|
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
- P. J. K
Persecution has come as a blessing in disguise,
uniting the entire Christian community to work from a single platform.
Amidst the ever-increasing persecution on the community, We stand united
as one body of Christ, thus breaking the shackles of the denominational
and ideological barriers in the process. But for how long can this unity
stand, achieved amidst the fear of persecution?
When God delivered His chosen ones from the bondage
in Egypt, they were united for the privileges and luxuries of the
Promised Land.
Impatience grew, the grumbling started and a heavy
price had to be paid before the chosen few could reach the Promised
Land. Let us not be disillusioned, a mere 2.34% cannot flex its muscles
under any circumstances. Hence, with prayer and retrospection we should
make every move, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to fulfill God's
plan through this persecution.
Yours in Christ - P. J. K
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
- Joseph D'
Souza
Do you know that life at the top is lonely? If you
find yourself saying "yes, that's right" then this piece is for you. Not
because you will find some simple solutions but because you will find
that like you many others find life at the top lonely.
I was looking for a term that would capture the
inner world of leadership where there are stresses, problems, tensions,
pain and also real joy and satisfaction. I came up with a term,
'Hard-Joy'.
The Joys in leadership is down there at the
fundamental level because Christian leadership is essentially obedience
to the service God has called some to. But these joys are paid for in
pain, tears, illness and loneliness. And they come hard.
CONSIDER
CRITICISM
Once you are in the leadership ring the criticism
punches are bound to surprise, jolt, knock and hurt you. Whether right
or wrong the punches come, and often when you just feel you are doing
well in leadership. How does anyone turn this into a 'hard-joy'? This is
the tough stuff of leadership. As the one who is called to serve through
leadership you have to be gracious and forgiving those who launch those
punches. You are their shepherd and you have to guide them. Their
Criticism of you may be innocent, ill - informed or deliberate. But you
have to lead them, serve them and carry them forward in Christian life
and ministry. You accept the punches not out of a martyr complex but
with the knowledge you have to guide and lead them forward in faith.
Deliberate wrongs are accepted for what they are, the pain understood
and forgiven because leadership is service. You experience from God a
'hard-joy'. You are blessed because you are servant of God. The
servant's privilege is to know a 'hard-joy'.
How about failure? Do leaders fail in their jobs? I
have done dumb things as a leader. Sometimes my failure has been
serious. Failure is a curious thing. It turns you inward and there is a
sense of discouragement and guilt. And on the other hand the outside
world focuses it" attention on you often with a magnifying glass. You
have to live with failure itself and with others perspective on your
just wonder when you will get out of the tunnel.
But failure is a 'hard-joy'! In the first place you
would not have failed if you did not have the job to lead.
Good leadership is hard fought and hard won. It
involves sweat, strength of character and bruises of failure. Do they
teach this in Christian Leadership Schools? You know to get up after a
failure, to wipe the dust of a blunder, to walk tall, to get yourself
together and believe in God's help and to take up the yoke of leadership
and again is a hard-joy. You are doing it for God and that is
hard-joy.
SUCCESSION
This is the land mine of leadership. It has blown
up of many a leader and organisation. You cannot think placidly about a
work you have built and carried. After all who knows the heart ache you
have endured. The sleepless nights and the energy spent.
You have to now hand it over knowing well enough
that things will not be just the same once you are out of the picture.
You might think that those 'Presidents-for-Life' the Pope, and all those
gurus have a better deal. Succession becomes an issue after you have
left this world. You don't have to bother about the pain, question and
loss of authority or influence. The succession process is not clean.
Sometimes it is messy and leaves people with hurt. How soon should you
announce who should take over? Peter Drucker advises not to announce the
name until you actually do it. Often the one you think might be your
successor does not turn out to be the successor. Someone else may arrive
on the scene and be the right man to take over the leadership.
Succession is a hard-joy. It is the acceptance of one's limits in this
present world and the knowledge that what you have laboured for is
conserved in the best possible way. It is the season of life when you
experience more and more 'loss'. The loss is positive and healthy
because to signals you have completed things, achieved some results,
loved somebody for a long time and it's time to wind up.
HARD-JOY
What kind of success should you have so that you
know you have done well? I love cricket. In test cricket if you are a
batsman and achieve a career average of 50 odd runs per test, you are a
great batsman. In one day cricket if you average over 35 runs per match
you are a good batsman. If you approach an average of around 100 in test
match like the one and only Don Bradman you are super great and the one
and only one.
