Children’s Special

November 14 is celebrated as “Children’s Day” in India as a mark of honour to our former Prime Minister Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru who loved children. My meditation for this day in my one year chronological Bible happened to be Galatians 3 and 4, which excited me because it had lots of “children” stuff in it. It said we are God’s children by faith. It talked about Paul considering the Galatians as his spiritual children. It also talked about Abraham’s two children, children of the slave woman and children of the free woman. The former represents mere human effort in becoming children of God. The latter represents God’s involvement in our human efforts to become children of God. My memories then went back to my childhood days.

My brother and I were raised by our parents in a “pietistic” background. We never ever saw a cinema in our childhood days. Sundays were not mere Holidays but “Holy Days” too. Church, memorizing scripture , sumptuous lunch, resting together, singing songs from the “Golden Bells”- were some typical Sunday events. At a very young age, I was leading my own “Girls Fellowship” in the Sunday evenings. My brother had his own “Boys Fellowship.” These were children Christian gatherings which was conducted in alternate houses every Sunday. Children from other faith joined us some times. That is a typical reminiscence of my childhood Sunday.

My dad reminds us often from a  story in Jeremiah 35. It is about a family called the “Recabites.” The children of this family had followed for generations simple commands of their forefather, Jonadab (2 Kings 10:15-31). They abstained from drinking wine and from settling in cities.  In Jeremiah 35, God uses the analogy of this family’s obedience and chided the children of Israel who were adamantly disobedient to their father God. The first of the Ten Commandments which comes with a promise is to honour our parents, by obeying them. The promise is that everything will go well with such children and that they will enjoy long life on the earth (Ephesians 6:1-3). It is interesting to see that Jonadab reminds the same promise of “living a long life in the land” to his children (Jeremiah 35:7) as an incentive, when they obeyed his principles.

Children today need to follow the “contextual Christian principles” given by our godly parents. In my opinion if a godly parent says about abstinence from wine, watching films, observing Sunday as a “Holy Day” and commands such as these, a child has to simply honour it by obeying it.  However our human efforts in merely obeying parents, cannot make us a child of God. The overarching principle is to obey the commands of our Heavenly Father. To be a child of God one needs to be part of His family. One must be re-born into His family (John 3:3). How can one be reborn in the family of God? The Bible says, “Yet to all who received him (Jesus), to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13) I am a child of God because I chose to receive Jesus. I obey my parents because the Word of God expects me to do so! This is possible because I love my God, His Word and my God-given Parents! Let us enjoy the status of being a "child" both to our parents and to our God.

A Brand Plucked from Fire

During one of our earlier visits to US, Pastor Jerry Van Dyken, a Methodist Pastor (who was then serving the Christ Methodist Church, Venice, Florida) on hearing my testimony of how my life was spared from a burning bus (the link to that story is: http://graceidarajan.blogspot.in/2011/08/grace-my-life.html ) said that I was like a brand plucked from fire like the one mentioned in Zechariah 3:2. I have always realized that this miracle in my life, is not a matter of pride, but is an act of God’s grace to fulfill His purpose for me in my earthly life. I also learnt that John Wesley always considered himself as a brand plucked from fire. Because when he was a mere five year old, he was graciously spared from a fire that engulfed the Wesleys house. So I found this phrase “a brand plucked from fire” interesting and was curious to study Zechariah 3:2.

Joshua was that man mentioned in this verse as a brand plucked from fire. He was a high priest, who had returned from the Babylonian exile. Some say that, he was spared in a fiery furnace that Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king used to punish prophets from Judah. The fire consumed two false prophets Ahab and Zechariah, who were liars and adulterers of neighbor’s wives (Jeremiah 29:22-23). Some extra Biblical records say that Joshua was spared when 8000 priests once fled to a temple and were burnt in it.  His rescue from fire is true whatever be the case. After his rescue he received a covenant from the Lord : 'If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts… (Zechariah 3:6-7). God also spared Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the punishment of a fiery furnace given by the same king Nebuchadnezzar, just like how he spared Joshua. Through these miracles, the King and the people in the kingdom came to know the power of the Yahweh God (Daniel 3).

Miracles such as these are acts of grace from a God of mercy. It also affirms the purpose of God in the recipient's  life, which has to be lived out for His glory. We also need to know that sin is more dangerous than a physical fire (Isaiah 9:18).  It follows a person who committed it (Numbers 32:23) and also affects people around. More importantly, the Bible says that sin leads a person to eternal fire (Matthew 25:41). For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Salvation from sin is the process of getting plucked from eternal fire. Who will not like to be a brand plucked from eternal fire and enjoy the free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ?

Stamping Stigma Out From Your Status

To live with stigma nearly kills one's life. How can stigma be stamped out of an individual's life?

