Saturday Vespers

As in the past, we would like to humbly request all our readers to pray, not only for their own needs but also for some people whom we know to need your prayers. Your prayers can make a powerful difference in the lives of those who are struggling, seeking strength, and hoping for a better tomorrow.

Let us come together in faith and compassion, offering our heartfelt prayers for healing, comfort, and guidance for those in need. Your continued support and prayers are deeply appreciated.
Prayer Needs
Grazia requests prayer saying:
Thank you God for blessings favor victorious wins protecting my children family home and I. God I pray for an amazing job where everyone prospers I am earning twice what I'm earning now. Send unexpected income from unexpected positive resources so I can provide for my family. Thank you God for family healing health prosperity and financial abundance .
allanrking requests prayer over his Finances, Permanent Housing, Wisdom, Discretion & for a Hedge of Protection.
Tanu requests prayer for a financial break through
For a pastor in India who is going through medical concerns and needs your prayer for his healing so that he can get back to serving God as usual
For a Pastors wife who is going through Chemo for a stage 4 cancer. She needs strength to be able to take her treatment. For finances for this treatment to be completed successfully and for a miracle for her life.
Brij prays for relief for himself and a family in India saying - Psalms 90:13 Relent, Lord! How long will it be? Have compassion on your servants. Psalms 90:12, 14-17 Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children. May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. In the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ I pray this prayer for my loved ones, me, those that have hurt me and for everyone one else. AMEN!
Carol wants prayer support for her sons and their families to become strong and active Christians and that she and her husband be good ministers to them and disciples of God. 
For a senior lady in India who has not yet got over her back pain. Though better, it still troubles her often. We thank God for His strength that she can bear it and live with it.

Thank You all for your continued support. 

Christian Patience

Patience is not just the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting.

Are we fearfully concerned? Are we anxious? Do we get agitated?

It is not unnatural for us to become any or all of the above when what we perceive as a plan for ourselves does not fructify.

By this do we expect God to change His plan for us just so we do not get agitated and panicked?

God is unchanging as we know, so no, God will not change His plan for us. It is upto us either to accept His authority and will or rebel with our attitude and behaviour. Our fear of acceptance and change overcomes our shallow beliefs.

But fear not. We have help.

Yesterday Pastor Rajiv talked about the Holy Spirit being our prayer partner, but he also made a very important point: in addition to everything else, the Holy Spirit can also help us to understand Gods will and accept it. 

Some time back one of our readers shared that he was very scared of an early death because his wife and children were not settled and he had not yet made provisions for them. He used to panic at the thought. Till he realized his wife and children were not only his but Gods family as well and God would look after them.

This is how the Holy Spirit helps us -

To understand Gods will, to trust Gods will and to accept Gods will. If we do that, we not only wait but we wait calmly for it to unfold.

That is Christian Patience.

Our Prayer Partner: Pastor Rajiv's Mid-Week Message

Today we going to continue our series of messages on prayer based on O.S. Hawkins’ book the prayer code.

How many of you have heard of the term “prayer partnership?”

Prayer partnership is when two people tie up and make a pact to pray together at the same pre-decided time even though they may be located at different places.

Now we may not be practicing prayer partnership in our own lives even though it is a practice that brings considerable blessing but all of us each one of us who are believers in the lord Jesus Christ has a prayer partner.

Surprised? Yes, the holy spirit is our personal prayer partner.

He is with us all the time, he searches our hearts & helps in our weaknesses and, above all intercedes for us according to god’s will.

The Holy Spirit lives in the life of every believer who has called on the name of our lord Jesus Christ.

Hawkins explains that our bodies are the holy spirit’s Holy place and because he is in us, he does on our bodies what our lord Jesus Christ does for us before God the father & makes intercession for us.

The holy spirit is our personal prayer partner.

We can learn more about the holy spirit by asking 4 very pertinent questions.

Firstly a ‘what question’ - what does the holy spirt actually do? " likewise, the spirit also helps in our weaknesses".

The holy spirit helps us to pray. In other words, He lends a hand.

How? By coming alongside, and taking part in our prayers and making our prayers more effective.

Paul reminds us that “for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought”,

Why? Because we are weak, and we do need help especially when it comes to praying. A help which is not available to us through self-help books. It is only available to us from our prayer partner - The Holy spirit.