In Christian leadership if your batting average is
about 50 you are simply great and any thing above 35 is good and
something to be really happy about. To carry the metaphor further the
bouncers of criticism, failure and succession if handled correctly only
trigger hard-joy. Enjoy your
'hard-joys'.
- Executive Director, Operation Mobilisation India.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
- Rev.Dr.Elia Pradeep Samuel
One of the first major problems of guidance usually
faced by young people is knowing what vocation God wants them to take up
and where they should work.
God's perfect will in vocation needs to be sought
not only by those contemplating full time Christian Service, but by
every believer. God has planned a vocation for each of his child. It is
essential then that we seek to find out what it is. If God's calling for
you is to be a teacher in a school, you would be disobedient if you
became a Pastor. Do not be an evangelist if God wants you to be a
doctor. Likewise, don't take up a Secular Vocation if God wants you in
an exclusively Christian Service.
How should a believer go about the matter of
finding God's will in this realm? Where the opinion of choosing a career
is still open before him, he should consider his intellectual aptitude
and seek to study for the vocation most fitting to him. He should
however select a vocation only after much prayer. They should never, in
any case allow themselves to be pushed into a vocation selected for him
by someone else. Throughout their student days a believer should be
much in prayer that God will give right information about job,
opportunities, and contacts with right people so that on completion of
their studies, they will be able to go to the place of God's choice.
They must seek the advice and prayer fellowship of mature
believers.
Man's greatest honour and privilege is to do the
will of God. This was what the Lord taught his disciples. He once said,
that only those who did his Father's will would to enter the
Kingdom of Heaven - Matthew
7:21. Peter declared that God sets men free from sin so that they
can do His will. - 1 peter
4:12. Paul asserted believers are created anew in Christ Jesus,
so that they can walk in a path God has already mapped out for them. He
therefore exhorted the Ephesians, Christians not to be foolish, but to
understand what the will of the Lord was for their lives - Eph2:10,5:17. He prayed for
the Colossian Christians that they might be filled with the knowledge of
God's will. The apostle John taught that only those who did the will of
God would abide forever - 1 John
2:17
This emphasis is unfortunately rare in our day and
generation. Hence the shallowness and powerlessness of the average
believers today. People are urged to come to Jesus merely to receive
forgiveness.
David himself tells us elsewhere that he delighted
in doing God's will - Ps
40:8. He was not a perfect man. He committed many sins, some were
very serious ones, for which God had to punish him severely. Yet God
forgave him, because David wanted to do all of God's will. This
encourages us to believe that inspite of all our imperfectness,
shortcoming, gone far ahead the road against his will remember there is
always a U-turn available. If only our hearts are set on doing His will.
The guiding principle of Jesus' entire life and ministry was to do the
will of his Father.
As men crave for food to nourish their bodies, He
craved to do the will of the one who has sent Him. Every believer should
have a similar hunger to fulfill the will of God. How easy it is to
pray, "Thy will be done" and then to do just as we please, without
seeking God's guidance in our lives.
1 - GOD'S PLAN IS THE BEST
We sometimes come to crossroads in our lives, where
we have to make decisions, with far-reaching consequences, decisions
such as the choice of a career and of a life-partner affect our entire
future. How are we to decide at such times? We know nothing of the
dangers and the hidden pitfalls along each path. We know nothing of the
snares Satan has laid for us. And yet we have to decide which path we
have to take.
It would therefore be necessary for us to have
someone beside at such times whom we can trust fully, who knows the
entire future, and that is Lord Jesus Christ, who is ever-ready to guide
us along the safest and best path.
Eph 2
:10 says, "God has a specific plan
for each of our lives". He has planned a career for us and even
planned where we should live and what we should do each day.
In each case, His choice must be the best, for He
knows us so well. It is wisest then to seek His will in all
matters.
Many have made shipwreck of their lives by failing
to seek the will of God right from their youth. - Lam 3:27 says,"It is good for a man that he bear the yoke
in his youth." - Matthew 11:28-30,
Jesus invites us to take His yoke upon us. What does it mean to take the
yoke? Oxen that are used to plough fields are kept together by a yoke
upon their necks. When a new Ox is to be trained to plough, it is yoked
together with an experienced Ox. This is what it means to take the yoke
of Jesus upon us. We shall have to walk with Jesus in the path that
pleases Him. The Ox is forced by its neck. But Jesus invites us, "Come
unto me - wear my yoke and you shall find rest for your
souls.