Jephthah in the Bible had a stigma, a tag around his neck labeling him as a “prostitute’s son.”  It was the pain and the ridicule he earned from his father’s other children and the then society that made him run away from them. But Jephthah was a godly man (Judges 11:11). He was honored because of his relationship with God. He delivered the Israelites from the Ammonites. Jephthah is mentioned in the New Testament in Hebrews 11:32 as a man of faith.

The sons of Korah had a collective label, branded as the sons of a rebellious father. Korah was a notorious name in the Israelite history .The details about Korah and his rebellion along with Dathan and Abiram is narrated in Numbers 16:1-40. They resisted Moses' leadeship and as a result were swallowed by the earth along with many of their households. However the children of Korah were spared and remained alive (Numbers 26:11). Now, who will want to be called as a child of a notorious person? But the sons of Korah realized the grace of God that saved them from the death pit. They remained thankful to God all through their lives for the grace that spared them. They wrote 11 psalms (42, 44-49, 84-85, 87-88) These singer-gatekeepers surrounded the Jerusalem temple, standing every morning and evening to thank and praise God (1Chron 23:30, 31).

Well, Jesus did not consider it an ignominy to be called as a child of a virgin. In the christian faith, we believe that Jesus was born out of a miraculous conception of the seed of the Holy Spirit and virgin Mary. Now, Jesus' own human story helps him to identify with all children who have stigmas stitched to their labels. But, what matters is something more than such stigmas that comes out of past. Ezekiel 18 in the Old Testament drives in the fact elaborately and clearly that the sins of the parent are not a disadvantage to children as long as the children repent for their sins and turn to a God who sets them free.

The stigma statuses in our present situations are varied ranging from being born in a low caste, or an abominable race or having a status as an orphan, a widow, a divorcee or as ones suffering with stigmatic diseases like leprosy, AIDS. Whatever the status is - being a child of God as Jephthah did helps. God honors his children like how he honored Jephthah. Serving God, realizing the grace of God like how the sons of Korah did, helps. Above all, Jesus understands the pain of a person suffering from a stigma. He is concerned about something more, that is, the sins and wrong doings of an individual. It is Jesus who helps to get rid of the stigma of sins in the life of an individual.  A life free from sins is possible with the power of Jesus Christ. To me, it is Jesus who helps me to walk with my head straight stamping any kind of stigma out, during my brief stay on earth!

Being a Good Samaritan!

                                           Mission Trip - September 2011

Cheers!

Greetings from Charis Seva Mandal and Charis Institute of Leadership Excellence! Thanks for your valuable prayers. We could feel an increase in the bonding between the trainers and the trainees in the Lay Leaders Training (CILE-Session IV) in the Sunderbans Islands. We had one Bengali teacher added to our group, a committed minister of the Nazarene Church and our friend, Rev Trisha Baran Das. We could see the smile in the faces of the trainees to see a teacher, training them in their own language.

Rev Trisha Baran Das -facilitates a course in Hermeneutics 

We had our training in a facilty, where a student of Calcutta Bible Seminary (where we had taught earlier for nearly ten years), Pastor Tarun Singh is working.  The training spot was a beautiful place with all facilities, except electricity. So we could not have late evening sessions, which we used to have in earlier trainings.

Preparing for Bible Quiz

The zeal for learning the Scriptures was seen in the way the trainees got ready for Bible Quizzes in the books of Deuteronomy and the Gospel of John. Though they are materially poor, they are getting spiritually strong through the Word of God.  We distributed old clothing to them which we had collected from friends and well-wishers. The trainees also had sumptuous food that satiated their hunger during the three days of training.

Lay Leaders

This mission trip to the Sunderban Islands gave us more focus as to how to proceed further. Our whole aim in our mission to the islands is to empower local leaders who would transform their places with the power of the gospel.  We have a faculty-in-training who is an islander, who  will be in-charge of the child-care program too and will become our full-time worker from the month of December. As part of the Child-Help program, we distributed school supplies to twenty-five needy students in a tribal settlement in the islands.

School Supplies distributed in a tribal settlement in the islands

Giving School Supplies to Esther, a princess living in Kolkata slum!

We want to cater to selected children of poor migrants in cities too because they are the worst affected when it comes to their education. They do not have choices to learn in their own native languages, but have to go to English medium schools which is quite costly in a city.  We intend to implement the Child Help program in cities of our acquaintance, Kolkata and Bengaluru.

Vibrant House Churches, at least five of them are in immediate need of church buildings. All of the above mentioned works - the Leaders’ Training program, the Child-Help program and the Church Planting initiatives are aimed to empower very needy communities.

Please pray for our forthcoming ministerial visits to Doha, Dubai and the United States. As usual, we covet your prayers for the ministries of CSM. We wish that you would join us in this Kingdom building business by roping in as Good Samaritans. You could offer appropriate voluntary services in any of these programs or pay in cash/kind for empowering needy people both in this rural and urban ministry of CSM. Get in touch with us for more relevant details. May the Lord’s name be glorified in and through all our efforts.

Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (Hebrews 13:16)

My e-mail id: graceidarajan@yahoo.com

Greedy or Godly?

Recently Income Tax officials seized a huge haul of gold jewelry and cash from Saravana Stores Enterprises in Chennai, India. The three brothers who own these stores were evading tax and investing the money in stocks. Why are some, like these brothers, greedy? Why are they saving money for generations? Probably they think that materialism is the answer for everything in this world.

Jesus has illustrated such a similar story nearly 2000 years ago. Here is the story: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' (Luke 12:16-20).

Through this story, Jesus enforced the truth that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. He therefore asks us to be on the watch out every kind of greed (Luke 12:15). Greedy people bring trouble to their families (Proverbs 15:27). Gehazi, prophet Elijah’s servant coveted the offering Naaman brought for his master. Gehazi’s greed caused him and his entire family and his descendants to be afflicted with leprosy (2 Kings 5:27). Ananias and Sapphira’s greed for money costed them their lives (Acts 5).

The Bible contrasts the greedy to a Godly giver. Psalm 37:21 says that the righteous (the godly) give generously. The Psalmist re-iterates that the righteous are ‘always’ generous and lend freely (v.26).  The wise writer says,  "He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done" (Proverbs 19:17). He also says that the righteous give without sparing (Proverbs 21:26). True to these verses was the life of Cornelius. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing. Cornelius gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly (Acts 10:2).  He and his family and relatives were blessed to be the first followers of Christ from a gentile background in the early church history.

The Jerusalem Church (the mother church) was a model in giving. The members of this church sold their possessions and goods and gave to anyone who had a need (Acts 2:45). Because of this giving, there was no one who was in need (Acts 4:34-35). And if we consider the Jerusalem church as a model on giving, it was the Macedonian-daughter-church which resembled the mother in that aspect. Later during an adverse situation in Jerusalem, it was the people in the Macedonian church, who in spite of their poverty, who supported the suffering saints in Jerusalem. They gave beyond their ability (2 Corinthians 8:1-3). So generosity is best measured not by the sum of what is given but by the sacrifice that comes with it. David said that he would not give an offering that would cost him nothing (1 Chronicles 21:24).

Instead of defining our worth by our bank accounts, God wants us to be rich in good deeds, to be generous with our money, and to share with those who need it. God gives us money to use in His name, to do His work on earth. And God keeps very good records. He will reward generous givers here, while they are on this earth and in eternity too.

Now he (God) who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:10-11).

GRACE- In My Life

GRACE, the name my parents chose for me is God-ordained. GRACE means unmerited favor. I was an unworthy recipient of the GRACE of God on 18 August, 1992. God lifted me out of the clutches of death on that day. I had finished my studies in an Engineering College in 1991 and was working as a lecturer in a college in Salem, Tamilnadu.

On 18 August, 1992, when I was returning from my job, the bus in which I was travelling from Salem to Mettur Dam got into an accident, killing five people on road. What was thought to be a road accident turned worse, as the bus caught fire (the diesel tank had exploded) which was sudden and roof-high to start with. I was sitting in the middle of the bus, closest to the fire. The bus also had illegal fuel carried for sandal wood smuggler, Veerappan who was living in our area then (which we came to know later). The bus was also in a tilted position and so reaching out to the exits became all the more difficult. Seeing my co-passengers getting scorched one by one in a fraction of a second, at the same time, desperately yet consciously thinking that I have not achieved much in my life, I started to scream, “JESUS, save me.” The vanity of beauty and status flashed before me. The more I screamed, the more I inhaled smoke and started to choke. Almost at the nearest proximity of fire engulfing me, I was thrown and my head got struck in a half-closed window. The window had horizontal rods across it .  So there was not much space for a human-size to squeeze out. It was at this point of realization, something, which I would call as a miracle, happened. With no feel, of either extricating myself, bruising myself, or leaping, I was standing out in a safe place, gazing at the by-then, fully scorched bus. It did not take time to realize the GRACE of a miracle in my life. An angel had carried me out. About thirty people died in that accident (some of them were my close friends). I realized that God by showing his GRACE on me had an added purpose through me, with a fresh lease of life.

God’s plan started to work out. My testimony traveled many places like a wild fire. One evangelist who had heard my testimony suggested to my father about my marriage with a servant of God who then was working with the National Missionary Society of India. Every thing worked out very well and very fast. Suresh, my husband (not yet then!) and his family members came to our place and saw me and in a week's time, we were engaged. Our marriage was solemnized on the11th November in the very same year. The accident changed the entire course of my life.