So that is what the holy spirit does: it helps in our prayer life.

Then we ask a ‘where question’. Where does the holy spirit help us? It helps in our weaknesses.

Hawkins reminds us that many of us are not very healthy when it comes to an effective prayer life.

Jesus saw this in his disciples who could not watch and pray with him for even an hour in the garden of Gethsemane which was the time of his greatest need.

This is why he sent us the holy spirit whom he called the helper so that he could help us where we are weak, and the truth is that we are pretty weak in our prayer life.

Here Hawkins cautions us about the fact that just because we have a helper does not mean that we allow the helper to help us.

There are many who resist the Holy Spirit, some grieve the Holy Spirit and some quench the Holy Spirit.

You may ask How? By never acknowledging the need for his help and continue to live in unconfessed sin.

Why does the holy spirit help us in our weaknesses? “for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought”.

This word ‘ought’ is a very crucial word in the New Testament and appears over one hundred times.

The Greek word that translates to the word ‘ought’ in a majority of these 100 times means ‘must’.

So it is most important that it is not just that we ought to pray but we must pray.

Hawkins explains the reasons why we do not always know how we ought to pray.

He gives the example of Paul praying three times for the thorn in his flesh to be removed.

The reason that we do not know how to pray as we should is that we cannot see into the future.

We need help, we are weak, we are always confusing our wants with our needs and we do not know what is best for us.

That is why the holy spirit helps us in our weaknesses because we do not know what to pray for as we ought.

And finally a ‘how question’ - how does the holy spirit helps us pray? “But the spirit himself makes intercession”. He pleads on our behalf before God the father.

Hawkins gives the example of the good Samaritan who came upon a badly wounded man on the road. He got involved and interceded on the man’s behalf, took him to an inn, paid his bill and met his needs.

This is how the Holy Spirit works in our prayer lives. We are weak like the wounded man in the story of the good Samaritan. In our weakness we do not know how to pray or what to pray for, but the holy spirit comes alongside us and pleads on our behalf.

A crucial key to understanding how the Spirit helps us is that he knows the mind of God and always prays according to the will of God.

Romans 8: 27 "now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is, because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God".

The spirit leads us to the will of God for our lives.

Yes, we can find God’s will through scripture where we know many things for certain because they are plainly stated in god’s word. But there are matters of which we may not be very certain, so this is where the spirit comes in and helps us because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Hawkins points out one very crucial point: He points out that are many who have god’s word but are unaware of the spirit. Others have the spirit but are without god’s word.

We need the Holy Spirit so that we can find God’s will and we need to yield to the Holy Spirit because he intercedes for us according to the will of God.

So, what is the takeaway from this message today?

We are not alone we have an effective prayer partner in the Holy Spirit who knows god’s will for us and helps us pray in God’s will so that God’s will may be fulfilled in us and for us.

Amen!

Once Upon a time in Heaven...

Once upon a time, in a place called Heaven, a curious scene unfolded.

The old king sat at the head of the round table, with His head bowed and deep in thought. Around Him sat His closest advisers, Sir Michael, Sir Gabriel and others and His Son stood next to Him.

“You know why we are here,” said the king. The earth is in shambles, people are rebellious, and no one wants to live in peace with each other, let alone listen to me. In fact, some of them openly hate me “

“I made the earth and created humans to have a relationship with me. This relationship characterized by love, worship, and communion. I wanted Humans to live in harmony with me and each other.”

“I wanted them to take care of the planet and all its inhabitants, love me and love each other.

But most of all I wanted them to do all of this of their own accord – so I gave them free will. And what did they do with that great power of free will and choice?? They rebelled against me!

I gave them laws but they broke them. I gave them a way to atone for their wrong doings – they did that and kept on sinning and kept on atoning. That became a vicious circle- A catch 22. Where was the time for me? Where was our communion?

I told some of them, you are my people. I made agreements with them. But alas, nothing changed. They sinned – sacrificed for forgiveness and then sinned again. They marvel at my creation, yet they treat their own lives, with disdain.  And on top of all of this, that fellow Lucifer – he keeps reigniting their wickedness by either scaring the life out of them or simply enticing them".

"I tried to destroy them but felt pity. How can I completely destroy what I have created? I regretted my creation, but I did save a handful to start over again. They did and started over on their wickedness as well".