We read of Enoch that he walked in God's appointed
path for 300 years. As a result, God testified that he was pleased with
Enoch's life - Heb 11:5.
This is the only way to be able to stand before Him without regret when
He comes again.
MISSING GOD'S PLAN
It is possible for a believer to miss God's perfect
will for his life. Saul was chosen by God to be King over Isreal, but
because of his impatience and disobedience God had to reject him, he
missed God's will for his life. Solomon is another example. He pleased
God in his earlier days but fell away.
Many of us have similarly missed God's perfect plan
for our lives through disobedience and compromise - often in our
marriage or in the choice of a career.
If you have disobeyed God in some matter, turn to
him in repentance now, before it is too late. It may yet be possible for
you, as in Jonah's case, to come back into the main stream of God's plan
for your life. Each one of us has but one life. Blessed is the man who
like Paul, can say at the end of it, that he has finished his God
appointed task. - 2 Tim
4:7
"The world and all its passionate desires will one
day disappear. But the man who is following God's will is part of the
permanent and cannot die. - 1
John 2:17
"Live life then with due sense of responsibility.
Make the best use of your time- despite all difficulties. Every believer
irrespective of his vocation is called to be a full time witness of the
LORD JESUS CHRIST."
-
By Rev.Dr.Elia Pradeep Samuel
Pastor, District
Superintendent. Methodist Church In India, Hyderabad - 500 001. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
The Holy Shroud, kept in Turin Cathedral since
1572, is believed to be Jesus Christ's winding sheet as it bore the
faint outlines of His body.
It was photographed in 1898 and a clear imprint of
the face and body of a man emerged. The cloth shows the outline of a
naked man, 6ft tall, with shoulder length hair and beard. There are
marks of several flogging and wounds where nails were driven through the
wrists and where a single nail fastened both feet. There is also a wound
on the right side, between the fifth and sixth ribs.
There are bruises on the shoulders, which could
have been made by carrying a heavy log, lacerations on the knees from
heavy falls and blood from scratches on the forehead which could have
been caused by the crown of thorns.
It even shows the imprint of coins placed on the
eyes of the dead man. Later in 1980 they were figured out to be those
minted between AD30 and AD32, when Pontius Pilate governed Palestine.
Everything clearly confirms that he was severely tortured and crucified.
All the wounds are consistent with the description
of Christ's crucifixion in the Holy Bible. Medical evidences puts the
age of the dead man between 30 and 45 years. If so, who else could be
this except for Christ.
SCIENTIFIC PROOF
Despite all claims for and against its
authenticity, it could neither be confirmed nor proved fake by the
series of scientific tests made on the cloth. As there is no evidence of
pigment it could not have been painted. Analysis of the cloth has shown
that it is of ancient Middle-Eastern origin and that some of the pollen
it contained came from the plants normally found around the Dead Sea in
Palestine. It is still a mystery as to how the image came to be
imprinted on the fabric so firmly that it has survived the centuries. It
may have been caused by gas, probably ammonia, from the skin mixing with
the ritual burial spices or by a violent burst of radiant heat. But
still, why this particular shroud retains such unique clarity and detail
is still a mystery. The photograph on the cover page is a computerised
image developed from the original imprint on the Turin cloth.
WHO IS THIS JESUS?
Governor of Judea's Report
to Caesar on Jesus Christ
Thus described Publius Lentulus, Governor of Judea
in a report written in Aramaic on stone found in an excavated city,
addressed to Tuberous Caesar, Emperor of Rome.
"There lives, at this time, in Judea, a man of
singular virtue whose name is Jesus Christ, whom the barbarians esteem
as a Prophet, but His followers love and adore Him as the offspring of
the immortal God. He calls back the dead from the graves, and heals all
sorts of diseases with a word or a touch.
He is a tall man, and well shaped of an amiable
reverend aspect; His hair of a colour that can hardly be matched, the
colour of chestnut tree fully ripe, falling in waves about His
shoulders. His forehead high, large and imposing; His cheeks without
spots or wrinkle, beautiful with a lovely red; His nose and mouth formed
with exquisite symmetry; His beard thick and of a colour suitable of His
hair reaching below His chin. His eyes bright blue, clear and serene,
look innocent, dignified, manly and mature, In proportion of body, most
perfect and captivating, His hands and arms most delectable to
behold.
He rebukes with majesty, counsels with mildness.
