GOD IS OUR EVER-PRESENT HELP

“God is our refuge and strength, and ever-present help in troubles”. Psalm 46:1

In a village in Norway a teacher and a true christian had a great belief that if we kneel down and pray, we can overcome any trouble. He had to go a nearby village crossing a dense forest. His neighbour sent $500 through him to his relative in that village. That teacher put the money in his shirt pocket and walked through the forest. As it was very hot in the afternoon, he took off his shirt and put it on his shoulder. After walking for sometime, he thought about the money and was shocked to find that his purse had fallen somewhere. Atonce he knelt down and prayed fervently. When he finished his prayer, he heard a sweet song of a bird. He raised up and went in the direction of the song to see the bird. The bird was hopping from one branch to another and from one tree to another and the godly man also followed the bird, but suddenly he felt some hard thing under his foot. To his surprise, it was the purse he had lost. He thanked the Lord for He had heard his prayer and answered atonce. As our Lord is near, we need not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let us present our request to God this year. The Peace of God which passeth all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

“Dear Lord, I thank You as You are my ever-present helper. Lord! have mercy on me, bless me in this land and preserve me. In Jesus’ Name I pray”. — Amen

THE LORD WILL GUIDE US

“The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame” Isaiah 58:11

We, the percykids family wish our dear readers a Blessed and Prosperous New Year 2010. When we are guided by our Lord, we will be like a well-watered garden and like a spring whose waters never fail. Luther Burbang admired  Nature and he was fond of plants. He had a beautiful garden around his house and cared tenderely each and every plant. He would go round the plants and by his tender care, the plants looked very fertile. The potatoes which grew in his garden became white,sweet and tasty; The thorny cactus plant had not thorns in it. Only in his garden, the strawberry plants yielded throughout the year and the flowering plants produced sweet smelling and big flowers. The fruit bearing trees gave forth a high yield of sweet and juicy fruits. This fertility and the high yield of his garden was due to Luther’s tender care. In the same way, our Lord Almighty who will be with us and care for us througout this year, expects good fruits from us. He has chosen us and appointed us to go and bear fruits that will last for ever. Then the Father in Heaven will lead us throughout this year and give us whatever we ask in His Name. May His Divine Presence be with us throughout this year.

‘Dear Lord, I thank You for enabling me to step into this New Year. Lord, be with me and go before me to show me the way. Grant me good health and strength to serve You and bear fruits for Your Glory. In Jesus’ Name I pray’. –Amen

OPEN THE DOOR

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with Me” Rev 3:8

A black American went to a Church in America for Sunday worship. But owing to his colour, the admission was refused. Very sadly, he prayed to God and told Him his pathetic situation. Atonce the Lord said that the people in the Church have not even allowed Him inside the Church. The Lord told him not to worry and said that the congregation had even shut the door of the Church to Him and added that He was not there in the Church. The Lord also questioned the black American whom he was going to worship. In Revelation 2nd and 3rd chapters we read the messages of the Lord to the Seven Churches. The Lord stands at the door of Laodicea Church and knocks at it. But they never seem to hear. The Lord was about to spit them out of His mouth as they were neither cold nor hot and they said that they were rich and need nothing without realising that they were wretched, pitiful, poor and blind. Actually, in most of our lives, our Lord is knocking at the door of our heart which is shut forever. Our duty is to open our hearts for Him so that He will come in our lives with abundant blessings and make us happy. By God’s Grace, we have come to the last day of the year 2009. Let us open our hearts, houses and Churches so that the Lord Almighty will dwell in us and guide us in the paths of righteousness.

“Dear Lord, I thank You for Your mighty Grace and Guidance throughout this year. Come into my heart O Lord! Bless me and lead me on. In Jesus’ Name I pray”. — Amen

WRITE DOWN THE VISION

“Where there is no vision, the people perish, but blessed is he who keeps the Law” Proverbs 29:18

Where there is no vision regarding keeping the law, the people perish for the lack of it’s enforcement: But the one who keeps the law in such times is blessed and happy. J.C.Penny, a godly man is the most famous industrialist in North America. In his youth, he belonged to an ordinary family and lived without any facility. But even in those days, he used to go to a calm seashore and meditate upon the Word of God. At that time, America was going through acute financial crisis. But during meditation, he saw a vision and a revolutionary idea came to his mind i.e ‘Construct a hotel with 40,000 rooms for cheap rent’. As soon as he came to his house, he wrote them down in his diary and involved himself in the construction work. In 4 years, his dream came true. Today the founder leader of ‘Days Inn Hotel Chains’ is J.C.Penny. A believer who had a vision and with faith in the Lord, enforced it. In Habakkuk 2:2 we see, ‘The Lord replied : Write down the vision and make it plain on the tablets so that whoever reads it may run with it’. Here the Second Advent of the Christ is put for the vision. It is yet for an appointed time. Though it tarries, let us wait for the Second Advent of Christ. It does not tarry.

