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1 2 3 Dear friends, Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It gives me immense joy to relate to you through this letter every month and I praise God for this. Present scenario: We have been hearing and seeing terrible news these days – a young woman was murdered ruthlessly in the early hours of the day in Chennai, young men turning out as terrorists and slaughtering innocent people brutally.– young and old alike in Dhaka, drunken reckless driving by men and women costing the lives of many. Theft, murder, rape have become more common than ever. These incidents all over the world only tell us that we are living in the end times and that the coming of the Lord is near. So, it is important to be watchful because our fiery enemy Satan is very active in this hour, as he knows his time is short. But the good news is that we have a Great Shepherd of our souls, a strong Deliverer, Lord Jesus with us always. When we take shelter in His loving arms – surely He will save us from the fowler’s snare and from deadly pestilence. In Ezekiel 34:12 He says, As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after My sheep. I will rescue them. What a wonderful encouragement we receive from our God Almighty. Prayer fellowship: We all know the importance of prayer. But for various reasons, we are not exercising it in our day-to-day life. We are not serious about it and so the time that we give to our Lord is reducing day after day. Worldly pressures prevent us to go and wait at the feet of our Lord God. Without prayer, we will not succeed in our life’s effort. Without prayer, nothing happens in our lives. Saints in the Bible teach us great lessons. Through prayer they were able to stop the rains for years and even the sun for some hours. Through prayer, people witnessed mighty fire from above that licked the sacrifice and water at Carmel. Through prayer, our Lord Jesus got power from above to accept the cross and to accomplish the will of God at Gethsemane and at Golgotha. On the second Saturday of every month, a time of prayer is observed in our church vestry from 10 am to 12 noon, and it is a time of fellowship and joy. Do join and relish the greatness of our God. Let us be transformed in our lives according to the expectation of our God. It is the need of the hour. Annual Thanksgiving Festival – 2016: This year our Church’s ATF will be celebrated on the first Sunday in September as usual. (04.09.2016). Let us be reminded of our Lord’s commandment regarding this: 4 Proverbs 3:9, 10 – Honour the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce. Then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. The Pastorate Committee which met on 24 July has appointed the following persons to be this year’s ATF Convenors. Mrs. Nirmala Stephen Mrs. Prema Samuel Mr. Bright Joseph Mr. Ajit Stanley Moses Let us extend our fullest co-operation and support to the convenors when they approach us. Thanksgiving ceremonies and celebrations for a successful harvest are a world-wide tradition. We celebrate this day by singing, praying and decorating our churches with baskets of fruit and food in a festival known as the ‘Harvest Festival’, usually during the month of September. Harvest festival reminds Christians of all the good things God gives them. The first harvest that is recorded in the Holy Bible – Genesis 4:2-5 – presents a study in contrast. Cain and Abel brought their offerings to the Lord – fruits and choice cuts of meat respectively. The Lord accepted Abel’s offerings but rejected the offerings of Cain. This led to jealousy and Cain killed Abel. One explanation for the Lord accepting Abel’s offering is that it was a choice of the best cuts of meat with the fat to express his sincere gratitude, whereas Cain’s offering was apparently a formality done more to please the Lord. Whatever be the reason, the Thanksgiving Festival is celebrated to acknowledge that God Almighty is the source of every blessing in our lives and He is the one who sustains us. Let us observe this year’s ATF meaningfully, reverently and with a true sense of gratitude. Village church building project at R. S. Mangapuram is coming up well as per plan and it is expected to get over completely in six weeks’ time. I praise God for the burden that God has sowed in the minds of our Church elders, and the sincere involvement that all our members are showing regarding the project. God-willing this church will be dedicated to the glory of God and for the use of His people on the fourth Saturday in September, by our Bishop the Rt. Rev. Dr. J. George Stephen. Let us keep this day free to attend the dedication service and to witness the mighty acts of God. Let me conclude my letter with some Emergency – Bible numbers for use in our faith journey. 