His whole address, whether in word or deed, being eloquent and grave. No
man has seen him laugh, yet his manner is exceedingly pleasant, but He
has wept in the presence of men. He is temperate, modest and wise; a man
for His extra-ordinary beauty and divine perfections, surpassing the
children of men in every sense.
Jesus and His disciples were real,
honest-to-goodness, flesh and blood, breathing, eating, men as well as
spiritual giants. Their divinity was expressed through humanity. In
fact, if Jesus were not man, there is little hope that any of us could
follow Him - and He never seemed to have any doubt that we can follow
Him". |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
- Soprano
Despite all our vociferous claims to be a true
Christian, we fall short in His sight by our unchanged ways.
We tend to judge others, supposed to be sinners-
When God clearly warned us not to do so.
We even profess that the wrath of God would come
upon the unspiritual- Our God is a loving God; He showed His love to the
entire humanity irrespective of their spiritual status but not His
wrath.
When we feel threatened by others presence, we wish
they were dead- How dare we do this to the person for whom God had shed
His very blood?
Sometimes our current behavior does not measure
upto our claims and we cannot defend our authenticity of a true
Christian.
The first step towards success in life is to stop
acting as spiritual policemen and look towards the seven chinks on our
armor through which Satan has been frustrating us.
UNHAPPY WITH
GOD
Though we do not admit, we know we are unhappy and
dejected. Even the eternal faith we express does not cheer us up. In our
view God seemed to fall short of our expectations. Then how can we ask
others to follow God, if we ourselves are unhappy? Despite the
countenance betraying us, we make put a clean image before men, but God
cannot be deceived by our hypocrisy, He has the last say in this issue
- Matt. 7: 21-23. Though
we Love God, we sometimes may be unhappy because we did not expect
things to be thus. - Num
14:1-4
UNCHANGED
LIVES
When we stop living under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit and the Word of God - Galatians 5: 16-26, we are pulled down
to our original self. At this stage we are no better than non-Christians
- Romans 7: 14-25. Thus
the decision made to serve the Lord lose their direction in the struggle
with self.
SELF -
DEPENDENCE
Sometimes we boast of our commitment and the desire
to follow Jesus despite all trials and tribulations but fail very
miserably as the tough-minded Peter failed on the night of Jesus' arrest
- Luke 22:33,34. God wants
us to trust Him on His terms alone and use our best judgement and reason
in doing so. Once we forget the principle of God- dependence we fail in
our desire to stand as true Christian
UNGUARDED
King David was a man after God's own heart - Acts 13: 22, with a great love
for the law of God who was committed to avoiding moral and Spiritual
failures - Psalm 119:11.
Despite all this he became an adulterer and murderer in an unguarded
moment. - 1 Corinthians
10:12
UNSEARCHED HEART
With self-deception we boast of our Love to God and
commitment to His work. But our unchecked motives can wreck havoc in
others as the Prophet Jeremiah aptly Said,"The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; Who can know it?" - Jeremiah 17:9. Thus before the judgement comes lets
pray, "search me, O God, and know my heart; try me,
and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and
lead me in the way everlasting". - Psalm 139: 23,24
UNACCOUNTABILITY
Many of us have developed a spirit of
self-righteousness and declared independence, which is contrary to
Christ's plan for His Church. We as a body of Christ should be one,
accepting inter-dependency - 1
Corinthians 12. We cannot be a mature Christian with our natural
talents and assets. Even the strongest Christians were never meant to go
it alone, hence let us love one another and lead a life of purpose.
OVERCONFIDENCE
Satan is fighting a war of attrition. It can
confuse and neutralize any Spiritual giant and add to its list of
casualties. It is cleaver beyond human comprehension and can render a
true Christian ineffective. Thus we should know our enemy who is looking
for chinks in our armour to launch an attack and make inroads into our
lives. Be prepared -
Ephesians 6: 10-20, for the predator is on the prowl. -
1 Peter 5:8 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
- C.R.Prabhakar
God had a great plan for Saul and the persecutor
turned out to be one of the greatest apostle. Miracles are for everyday,
they are not restricted to the days of the early Church. The testimony
of Bro.C.R.Prabhakar follows, wherein by divine intervention, a
Christian persecutor who burnt the Bibles, destroyed Gospel tracts and
harassed the evangelists turns to the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He
was a sorcerer and a recorded criminal who was twice imprisoned in the
Warangal Central Jail. Can you believe?, today he is a full time
evangelist serving in the Medak region for a divine cause. Praise God..