So, I see no way out. I cannot have such dreadful creatures be a part of this place and expect them to glorify me or even praise me and worship me. I find it distasteful and dreadful. If any of you have any ideas, please let me know”.

The Kings speech was followed by pin drop silence. Everyone there knew the problem. No one had the solution.

Archangel Sir Michael spoke up after deep thought – “My Lord, with Lucifer playing such an active role, we need a more permanent solution. The people are weak; its not that they don’t want to follow the law but they are not able to for various reasons of greed and temptation by Lucifer. They love their life on earth too much to bother about any plans for heaven.”

“I know,” said the king. So, what is to be done? Should we release all the fury of Heaven on them? They would deserve it! But here is the problem: I created them. I love them. How can I annihilate them?”

Then Sir Michael spoke again – “Lord, why not just finish the source? Let us wage war on Lucifer and his cohort. You know we can finish them and once and for all solve this mess.”

“Well Sir Michael, we can do that, but I gave Humans a very potent power: THE Power of Free choice. If we finish Lucifer, Humans will follow me by default – whereas I want them to want to follow me and love me by choice. The problem is Lucifers war is with me, but he uses the humans as a tool to fight me.”

“Father”, said the Son, “maybe I have a solution.”

“Speak my son: show me how we can save these creatures from Lucifers hand? And if I give them a blanket forgiveness every time, Lucifer will accuse me of not following my own rules for a sacrifice, even though that sacrifice has become more of a convenience for them”.

“Well Father, you remember how you asked Abraham to sacrifice his son? He proved His allegiance to you and of course you didn’t make him do it, but think about it. Why not make a one-time sacrifice for all times? Why not give them love commandments instead of law commandments?

“Explain this to me my Son. What you say is interesting”.

“Well, we know for sure that humans have a rebellious and sinful nature. And that is the chasm between you and them, because you cannot bear to see sin. While a blanket forgiveness can be given, Lucifer will mock you for ignoring your own rules and in any case they sin again. So why don't we make a one-time sacrifice?”

“I have two questions my son. First who or what is so Holy that it’s sacrifice will cover the entire humanity – current and future? Second, you said yourself they will sin again, so how will such a sacrifice help? It will never be one time.”

“Well, I will leave that to you. I do not know”.

The King slowly lifted His head, “I know”. “It has to be me or a part of me.”

“What???” The entire gathering stood up in shock and dismay.

“My Lord and my King,” said Sir Michael, “if you are sacrificed the entire heavens will be destroyed by Lucifer. You cannot vacate your power!”

“Sir Michael, the issue is not one of power but of a moral right to govern. Lucifer knows that. But you are right. Lucifer can misrepresent that. After all, he is a master story teller and deceiver. He can see it as a sign of weakness and fear.”

“There is a solution though: we are a Trinity. As the trinity I exist in three persons: As God the father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. So, a sacrifice of any of these will be good enough. But humans have to see it, which means that the sacrifice has to be in human form, so that all can see the suffering and torture that the sacrifice will go through, for them. Therefore, it has to be someone who can take on a human form – which can only be my Son”.

“He is my Kings only son” said Sir Michael “our entire army will protect Him. How can you or He be sacrificed? My Lord, how can we accept that? Or even think about it?”

“The King looked crestfallen, “Sir Michael, it pains me no end. Which father can send His only child to a death of horror and torture of Sin? Yet, it needs to be done. My Son, will you do it?”

“Yes Father, but what will happen in the long term? Humans will sin again and again. Will my sacrifice be worth it?”

“You are right. Yet we can address that issue through the Holy Spirit – my Spirit. The Holy Spirit's primary role is to indwell, guide, and empower believers. The Holy Spirit can work within individuals to transform and sanctify them, helping them grow in their faith and live according to my will, as long people choose to believe in your sacrifice and in you. And that will happen only if they see that sacrifice happening right in front of them.”

“It will be the ultimate demonstration of my love for humanity. It will show that I was willing to give my only Son to save people from their sins, which will otherwise convict them forever to Lucifers cohort”.

“This sacrifice also satisfies the demands of my divine justice, addressing the consequences of sin while offering forgiveness and redemption to humanity.”

