10 Volume 6 Issue 8 August 2016 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (India) Psalm 122:6 Friends Focus August 2016 1 Front Line... n 15th of this month we are celebrating the 70th Independence Day of our motherland. There were many who sacrificed their yesterday for Oour today. Ordinary men and women with love and passion filled their hearts for their motherland shook the foundation of an empire on which the sun never set. India has grown leap and bound in its 70 years of independence from the bondage of the British empire. The country which produced nothing then, reaches the space now. India is growing in its economic power and today become the fastest growing economy in the world. It is the most populous democracy in the world. Lot of social churning takes place and the marginalized and downtrodden communities are striving for their place in the country. We have to praise God for all who made a difference in the growth of this great nation. Paradoxically there is another India which is still craving for its share in the society. Bonded labour, child labour, malnutrition, poverty, child marriage, alcoholism, domestic violence, violence against the women and the weaker sections of the society, discord in the society, extremism, terrorism and many other social evils are plagued the nation. India is not able to be proud about its achievement on Human Development Index. It is hovering around 130 for few years now out of 188 nations. India is having the largest illiterate population. ¼ of its people are living below poverty line. The large population of this nation is yet to hear about the Saviour and His gift of salvation by grace through faith. In the month of India’s independence let us reiterate our commitment to pray that the country may be delivered from the ills afflicting this nation. God has given us a powerful weapon in the form of prayer to deliver this nation from the challenges it is facing. Let us pray for an India which is prosperous and knowing Christ. 2Ch 7:14 "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (NKJV) Wish you a happy Independence Day 2 Friends Focus August 2016 Independence doesn’t mean you decide the way you want. FRIENDS FOCUS is the official organ - Stephen Breyer of Friends Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB). Who through faith are shielded FMPB is an indigenous Missionary Movement presenting the Gospel of by God’s power until the coming the Lord Jesus Christ to unreached of the salvation that is ready to people groups in India. be revealed in the last time FMPB serves as an arm of the Church - 1 Peter 1:5 to plant Churches across the country. FMPB does saturation evangelism The most dangerous thing in the among various people groups. world is the sin of self reliance FMPB invites Churches, institutions, and the stupor of worldliness families and individuals to pray and support its work. - John Piper For remarks, recommendations and requests He provided redemption for [email protected] his people; he ordained his covenant forever holy and awesome is his name A monthly blossom of FMPB - Psalm 111:9 Publisher & Editor Rev. D. Simon Ponniah The four cornerstones of SUBSCRIPTION INDIA FOREIGN character on which the structure Annual Rs.100 Rs.600 of this nation was built are: Life Rs.1500 Rs.5,000 Initiative, Imagination, H.Q: 29, High School Road, Ambattur, Chennai - 600 053 Individuality and Independence. Tel: +91-44-2657 0404 Fax: 2657 3353 Cell: 9444394342 - Eddle Rickenbacker. E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.fmpb.co.in So if the Son sets you free, Layout and Preparation: Communication Dept., fmpb you will be free indeed - John 8:36 Friends Focus August 2016 3 From General Secretary's Desk... Dear Brothers, Sisters and little ones, Thirdly, Christ commands us to God has chosen us so that we may go love one another (15:12). This is and bear fruit-fruit that will last. (John strategically emphasized at the end of 15:16a). Just as right conditions are this passage in verse 17. Loving Christ needed for a tree to bear fruit, our and remaining in His love (15:9) is the lives and ministry can be fruitful only basis of our loving another. We are when the right conditions described in called to love one another irrespective John 15:1-17are fulfilled. These are: of whether the other person does what Remaining in Christ, submitting oneself I like, agrees with what I say or is a to pruning and loving one another. good or bad person. We love one another because Christ has loved us Remaining in Christ is trusting Him and and accepted us irrespective of who loving Him (15: 8, 9) Loving Christ or we are and what we have done. remaining in His love is possible by obeying God’s commands (15: 10). Let us fulfil these three conditions and Jesus categorically says that unless God will definitely make our lives and we remain in Him we cannot bear ministry fruitful. any fruit (15. 4) The importance of Even when we lead fruitful lives, we Mentoring: need to submit ourselves to pruning A two day seminar was held at Jhansi so that we may bear more fruit (15: for our senior missionaries on June 30 2). This means allowing ourselves to and July 1 to teach the why and how of be shaped, trained and moulded in all mentoring. Rev. Kenneddy Danabalan, areas of our lives. General Director of EFICOR and Rev. 4 Friends Focus August 2016 C.B. Samuel, the former General to ensure revival and renewal of Director of EFICOR were the resource our integrated congregations in persons. This convinced us of the Gujarat and to reach out the vast need to mentor or train missionaries, multitudes yet to be reached a evangelists and church elders to Joint Cooperation Committee was take up leadership at all levels the constituted and to make a beginning. way Jesus trained and prepared His One day conference for the pastors disciples to carry on the ministry after of the integrated churches and our He left. This was followed by the missionaries has been planned on meeting of these senior missionaries August 27 in Pippalvada. We are with the President to plan and discuss thankful to the Bishop for his full the ministry ahead. support to this partnership. Please pray for the success of this initiative. Gujarat Visit: I undertook a six day tour of Gujarat Three day fasting and prayer: visiting Peth, Randha, Jhavda, A nation-wide three day fasting and Pippalvada, Vyara, Ahmedabad, prayer at several centres both in our Netrang and Selamba. All our mobilization and mission field areas missionaries serving in Gujarat met has been planned on 12, 13 and 14 at our training centre at Fokdi on July of August to pray for our nation. You 19 to plan for making our ministry are encouraged to participate at the more fruitful in Gujarat. They left centre nearest to you or organize one with definite goals and strategies to in your area. achieve these goals. They have also planned for periodic focussed prayers May God bless all your efforts for as clusters of mission fields to ensure the cause of his kingdom more and that their planning succeeds. more fruitful! Meeting with the Bishop of Yours in Christ, CNI Gujarat Diocese: Along with the senior missionaries in Gujarat I had a meeting with Rt. Rev. Silvans Christian, Bishop of CNI-Gujarat Diocese to review our mutual cooperation and partnership. Sudarshan Thomas To continue our cooperation and Friends Focus August 2016 5 Bible Study by FMPB President Mr. John Samuel during Tamil Nadu Annual Camp rayer is the strong pillar on Pwhich the edifice of Friends Missionary Prayer Band has been constructed. When we fast and pray, the Lord God responds to our prayers. We undertake fasting prayers on Wednesdays. We pray daily. Jesus Christ says in Luke 10:02, “There is a Some of us opine, “I pray daily, large harvest, but few workers to I attend spiritual meetings, hence gather it in. Pray to the owner I lead a life of holiness”. It is of the harvest that He will send not enough. Do we read and out workers to gather in His meditate the Bible? harvest”. To remind this verse, we may set up the alarm in our For today’s meditation, I have wrist watch at 10:02, so that we selected Colossians chapter 3. can pray wherever we are and God tells us through this passage we can spend 15 to 30 minutes that we ought to consecrate our a night at this scheduled time. lives. Two points are mentioned The setting up of alarm at 10:2 here: One, how you should be; will remind us the verse of Luke two, how not you be. Before we 10:2. We can pray to God to go to sleep at night, we read a send more missionaries, pray part of a Psalm or a few verses for the ministries of FMPB. Most from the Bible and thus we feel of us are very good in praying, contented that God is with us but we do not spend much time and He blesses us. Surely God’s in meditating the Word of God. blessing is with us. But have we We need to meditate the Bible ever meditated on how to live along with our family members.