"I, C.R.Prabhakar, was born and brought up in a
non-Christian family. I was a rebellious child and an anti-social
element during my youth and was imprisoned twice in the central jail of
Warangal. After the sentence I joined the Indian army as Havaldar. I
later, learnt the art of black magic and started using it against the
society.
I persecuted Christian evangelists by harassing
them, destroying their Gospel literature and some times I even burnt the
'Holy Bible'. My evil deeds had no limits. As I was using black magic
against some villagers, near Narsapur - Medak, they gathered in large
numbers and armed with deadly weapons, they attacked me and almost
killed me. They left me thinking that I was dead.
Then as I was lying in the pool of blood, I heard
an audible voice of God, saying "I am the Lord Jesus Christ, believe in
me and you shall be saved". Thus I muttered a prayer and accepted Him.
It took me six months to come out of the hospital and after I was
discharged, I again started scheming against the villagers to
exterminate them. Thus on the night I planned to attack the villagers,
God spoke again in an audible voice.
He warned me to leave the village the very moment
else I would die for sure. Hearing these warnings repeatedly, I panicked
and ran away along with my family members. During the same time the
villagers planned to kill me fearing that I would seek vengeance.
Thus God saved me again from the jaws of death.
Later after landing in Hyderabad, I met the pastors
whom I persecuted and asked them about the voice of Jesus Christ, that
saved me. After experiencing God personally, I dedicated my life to
serve the Lord who is a living God.
Later God started using me miraculously at various
interior villages in the Medak district. Kindly pray for my ministry and
for my family members." |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|

|
|
- Ch. Bhagyalatha
Joseph
To deliver the mankind from the curse of Adam, Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and the Son of God incarnated as
a son of man. He humbled himself and ministered to mankind what God
wanted from us. Finally, He laid down His life on the cross and became a
sacrifice for our sins. As God said "My hands have made thee and shaped
thee".
After creating the earth and finding it good, God
created Adam or Man in His own image and planted him in the Garden of
Eden. - Gen 2:7. Later,
when God found that man was alone, He created Eve or Woman and gave them
both authority over the whole earth. The only thing that they had to do
was to believe God and obey the word of God to remain in blessed
condition. Satan, the arch angel of God, who was thrown out of heaven as
he rebelled against God, entered the Garden of Eden and tempted Adam and
Eve to commit sin. Upto that moment the devil had no authority on the
earth. Adam and Eve chose to reject the word of God and chose to listen
to the devil instead, they bowed their knees obeying him and disobeying
the word of God. Hence, they were separated from God. Death lodged in
their spirits and hence, the nature of sin and death was born in all
men. - 1
John 3:4 clearly records "the wages of sin is death". Earth under the dominion of Satan is cursed.
Health, abundance and freedom was brought under the influence of God,
but under the dominion of the evil one was brought forth sickness,
poverty and bondage. So, remember that it was Adam and not God, who
opened the door to the curse.
Our first parents, disobeyed God and committed sin,
this is the reason why they lost their garment of glory, and became
naked, - Gen 3:7.
According to Philip 2:5,
Christ came to uplift us as per the wish of God and in Rev. 1:3 it is
recorded that the son of man is back in His glory. Even though Satan
deceived Adam by tempting him to eat the condemned fruit, God was still
considerate and wanted His people to be fruitful, - Gen 3:11. However high might be the
spirituality of an individual, Satan has the power to deceive him. Jesus Christ compares deception with a fig
tree. - Matt. 24:32, Luke 13:6. Jesus curses the fig
tree that does not bear the fruit. Let us examine ourselves if we are
deceiving people by our hypocrisy and God by not following His commands.
Christ has reserved a place for his people who follow him. - Rev. 22:2
Adam and Eve had such a communion with God in the
Garden of Eden, that God Himself came to fellowship with them in the
cool of the evening. All the needs of man were abundantly fulfilled.
Adam a perfect Husband and Eve his perfect wife, together had authority
over the whole earth. When they obeyed the devil, they were deceived and
lost the most beautiful fellowship with God, - Genesis 3:9. In the dominion of the devil
there is confusion. So Adam, who had to confess his sin with God started
blaming God for creating Eve, who gave him the fruit. As we walk in our
daily needs let us examine ourselves, if we are confessing our sins to
Christ or blaming our neighbour for the faults we do. As this confusion
is from the evil one, God wants us to look at Him but not the world.