“Dear Lord, Let me get a vision about your glorious Second Advent. By faithfully keeping the Law, let me be prepared for your Second  Coming. In Jesus’ Name I Pray”. — Amen

THANK OFFERINGS HONOUR GOD

“He who sacrifices thank offerings, honours Me” Psalm 50:23

A God fearing man used to praise the Lord for each and every thing in all places and people were surprised to note this. People even thought how he was able to feel God’s doings in all things. Once he went to his friend who was a doctor. His friend gave him a book and told him that he could never say ‘Praise the Lord’, while reading that book which was about ocean in different parts of the world and their nature. The doctor was attending to his patients and this godly man was reading the book and suddenly he shouted ‘Praise the Lord’. As the doctor was quiet astonished, he asked his friend, ‘What’s in this book to praise the Lord?’. The friend said that it was written that the depth of the Pacific ocean was 7 miles and he added that the Lord had promised to hide his sins deep inside the ocean. He praised the Lord as the Lord had hidden his sins at the depth of 7 miles! The doctor was quiet astonished on seeing his piety and religious fervour. In Psalm 147:1, the Psalmist says, ‘How good it is to sing praises to our God! How pleasant and fitting to praise Him!.

Indeed our Lord is great and mighty in power. He is worthy of our praise as he has led us throughout this year with goodness and grace. In troubles and in sickness, He was with us to comfort and heal us. Let us thank Him with a grateful heart.

“Dear Lord, everything in heaven and earth is yours. Power and strength are in your Hands. I thank you Lord and praise Your Holy Name”. — Amen

SAVE THE PERISHING

“The Son of Man came to seek and to save what we have lost ” St.Luke 19:10

D.L Moody, the great evangelist saw a picture which impressed him greately. The picture potrayed a woman grasping a Cross with both her hands, as she was being rescued from the waters of a stormy sea. Holding of the Cross with both her hands, depicted her trust on God in times of troubles. This picture created a great impact in Moody’s mind until he happened to see another picture. The second picture also depicted a woman being rescued from the raging waters on a stormy day. But this woman, while clinging with one hand to the Cross, her other hand was lifting another person out of the waves to safety. That picture dramatically potrayed what we, who have been saved from the penalty of sins should be doing. We should not  be selfishly satisfied with our own salvation when others around us are lost and perishing. The Apostle Paul who persecuted the Christians, was saved owing to the immense Grace of God which he always remembered with gratitude. Because of this, he strived to save other souls all through his life inspite of the fact that his own life was always in great peril on account of this. Rescuing people from perishing applies not to salvation alone but to other areas of life also. When there was a great famine in Jerusalem, the Macedonian Churches sent all they had to the believers in Jerusalem although they themselves were poor and were in trouble.

In the words of Fanny Crosby,

‘Rescue the perishing, duty demands it

Strength for the labour, The Lord will provide’.

Source: N.M.S News Magazine.

“Dear Lord, I thank You for saving me and for lifting me up from the miry clay. Lord, give me the discerning spirit to identify the perished souls and bring them to You to be saved.  In Jesus’ Name I pray”. — Amen

BIBLE QUIZ ( 68 )

QUESTIONS:

1. Who stored Goliath’s armour in his tent?

2. What tent was made according to God’s specifications?

3. Who healed a lame man at the temple’s Beautiful Gate?

4. In John’s vision of the New Jerusalem, how many gates does the city have, and what are they made of?

5. Who hid in a cave while God passed by?

6. Who hid a hundred prophets in a cave when Jezebel was trying to kill them?

7. What apostle was fore-ordained to minister to the Gentiles?

8. What kinsman of Christ was ordained to be his fore-runner?

9. What miraculous thing happened to Moses’ hand?

10.What was the unique feature of the hailstorm that God sent upon the Egyptians?

ANSWERS:

1. David   ( 1Samuel 17:54 )

2. The tabernacle   ( Exodus 26:1-4 )

3. Peter and John   ( Acts 3:2-7 )

4. Twelve ; Made of pearl   ( Revelation 21 )

5. Moses   ( Exodus 33:21-23 )

6. Obadiah   ( 1Kings 18:4 )

7. Paul   ( Galatians 1:15 )

8. John the Baptist   ( St.Luke 1:13-17 )

9. It became leprous, then became normal again   ( Exodus 4:27 )

10.It was accompanied by fire that ran along the ground   ( Exodus 9:22-26 ).