“The trinity is key to all of this: The Holy Spirit's role is different but equally vital, focusing on guiding, empowering, and transforming believers. They have been given a conscience, but it is for the Holy Spirit to reside in them and guide that conscience. Together, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will work in harmony to accomplish my plan for salvation.”

“My Son, are you ready for such a sacrifice?”

“My Father, you tested Abraham with willingness for the ultimate sacrifice. He passed. Today you ask me for the same. Of course, I am willing and ready. The point is, are you?”

“I don’t know my son”. “I know I will suffer the worst kind of heart break anyone could feel. But I will have to suffer that for these people. Of course, the Holy Spirit will need to bring you back to me and I will wait in heartbreak for that. Yes, my Son, I will have to do it.”

A sober mood fell upon the entire gathering. Contemplating the future they asked – “And how is this to be accomplished?”

“Send out prophecies of this plan through our prophets. Prepare the people. Prepare the ecosystem. This means a lot of work and time and effort, but it needs to be done. Choose people whom we can work through, good and evil. Identify the times when all of this will happen. Get it documented for future generations.”

And that is how we, the people in the story, in a land called Earth, were given hope and redemption. Our power of free choice created the problem in the first place, so today it is to be used wisely, based on wisdom given by our God in the Bible, because God paid a very heavy price indeed for our freedom.

The Bard of Bengal

"But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today". - Deuteronomy 8:18

The Bard of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore, once said that we can attain anything if we create the capacity to receive it. 

This profound thought challenges us to reflect on our own readiness to receive blessings from our God. Are we really ready? Our God has promised us endless blessings, but do we truly have the capacity to receive them? What does this entail?

Pastor and Bible commentator David Guzik writes, "Deuteronomy 8:18 reminds us why God has blessed us. His plan is that it would ultimately further His eternal purpose. Therefore, we have no right to use our material blessings for selfish purposes; instead, we should use our resources to advance His kingdom."

Our process of preparation begins with God Himself readying us. Our trials make space for His consolation. When God enters our hearts and finds them full, He begins to break our comforts and make room for grace.

Step 1: Emptying Material Baggage Firstly, we need to be emptied of our material burdens.

Step 2: Embracing Humility 1 Peter 5:6 highlights God as the source of all provision. This verse emphasizes that God is the ultimate source of all good things, including wealth and prosperity. Realizing and acknowledging that our achievements are actually God's blessings prepares us to receive more.

Step 3: Avoiding Pride and Self-Sufficiency By reminding us to remember God, this verse warns against attributing success solely to personal abilities and becoming prideful.

Step 4: Stewardship of Blessings When we receive blessings from God, we should use them wisely and responsibly, aligning our actions with His will.

Living The Word

 

Recently we have seen a spate in discussions around the subject of Christians actively trying to convince others to follow Christ. This is said to be as per His command in Matthew 16:15.

Francis Taylor has a very relevant view on this and has this to say -

"If we ever needed a reminder of how important it is to practice what we preach, this is it. Not only are we encouraged to help others, but we are also warned about giving bad example or leading others, particularly children, away from the Lord."

"I have spoken to many people who say that they became a Christian because of the example of people in their family, friends or strangers whose joy is so great they want a part of it. I also know people who have turned away from the faith they once had because they consider those who proclaim themselves to be Christian are hypocrites. Most people don't start out wanting to be Christians because of doctrine. They are influenced one way or another by people. Are you someone whose life exhibits the joy of knowing Jesus and his saving power? Am I? Do your actions give testimony to your beliefs? A person can go to church each week, Bible classes during the week and give every impression of being a devout follower of Christ and yet be involved in gossip and slander at work and in the neighborhood, loudly protest any law that promotes justice, and actively discriminates against others. Are these the acts of one who follows Christ?"

What is very clear is this: if you want to spread the Word, first live the Word. 

Let others want to follow your Christ rather than we telling them to. Let our actions convince them rather than our tongue.

Worthy of Christ

First let's be clear that humans cannot earn worthiness of Christ on our own. essentially, our worthiness comes from Jesus' sacrifice, not our own merit.

However, once we have accepted Him, we then need to try and live a life according to Him and worthy to Him.

It begins with making Jesus first in our life. It is seen in our love for God and our love for others. Ask the Holy Spirit for spiritual wisdom and spiritual understanding. Choose to live according to God's word every day.