After marriage I was into jobs related to my engineering specialisation for a while. My husband was a pastor with the Evangelical Church of India then. Finding more fulfillment in the job of a pastor's wife, I resigned from my job of a Production Engineer in Teletherm Instrumentation, Chennai.   I then joined as an evening college student for a MA program in Christian Studies in the Hindustan Bible Institute. Even before I could complete it, we had to move to Kolkata as a family in 1998 on a mission of reviving a run-down Bible School. By this time God had given us a gift of a son after six years of marriage.

In Kolkata, God prospered whatever our hands found to do. We developed the Bible school from its run-down state into a seminary with full-fledged activities. Many students of this Bible school are instruments of peace and joy working all over the world today. In the city where Mother Teresa worked, we were into social work also, choosing to work among the poor. A "Happy Home" for destitute children also came up. All of our Kolkata mission was team work and the Kingdom of God was built in and around the city. Worship centers came up even in the remotest villages of the Sunderban islands. Praise God!

We had to move to the city of Bangalore thereafter where I had the joy of completing my Doctorate in Ministry at South Asia Institute of Christian Studies (SAIACS). We were part of a mission agency named, "Charis Seva Mandal" (CSM) through which we reached out to the socially and geographically neglected people in the Sunderban Islands near Kolkata in West Bengal. Under Charis Institute of Leadership Excellence (CILE), the training wing of CSM, we gave Bible training to laity. We served in ACTS ministries, Bangalore briefly and then served for a term in the National Missionary Society of India, head quartered in Chennai. As we are Methodist ministers from the Bengal Regional conference we moved to Bhubaneswar as pioneering missionaries of MCI in Odisha.

During our brief time of ministry there we could develop a city congregation but had to move to South India after talking a leave from the Methodist church because of some personal challenges. We now live in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. We are now happily ministers with the Global Methodist Church. 

18 August, 1992 was the reason for both our marriage and our ministry. My husband has been a constant support through the many years of marriage and ministry. Today what I am is because of the GRACE of God that was showered upon me on the 18th, August 1992. That GRACE is the reason of my sustenance every passing day. Praise be to God the Almighty for His Amazing GRACE. I want to conclude with this word of blessing for all of us!

"God is able to make all GRACE abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work!" (2 Corinthians 9:8)

What if the Worst Offenders are Christian Leaders?

A lady shared with me her experience that is quite common in the roads of Bangalore. She was walking in the path meant for pedestrians. A motor cycle nearly bumped on her. Not even noticing who the motorist was, she caught hold of the shirt-collar of the offender. To her surprise she found that he was a city-police. How often we find the same scenarios in Christian families, churches and organisations, where the worst offenders happen to be regular church-goers, bible-lovers, worst of all pastors and bishops? I am citing two cases of such offences from the Scriptures and the ways they were dealt with.

A group of the people of Israel who lived in exile, including the priests and the Levites trespassed the laws of God. These Yahweh worshipers and most of all, leaders married from non-Yahweh backgrounds which they were not supposed to do (Exodus 34:16). God used Ezra, a priest to deal with this unfaithfulness of the leaders (Ezra 9:2). Ezra was altogether a different priest because the Bible tells that he had devoted himself to read, practise and teach the word of God (7:9-10). Now we know that the offenders of that day and today can read and even teach the word of God, but not practise them! What did Ezra do on seeing such an offense? He was appalled and tore his clothes, pulled his hair and interceded to the Lord and confessed the sins of the people (9:5) . The fear of the Lord gripped the community to an extent that the offenders confessed their sin and agreed to get rid off their foreign wives (chapter 10).

The Corinthian church had sexual immorality within the church. Paul adds a shameful note here to say that, that was a kind that does not occur even among non-Christians (I Corinthians 5:1). Paul’s advice here was not to associate with such offenders and he even says to expel such a wicked man who is in wolves clothing in a community of believers (v.9-13). Paul adds to the offenders’ list the so-called Christians who are greedy, idolaters or slanderers, drunkards or swindlers. The question is: how to judge Christian offenders and who will judge? Paul says that the ones inside the church have to do that (chapter 6). And what if the judgement is unfair? The judges inside the church may wrong the one who raised the issue. But Paul says it is better to be wronged, cheated than to wrong and to cheat (v.7-8). Paul fears the worst too, saying “Dare not take it to legal courts,” because exposure of such sins of Christians in front of unbelievers puts God’s name in vain (v.6). Even in cases where offenders win, the Bible says that such people will not inherit the kingdom of God (v.9).

The Bible expects a practical-Christian to deal with the worst offenders within a Christian community based on Biblical principles. In unfair judgements, it is better to be wronged, cheated than to wrong and cheat. And it is better to choose to glorify His name than to gain glory by winning a case! After all, is not following the counsels of God the "best" choice than choose to do anything else?