CHANGING LOVE

” This is how we know what love is : Jesus Christ laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers “. 1John 3:16.

                                                    By this verse, we know the love of God and our duty to others. December 26th is an unforgettable and a very sorrowful day as many precious lives were taken away by the cruel and giant waves of Tsunami, five years back. At that time, 90% of the people perished in a village. Bernard and his family escaped , as they had gone to another place but, he lost all his belongings in his house.His neighbour Periasamy’s family was completely washed away, except their two year old son Thiyagu. As he was left alone, the villagers decided to put him in an orphanage. Bernard’s heart was broken on seeing Thiagu and he even wished to adopt him. But, his mind flashed back the past events. Periasamy cursed Bernard and quarrelled with him almost daily and mocked at his faith in Jesus Christ. Bitterness filled his heart. But in a second, he thought about the Divine Love of Jesus Christ and His Crucifixion. The Calvary Love overpowered his bitterness. He took Thiyagu to his house to bring him up along with his two children. When we get a chance to help those who persecute us, do we use that opportunity and help them? Let us love our enemies so that we can be the children of our Father in Heaven.

” Dear Lord, give me Your Noble Spirit and fill me with Your Divine Love to love my enemies and pray for those who hate me. In Jesus’Name I pray “.–Amen.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

” Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord “. St.Luke 2:11.

                                                 We, the PercyKids family wish our dear Readers, a very Happy  and a Meaningful Christmas. The good news of the First Advent of our Lord from heaven to earth, in the name of Jesus, was told to many. On this Christmas day, it will be useful to meditate upon the contribution of the first three persons who heard the good news  ie the shepherds, three wise men and Herod. While the shepherds watched their flocks by night, an angel of the Lord appeared before them and told them the good news. They hurried off and found the Baby in the manger. They never took any offering in their hands and it emphasizes the fact that Salvation is free to all. To the shepherds, Jesus revealed Himself as their Saviour. We need not pay anything for Salvation, but it is got by mere Grace of God. They never kept quiet but, they spread the Gospel to all. Likewise, we who have received the Salvation should introduce Jesus Christ to those who have never heard about our Saviour Jesus Christ . To the wisemen, Jesus revealed Himself as their King. Being led by the star, they worshipped their King with the meaningful gifts of gold, of incense and of myrrh. Likewise we, who have received our Lord, the King of kings, should worship Him with our best offerings. Thirdly, when Herod heard the news, he was disturbed and gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem in order to kill the Baby Jesus. Even nowadays, many are against Christ and His followers. In St.Matthew 12:30, our Lord has said,” He who is not with Me, is against Me “.  With whom are we ? Let  our faith in our Saviour grow and let us worship Him with our best offerings. Otherwiise, we will be disturbed as Herod, for Jesus is coming soon as the Lord of lords and the King of kings.

” Dear Lord, You came to this world to give Your Life on the Cross and save me. While I celebrate Your First Advent, let me be prepared and get ready for Your Second Advent and prepare others also to meet You joyfully. In Jesus’Name I pray “.–Amen.

BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR JESUS

” For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost “.St.Luke 19:10.

                                                   On 24th December, the famous Gospel worker Jerome from Bohemia, had gone to Bethlehem. Before going to sleep, he was thinking about the birth of Jesus. At that time, he had a vision. Jesus came before him and said,” Son, tomorrow people from all over the world are going to celebrate my birthday. Which gift are you going to give for my birthday?”. Jerome said that he would give his heart to Him as he loved Him with his full heart and soul. The Lord smiled at him and said that He wanted something better than that. Then, Jerome said that he would give all his wealth to Jesus. But, Jesus said that He expected a better thing than his wealth. Atonce Jerome said that he had nothing more to give Him. Jesus said,” Son, you give me all your sins, which I like to forgive and thus set you free from the burden of your sins “. On hearing this, Jerome thought about our Lord’s mercy and compassion towards a sinner and shed tears of joy. Beloved in Christ, apart from all our offerings and celebrations, Jesus expects us to give away our sins so that He can forgive all our sins and we will be free and enjoy the joy of salvation. Let us give room for Baby Jesus to be born in our hearts and celebrate this Christmas with real joy and peace. May the Lord give us the opportunity of celebrating a meaningful Christmas !

” Dear Lord, let me not conceal my sins. Give me the Grace to confess and renounce them and celebrate Christmas with a free heart. In Jesus’Name I pray “.–Amen.