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you". -Matthew 6:33. The door of this curse which was opened by Adam was
given deliverance by God Himself, who lost the fellowship of His only
Son who was sacrificed for our sins, to act as a mediator for the lost
fellowship of God with mankind.
God blames mankind of two evils. One that the
mankind had forsaken Him, second that His people do their own will.
- Jer 2:13. We pray and
ask God to help us without knowing His will. - Ps. 22:1, Matt 19:5. But Jesus Christ
forsaked the Heavenly abode came to the earth lived like a man, stood in
front of Pilate with folded hands for no crime committed by Him and was
crucified for our sins to keep from the guilt of the crime that mankind
has done by betraying God. - Is. 53:5.
Let us examine ourselves and see whether we are
also guilty of the same crime of doing our own will than that of the
Master. Christ came to redeem us of this curse and make us acceptable in
the sight of the Father. The curse started with Adam and the deliverance
came from Jesus Christ, - Rev.
22:3. Christ also gives a promise to all those who walk in His
ways, - Rev. 2:17
For every crime there is a punishment. Adam was
accused by God to be guilty of the sin of eating the forbidden fruit.
Three characters were involved to bring mankind under the punishment of
the crime of sin viz; The serpent, the first woman and the first man.
The Bible records that because of these three the entire mankind was
punished, - Gen 3:15-17,19
Our first parents who were punished by God were
still considered and loved by Him, - Gen. 3:21. Mankind never realised the
influence of the evil one in their lives, so God took the initiative and
the son of God came down from heaven and was crucified. The
crucification of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross had broken the
partition between God and us, -
Eph 2:13,14. With this act He became worthy in the sight of God
and mankind, - Rev.
5:12
The act of crucification made a way for the mankind
into salvation. God, who knew that man can differentiate between good
and evil wanted man to look up to Him and not the World, - Gen. 3:22. But the mankind was
completely taken by the spirit of the air. So, when Jesus was ministering he says, - John
10:7-9, "Verily, Verily I say unto you, I am the door
of the sheep. All that came before me are thieves and robbers: but the
sheep did not hear them. I am the door : by me if any man enter in,
shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture". He made a way to the mankind on the cross,
- John
10:30
Let us all examine our lives and see if there is
any nakedness or deception by which we might be losing our fellowship
with God. If we find that we are empowered by the spirit of darkness,
let us confess our sins to the Lord Jesus Christ, who was punished by
His own creation, and accept the sacrifice what He made for us on the
cross to release us from the curse of Adam to eternal life, ( Rev.21:23,24. "And the city had no need of
the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; and the Lamb is the light
thereof. And the nation which are saved shall walk in the light of it :
and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it".
Thus the restoration was complete through
Jesus Christ. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
Bangalore, Jan
3: "Rather than paying a lip service to the plight of
the minorities under attack in Gujarat, the Prime Minister and Home
Minister should initiate concrete measures to stop atrocities in the
home state of Mahatma Gandhi". -
Jayalalitha, AIADMK.
Hyderabad, Jan
6: "No country need to tell us what we
should do". - Vasundhara
Raje, Union Minister of State for External Affairs on
protests in the USA and Pakistan over the attack on
christians.
Hyderabad, Jan
7: "Sininster forces were making lame
excuses to justify their vandalism by stalling that Churches were
indulging in fradulent conversions and anti-Indian activities". - Archbishop Henry D'Souza President, Catholic church Bishops
of India.
Ahmedabad, Jan 8: "My impression is that everyone here
seems to be in fear, there have been attacks on them and they don't know
when the next attack is going to come. - Sonia
Gandhi, Congress President.
Hyderabad, Jan 20: "I am convinced that destitute children are getting
better care here than at their homes". - Mrs.
Haripriya Rangarajan, Wife of
Governor.
Bhubaneshwar, Jan 24: "That someone who has spent years caring
for patients of Leprosy, instead of being thanked and appreciated as a
role-model, should be done to death in this manner is a monumental
aberration from the traditions of tolerence and humanity for which India
has been known". - K. R.
Narayanan, President of India.
Bhubaneshwar, Jan 24: " I have no hatred for anyone. I have no
anger." - Mrs Glades
Staines, wife of slain
Australian Missionary.
New Delhi, Jan 25: " I have known these organisations for a long time
and they do not have criminal elements." - L. K.
Advani, Union Home Minister on
the involvement of Bajrang Dal in the murder of Staines.