5 Upset - John 14 Weak - Psalm 18:1-29 Lonely - Psalm 23 Sinned - Psalm 51 Worried – Mathew 8:19-31 Anxious – Philippians 4:4-9 Unhappy – Colossians 3:12-17 In Danger – Psalm 91 Depressed – Psalm 27 Lack of faith – Exodus 14 Need courage – Joshua 1 Need direction – Psalm 73:21-26 Seeking peace – Mathew 11: 25-30 Leaving on a trip – Psalm 121 Struggling with loss – Luke 15 Struggling financially – Psalm 37 Discouraged with work – Psalm 126 Let this month be a blessed month for each one of us. Be assured of our prayers at all times. May God bless you all Yours in the ministry of God Rev. D. Richard Ambrose Jebakumar Presbyter-in-charge 6 UNANSWERED PRAYER We are a generation that will not easily take ‘no’ for an answer. It’s incredibly difficult for us to imagine that God sometimes says ‘no’ too, even after we pray and plead earnestly for things that we desire. But on the contrary, unanswered prayers could be a: Test of faith – Often we are led to think that our prayer was unanswered because we did not have enough faith. But in Luke 17:6 we find that faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to move a mulberry tree into the sea! Thus the effectiveness of our prayers depends not on how much faith we have, but on whether we have faith at all. Another example of great faith is the Roman Centurion in Luke 7:9, who pleads for the healing of his dying servant. Thus faith is just about “trusting God’s power.” Signal to wait – Waiting on unanswered prayers can be emotionally stressful. But then we need to remember that our timing is not always the way God has planned it, for “He has made everything beautiful in its time” Ecclesiastes 3:11. Sometimes, God delays so that we will learn a valuable lesson that will propel us to greater spiritual growth. ‘No’ from God – Unanswered prayers could simply be instances in which God has lovingly overruled our wishes, as He knows that what we have asked for is not best. Sometimes it may seem that God is not listening to us when we are in trouble, and it can be emotionally draining. Jesus went through that emotion too in the garden of Gethsemane, He agonized for hours in prayer, pouring out His heart and pleading, “Let this cup pass from Me” (Matt. 26:39). It’s interesting to note that the Old Testament cup is a metaphor for both God’s blessings (Pss. 16:5; 23:5) and God’s wrath (Pss. 75:8; Isa. 51:17; Jer. 25:15). But the Father’s answer was clearly “No.” To provide salvation, God had to send Jesus to die on the cross. Even though Jesus felt as if His Father had forsaken Him, He prayed intensely and passionately because He trusted that God was listening and paved the way for the ultimate blessing. As Daniel De Haan puts it, “Unanswered prayers are answered still As part of God’s great master plan; They help to carry out His will To demonstrate God’s love for man.” Fabiola Jacob 7 This month’s cover is a snapshot of the charming St. Peter’s Church at Kodaikanal, clicked by Sushil Venglet. About the Church A winding drive takes you up to St. Peter’s Church, which stands majestically at the hilltop (Mount Nebo) with a serene background against the blue sky overlooking the Periakulam Valley and the Vaigai Dam. The view from here is amazingly breathtaking. The interior of the Church is equally beautiful with its hammered roof beam ceiling and vivid stained glass paintings. St. Peter’s Church was built in 1887 by the Late Bishop Robert Caldwell (1814-1891). This Irish missionary landed in Chennai as a 24 year old youth, walked extensively throughout Tamil Nadu and settled in Idayangudi, (a tiny village in Tirunelveli District) where he spent 43 years improving and educating the people around this place. Caldwell grew passionately interested in the study of languages, particularly Tamil and wrote the ‘Comparatative Grammar of the Dravidian Languages’. For this the Tamil Nadu Government honoured him by erecting his statue in Marina Beach, Chennai. In his old age, Bishop Caldwell built his house in Kodaikanal, and climbed up a nearby hill for quiet prayer.