. My Lord will bless your family and your descendants to come.�

Another incident was the healing of one of my friends, Binoy Chandapilla. He was practicing as an advocate in Kerala when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in December, 2006. The doctors said he would not live beyond three months.

However, he attended a prayer meeting and was miraculously healed. When I knew of this incident, my joy for my friend knew no bounds. Immediately after this incident, Binoy committed his life to Jesus Christ and became a born-again man.

Since I knew his background, I was astonished by his transformation. Although Binoy was born into a Syrian Christian family, he was a ruffian to the core.

Binoy Chandapilla was practicing as an advocate in Kerala when he was diagnosed with lung cancer in December, 2006. The doctors said he would not live beyond three months. However, he attended a prayer meeting and was miraculously healed.

My joy for my friend knew no bounds.

Immediately after this incident, He gave his life to Jesus Christ and became a born-again man.

My own life was in a shambles.

I used to smoke up to 80 cigarettes a day. At one point, my monthly bills for alcohol came to a cool Rs.17,000/- My wife and children

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were terrorized to see me return home fully drunk. I was such a brute, arrogant and hurtful person.

I lived a wretched and sinful life.

Thank God, Jesus saved me!

Later, when I came into the faith, I started attending a local church. However, I soon found out that the pastor there knew the Bible less than me. Although I am not a theologian, I read a lot. And then there were a lot of diverse teachings that we were exposed to. I was afraid I was also being given an overdose of prosperity gospel. By then, my wife too committed her life to Christ. So, both of us decided it was time we went to a Bible-believing church.

We prayed about it and God led us to the City Fellowship Church in New Delhi led by Pastor Joji Thomas, son of the late Pastor K T Thomas. God also answered another of our prayers. Our son had dyslexia. God heard our prayers and he became quite normal.

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NEWS IN one of the worst attacks this year in Iraq, 103 lives were lost after a spate of bombings across 13 cities in that country.

Nearly 200 people were also injured in the attacks which come days after a man purporting to be Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of al-Qaida in Iraq, warned that the militant group is reestablishing itself.

Pray for Iraq where the outbreak of violence sent a chilling warning that militant

blasts happened within a few hours of each other. Almost all the attacks were aimed at security forces and government officials.

The worst attack happened in the town of Taji, about 12 miles north of the capital. Police said bombs planted around five houses in the Sunni town exploded an hour after dawn, killing 17.

Officers who rushed to the scene to help were hit by a suicide bomber in the crowd, killing another 11. In a brazen attack on Iraq’s military, three carloads of gunmen pulled up at an army base near the northeast town of town of Udaim and started firing at forces. Thirteen soldiers were killed, and the gunmen escaped before they could be caught, two senior police officials said.

o rg a n i z a t i o n i s slowly resurging in the security vacuum created since the departure of the U.S. military seven months ago.

The attacks across the cities appeared well coordinated. All the

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I

T may be put down as a spiritual axiom that in every truly successful ministry prayer is an evident and controlling force – evident and controlling in the life of the preacher, evident and controlling in the deep spirituality of his work. A ministry may be a very thoughtful ministry without prayer; the preacher may secure fame and popularity without prayer; the whole machinery of the preacher’s life and work may be run without the oil of prayer or with scarcely enough to grease one cog; but no ministry can be a spiritual one, securing holiness in the preacher and in his people, without prayer being made an evident and controlling force.

Prayer puts God into the work 1. The preacher that prays indeed puts God into the work. God does not come into the preacher’s work as a matter of course or on general principles, but he comes by prayer and special urgency. That God will be found of us in the day that we seek Him with the whole heart is as true of the preacher as of the penitent. A prayerful ministry is the only ministry that brings the preacher into sympathy with the people. Prayer as essentially unites to the human as it does to the divine. A prayerful ministry is the only ministry qualified for the high offices and responsibilities of the preacher. Colleges, learning, books, theology, preaching cannot make a preacher, but praying does.

The apostles’ commission to preach was blank till filled up by the Pentecost which praying brought. A prayerful minister has passed beyond the regions of the popular beyond the man of mere affairs, of secularities, of pulpit attractiveness; passed beyond the ecclesiastical organizer or general into a sublime and mightier region, the region of the spiritual.

Holiness is the product of his work; transfigured hearts and lives emblazon the reality of his work, its trueness and substantial nature. God is with him. His ministry is not projected on worldly or surface principles. He is deeply stored with and deeply schooled in the things of God. His long, deep communing with God about his people and the agony of his wrestling spirit have crowned him as a prince in the things of God. The iciness of the mere professional has long since melted under the intensity of his praying.

Lack of praying 2. The superficial results of many a ministry, the deadness of others, are to be found in the lack of praying. No ministry can succeed without much praying, and this praying must be fundamental, ever-abiding, ever-increasing.

The text, the sermon, should be the result of prayer.

The study should be bathed in prayer, all its duties so impregnated with prayer, its whole spirit the spirit of Website: www.christianmessenger.in | Email: christianmessengerindia@gmail.com

prayer. “I am sorry that I have prayed so little,” was the deathbed regret of one of God’s chosen ones, a sad and remorseful regret for a preacher. “I want a life of greater, deeper, truer prayer,” said the late Archbishop Tait. So may we all say, and this may we all secure.

True preachers 3. God’s true preachers have been distinguished by one great feature: they were men of prayer. Differing often in many things, they have always had a common center. They may have started from different points, and travelled by different roads, but they converged to one point: they were one in prayer. God to them was the center of attraction, and prayer was the path that led to God. These men prayed not occasionally, not a little at regular or at odd times; but they so prayed that their prayers entered into and shaped their characters; they so prayed as to affect their own lives and the lives of others; they so prayed as to make the history of the Church and influence the current of the times.

They spent much time in prayer, not because they marked the shadow on the dial or the hands on the clock, but because it was to them so momentous and engaging a business that they could scarcely give over.

Prayer was to them what it was to Paul, a striving with earnest effort of soul; what it was to Jacob, a wrestling and prevailing; what it was to Christ, “strong crying and tears.” They “prayed always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance.” “The effectual, fervent prayer,” has been the mightiest weapon of God’s mightiest soldiers. The statement in regard to Elijah – that he “…was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.”

“And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.” (James 5:17,18) – comprehends all prophets and preachers who have moved their generation for God, and shows the instrument by which they worked their wonders.

(Excerpted from ‘Power through Prayer’ by E M Bounds. Published by Revival Publishing, Northern Ireland. Price: Rs.30/- Available at India Bible Literature, Kilpauk, Chennai 10).

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Dear Sir, I am a lifetime subscriber of your magazine, The Christian Messenger.

I have been getting copies of the magazine regularly. I appreciate its content very much. The recent transition from tabloid size newspaper format to magazine format is attractive.

The cover story in the July issue was particularly very informative and thought-provoking.

You have made a good attempt to critically review the role of Christian parenting. The different views from a cross-section of Christian parents made for interesting reading. I was so impressed with it that I bought extra copies of the magazine for my friends and colleagues. We hope to initiate a good discussion on Christian issues based on the articles published in The Christian Messenger. May God bless your efforts.

Dear sir, It gives me immense pleasure every time I go through your magazine. The Christian Messenger is a thought-provoking magazine. It is informative and its church-oriented articles and spiritually uplifting messages are really useful. I shall be happy to receive a copy of it every month. I am sending my subscription.

T A Khonglah (Elder), Sutnga Presbyterian Church, Sutnga PO, Khliehriat, Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya 793200.

Renchy Koshy Varghese, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work, Madras Christian College.

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