Hyderabad Jan 27: " It is most heinous and the country needs
to restore its sanity." - C.
Rangarajan, Governor of A.P.
Chennai, Jan 28: "
If the Prime Minister himself restores to a fast instead of protecting
society, there is something wrong with our democracy". - G. K. Moopanar, Tamil Manila
Congress Leader.
"Our heads
hang in shame, no mercy would be shown to the perpetrators of this
inhuman crime". - Atal Behari
Vajpayee, Prime Minister of
India.
New Delhi, Jan 31: "So what ?. This sort of thing had
happened in the past and nobody raised a hue and cry then. This is
an international conspiracy to discredit India. - George Fernandes, Union
Minister.
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 2: "Conversion meant a change of heart in response to
God's call irrespective of religion and caste". - Archbishop Rev. Cyril Mar
Baselios.
New Delhi, Feb 2: " I am not prepared to accept that
Christian schools and colleges are forcibly converting anyone. I am also
a student of a Christian college and the moral education classes I
attended have played an important role in my life". - Madan Lal Khurana, former Union
Minister.
Hyderabad, Feb 9: "Christianity had committed several blunders
earlier, including mixing religion with culture. A new thinking had been
emerging within the community which disowns the theory that only Jesus
can help attaining salvation". - Archbishop S.
Arulappa.
Hyderabad, Feb 1: "There has been long-felt impression among
Christians and secular forces that the Archbishop Arulappa has been
leaning towards Hindu fundamentalists for mysterious reasons". - All India United Christian Movement for Equal
Rights.
Hyderabad, Feb 11: "It is most unbecoming on part of Archbishop
S. Arulappa, head of the Catholic Church in A.P., to issue a perverted
statement against the Christian religion and community. It is a
total heretic and blasphemous statement wherein he cannot call himself a
defender of Church". - Catholic Action
ORganisation.
Hyderabad, Feb 11: "If the Archbishop does not refrain from issuing
provocative statements, the Christians would launch an agitation against
him". - National Congress of
Indian Christians.
New Delhi, Feb 12: "The myth of mass or forced conversion is being
spread to create ire among the different tribal groups. Neither
the state government nor the fundamental groups could produce specific
proofs of their conversion claims to the NCM probe team". - James Massey, National Commission
on Minorities member.
New Delhi, Feb 14: "We hang our heads in shame for attacks on
Christians by some people". - Mr. I. K.
Gujral.
New Delhi, Feb 17: "The attacks on Christians are unfortunate and they
are some kind of aberrations which have brought bad name to the Indian
Civilisation". - Mr.
Venkatachalliah, National Human Rights Commission
Chairman. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
'Miracle Gospel Festival', was conducted
at the Imperial Garden Function Hall, Secunderabad, from February 2 to
5. The Gospel meetings were conducted by Rev. Benjamin
Komanapalli.
An evening of worship with Bob Fitts was organised
jointly on February 15 by YWAM and CBN India, at Rail Kalarang,
Secunderabad.
Gospel Association of India conducted a Leadership
Conference on 'Peace and Human
Values', at Taj Residency, Hyderabad, on Feb 16th. The Chief
guest Sri.A.Madhava Reddy, Hon' Minister
for Home and Cinematography, lauded the services rendered by the
Christians to the community and assured condemned the attacks on
Christians in various parts of India. He further assured to extend all
help and protection to Christians in the State of AP. A United Prayer
and fasting of Ministers and Lay leaders was organised on Feb 19th at
Methodist English Church, Secunderabad, by Rev.John
Sabdam for the protection of Christians in the Country
and for the unity of the believers.
Friends Missionary Prayer Band, AP, organised 'Missionary Evening' - attended
by missionaries from Dangs, South Gujarat, on Feb 20th at Centenary
Baptist Church, Secunderabad, to express solidarity to the
missionaries.
The regional branch of The
Global Outreach(India), was inaugurated in the twin cities on Feb
20th.
RZIM, Life Focus Society,
Hyderabad, conducted a seminar on 'Thirsting for Truth', at the conference
hall, Hotel Swagath, Hyderabad, on Feb 20th, with Dr. Michael
Ramsden and Mr. L. T. Jayachandran.
RZIM in co-operation with the
Churches in Hyderabad East, conducted Good News festival with Dr.
Prakash Yesudian from Feb 20th to 22nd, at Baptist Church, Dilsukhnagar,
Hyderabad.