Most of all practice the presence of Jesus in our life. How can we do that?

To practice the presence of Jesus in our life, we can: start our day with intentional prayer and reflection on scripture, incorporate short moments of prayer throughout our day, actively seek to see Jesus in everyday situations, express gratitude for His presence, and live according to His teachings by showing love and compassion to others; essentially, consciously acknowledge Jesus in all aspects of our life and actively engage with Him through prayer and reflection.

So in a nutshell -

1. Start the day with Jesus - morning devotion

2. Throughout the day use arrow prayers

3. Mindful awareness:

Pay attention to the world around you, looking for ways Jesus might be present in our daily experiences, like nature, interactions with others, or challenges we face.

4. Gratitude practice.

5. Admit mistakes & backsliding - ask His help to overcome

6. Seek to serve others without judging.

7. Be intentional and authentic.

The Game Changer

Have you ever pondered who you would be or what your life would be like if Jesus had not come into the world? For starters, we would still be under the law, not under grace and forgiveness. God would be perceived as an entity to be feared and respected out of that fear. We would be terrified of the Almighty.

But the game changed with the advent of Jesus. He did not abolish the law; rather, He simplified it and inscribed it on our hearts. The sacrifice needed for our forgiveness every time we sinned was made permanently by Himself. This changed everything. It transformed our relationship with God from one of fear to one of love. Respect and reverence became part of our love for God, and grace and forgiveness became part of His love for us.

Jesus' message of hope, redemption, and transformation continues to change lives today. Countless individuals have experienced personal transformation and found purpose, meaning, and hope through faith in Jesus.

His profound influence on humanity has been a true game changer. Today, His teachings and actions continue to resonate and inspire people around the world and continue to offer His peace and salvation to each one. 

Each One Reach One: The Christian Way to Tackle Loneliness

During his 27 years coaching the 10-time national champion UCLA teams, 107-year-old Coach John Wooden often reminded his players, “It takes 10 hands to score a basket.” The underlying message was that teamwork is the key to success. As humans, we were never meant to be loners. Even from the beginning, God said, “It is not good for man (or woman) to be alone.”

Yet, loneliness has become a significant issue in today's world, affecting people of all ages, whether young, middle-aged, or elderly. Loneliness can be as deadly as any physical ailment. According to a global survey, approximately 33% of adults worldwide have experienced feelings of loneliness. Brazil had the highest percentage, with 50% of respondents reporting that they often, always, or sometimes felt lonely.

Solomon, in his wisdom, wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (ESV):

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken."

Throughout history, the Bible has consistently advised a "we" rather than "me" mindset. Vision Christian Media suggests that to succeed in life, we should commit to: 

A. Resisting the go-it-alone spirit that often characterizes our culture. 

B. Cultivating meaningful relationships and treasuring friendships. 

C. Reaching out to the lonely and those who have fallen. 

D. Going out of our way to demonstrate true friendship.

In light of this, there are simple yet powerful actions we can take to combat this "killer" phenomenon. 

For example, picking up the phone to talk to someone we haven’t spoken to in a while; visiting elder singles or couples, or reaching out to someone we know is feeling down or sick, for any reason, can make a significant difference.

Reach Out! And make someone's day!

The Suicidal Birds

Galatians 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage".

There is a very strange phenomenon that occurs in a place called Jatinga in Assam, India, wherein migratory birds commit mass suicide. 

During the specified months, when the air is foggy, misty, or cloudy, various species of birds see light through windows and in an effort to reach the light they ram into the windows and get killed. The question arises: why do these birds, like a ritual, arrive at the same time every year only to meet their demise? Can they not change their route?

This reminds me of us humans. Even though our spirit has been made free in Christ, yet we tend to get entangled in the yoke and bondage of sin frequently. Like those birds we have a tendency to 'commit suicide' by frequently sliding back into sin, sometimes deliberately, sometimes without realizing it. but unlike them, we have a way out in Jesus Christ whose light shines not through a window but shines brightly and freely. He not only will pull us out of the pit but also helps us to avoid it. His word is a spotlight which shows us pitfalls and points us to the safe path - so that we can re- route ourselves.

As the quoted verse says - Jesus is not only the hope but also the safe way for each one of us.

Unlike the birds of Jatinga we do have a way out.