A New Year Prayer: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflections

Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths you would have me go this coming year. Show me your vision for me a d Guide me in your truth and teach me. for you are God my Savior, my provider, and my protector and my hope is in you all day long, every day. Your thoughts and plans for me will give me an expected end.

Remember, LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old and yet are new every morning, in your great faithfulness. So I do not lose hope.

Do not remember the sins of my youth, of past years gone by, and my rebellious ways, but forgive me my transgressions, according to your love remember me, for you, LORD, are good.

Yet, even as I am your work in progress, help me, in all things shewing myself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, and good speech.

Fill our homes with your presence, for me and my house, have and will, serve you. And in this coming year, and years after that, renew our strength and that of our children, and let them soar on wings like eagles; let them run and not grow weary, let them walk and not be faint. Let their future and thier hope not be cut off. As The New Year brings a new chapter in their life — they know that you will always be THE main character in their book.

"Certainly, the faithful love of the Lord hasn’t ended; certainly, God’s compassion isn’t through! They are renewed every morning and every year. Great is your faithfulness."

***This prayer is based on Psalm 25 4 to 7 and other Bible verses***.

I don't know about tomorrow: Pastor Rajiv's Daily Reflections

 

As we near the end of 2022, we cannot but recall the horrid years the world has spent since 2020, those dark Covid times. And every now and then, even now, we see that pandemic raising its ugly head. We cannot forget the mass graves in New York, the mass of funeral pyres in India, the daily death counts in China, Europe and the world, and the constant fear of death looming over our heads. No one in this world was spared loss, directly or indirectly.

Sadly, some did not survive. They went on ahead to prepare a place for us.

For those who did, that time was spent in fear and or heartbreak. 

Today, in retrospect, what do we feel and think? What have we learnt?

The past defines the future and There is one truth which has kept many of us going -

1 Samuel 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

The truth is that we all have come through the worst, with the Lord’s help.

Each one, anyone of us can confidently say this for our life. Through poverty, through wealth, through sickness, through health, at home, abroad, on the land, on the sea, in honor, in dishonor, in perplexity, in joy, in trial, in triumph, in prayer, in temptation, “hitherto hath the Lord helped us!”

If you are reading this today, you are blessed. And as we write this, we are blessed. We each need to fall on our knees and thank the Almighty, for hitherto He has helped us. Each day, He has protected us. Each day He has provided for us, Each day He has participated in our lives.

And because of this, as this year ends, we can look forward with confidence to 2023 in the surety of that one line – “hitherto our Lord has helped us”. Let us prepare ourselves for the New Year, looking back on His Blessings and looking forward to living with His help. 

 

 

 

It’s our 1st Anniversary and a very special reflection today.

 

It’s our 1st Anniversary! Yes, we are ONE year old.

It’s been a year since Pastor Rajiv and his team started sharing his messages and other reflections. We wish to thank our readers and contributors through the year and on this occasion share a special reflection.

In the Upper Room today, Terrie Hellard-Brown recounts a miraculous Christmas experience which we would like to share here -

"As worship leader in my church, I always planned the Christmas worship services with great care and excitement. One year I asked a soprano named Rebecca to sing “O Holy Night” during the last Sunday morning service before Christmas.

As the date approached, Rebecca called me and said, “I keep feeling like God wants me to sing ‘O Holy Night’ in French. Is that weird?”

I told her I thought it would be glorious, and that if God was leading her to do it, then she should. Our church had an English-speaking international congregation with 15 countries represented weekly. We were not aware of any attendees from French-speaking countries, but we both felt certain this was God’s plan. We had no idea just how beautiful God’s plan was.

That week in our Sunday service, a French businessman was depressed because he had to spend the holidays far from home. He was feeling discouraged and alone until Rebecca sang. As he listened to the hymn, he was flooded with the love of God and knew he was not alone. God encouraged and blessed that man through our simple act of obedience. That Christmas will forever remind me that Jesus truly is Immanuel, God with us".

This exemplifies the mission of This Week with Jesus. We will never know who will be touched by one of our reflections or messages. We will never know who needed to hear it or read it. Like Rebecca we are directed to write and share. Nothing is planned.

In the last 365 days, we have put out 172 posts and 24 videos of Pastor Rajiv with his message. Stats show more than 3600 readers, spread across America, India, France, Germany, Australia, Russia, Holland, Jamaica & the Caribbean, U.K., Sweden, Brazil, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Peru and a few more. Yet we have a long way to go. This world has 195 countries and 8 Billion people! 

As Pastor Rajiv shares his weekly message, other anonymous writers also share their reflections, thoughts and experiences. We are all stakeholders, and anyone can contribute, including you. You can write to us or simply share this with your friends and family. Together we can reach the world. Together we can reach that one person who needs the message. God can move the whole universe for us, even for just one of us. Even when we are going through the worst, rest assured, just like in the story, God moved a whole church because He cared about what this one man was going through, He cares for each one of us.

Today, we also have a New Year gift for you as well. We have made an app envelope for Android so that you don’t ever have to login or browse. You can download it here:

http://www.appsgeyser.com/15357662

Once again, we thank you and request you to continue your support by contributing your reflections and/or sharing in your network. God Bless you all and a Happy New Year to you and your family.