'The Way to Salvation', meetings were
conducted by Rev. P. Sajeeva Rao, Director,
Bible Mission Youth Gospel Team, from Feb 23rd to 25th at
Bhadrachalam, AP. The main speaker for the event was Rev. Dr. J.
John Selvaraj, President, Bible Mission - Guntur,
AP.
All India City Intercessory
Prayer Penetration meets were conducted from Feb 22nd to Feb 27th by
United 'Prayer Movement for Nations', Bangalore, for Peace and Unity in
the Nation at various places in the twin
cities. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
March 1999
PERSECUTION CONTINUES
Pastor
Threatened
Hyderabad, Feb 1: Police protection has been provided to pastor M. S.
Prabhucharan, a Christian priest at Dilsukhnagar, who complained to the
police that his family has been receiving anonymous calls, threatening
them to reconvert into Hinduism.
Protest in
Mizoram
Aizwal, Feb 2: Christian community in Mizoram took out a
silent protest march here against persecution of their counterparts in
other parts of the country.
Pastors
Attacked
Three people, including two
pastors belonging to the Indian Pentecost Daiva Sabha, were attacked by
miscreants at Kumbazha district, Kerala.
Missionary
School Attacked
Muzaffarpur, Feb 5: A missionary school was attacked by a mob
during the bandh called by the BJP - Samata combine. The mob indulged in
heavy stone throwing, smashing window panes and chased away the teachers
and students.
Census of
Criminal Christians
Gandhinagar, Feb 5: The Gujarat government issued a circular asking the
police to gather details about missionaries and their foreign sponsors,
the dossiers of "criminally-bent Christians" and the "tricks" employed
by missionaries in proselytisation activities.
Nun
Raped
Baripada, Feb 5 A Christian nun, an inmate of St. Mary's Convent in
Baripada, was allegedly raped in a running car by two men
disguised as females.
Silent
Procession
Bhubaneshwar, Feb 6: A large number of Christians including women and
children took out an impressive silent procession under the auspices of
the Bhubaneswar Christians Community, in Bhubaneshwar to register its
protest against what it described as the continuing, unprecedented
violence against Christians in several states, particularly in Orissa.
They later submitted a memorandum to a senior official of Raj Bhavan,
addressed to the President of India.
Two Tribal
Christians Killed
Bhubaneshwar, Feb 7: Two tribal Christians , a teenaged girl and a
boy were beaten to death by unidentified assailants in Orissa's
Kandhamal district. The assailants attempted to rape the girl before
killing her and the boy was killed when he tried to resist their bid to
rape the girl.
Church Burnt in
Assam
Guwahati, Feb 7: A Church was destroyed by the Adivasis
in the Gasaigaon subdivision in Kokrajhar district. One of the
inmates was injured in the attack.
Parking Complex
on Cemetry
Visakhapatnam, Feb 7: A controversy is raging over the move by VUDA to
convert a 17th century cemetry in the city into a parking complex, with
Members of Christian Cemetry Board and several others threatening to
take to the streets against the plan.
Converted Dalit
Returns Scholarship
Chennai, Feb11: Mr. Vasagan, a Christian Dalit working in the
Indian Navy at Mumbai, who converted to Christianity from
Hinduism, has returned to Tamil Nadu government, Rs. 6000/-, he had
received as scholarship while studying in school. He felt it was
improper to accept the scholarship after his conversion.
Catholic
Dispensary Ransacked
Gandhinagar, Feb 16: A dispensary run by a catholic institution was
ransacked by unidentified persons in Dakor, Kheda District.
YMCA blames
anti-Christian lobby in MCH
Hyderabad, Feb 23: The MCH sends a notice citing 'serious deviations'
in construction at the north-east corner of YMCA, Secunederad, and takes
up demolition on the north-west part, much to the despair of YMCA.
Mr. B. S. P. Sadanand, senior secretary, said that the demolished wall
was constructed by MCH itself after YMCA gave it 15 feet for road
widening without seeking any compensation and questioned how it had
realised the mistake after 16 years.
Solidarity
Peace Rally
Hyderabad, Feb 27: Christians representing 10 Churches in the City
took out a 'Solidarity Peace Rally', on Feb 27th, to Indira Park against
attacks on Christians. Special peace prayers were conducted at the
venue. A delegation led by Archbishop S. Arulappa later met Governor C.
Rangarajan and submitted a memorandum highlighting the
attacks. |
|