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Vol. 10 / Issue 18 / November 16 2006

Contents of this issue

Editorial Download Palm Doc format
The Servants of the Cross Download Palm Doc format


News Items (Common to all issues) :
Standing in the Gap - Fasting prayer on 8th July. 2008
Printed Version of the Magazine
Download Articles in Handheld Computers
Please Join us in "Peace Prayer Room"
Your Spam Folder
Hindi / Malayalam/Tamil Bible Online
Free Tutorials for your Kids!
Allah and Elohim - Are they the same God? Book
Free E-Cards
Online Games for you!

Editorial

By Sherly Isaac

Jesus often preached in parables. One day He revealed the scene in heaven of joy and celebration when a sinner repents and turns to Christ. He said that it is like regaining a very precious and valuable treasure lost with no prospect of recovery. Among those parables there was a parable of hundred sheep.

There was a man who had hundred sheep. He loved each sheep. Everyday morning he would take them out and lead them in valleys, hills and by the side of rivers where they could find green pastures and fresh water. In the evening he would count his sheep one by one and keep inside the barn where they could be safe and warm. One day when he was counting his sheep he found that one sheep was missing. He counted it again then again then again and his heart pounded. "Oh, one of my little sheep is missing..." he sighed. Not giving thought about himself of the dangers he may have to face in the jungle at night, he left all his sheep and went searching for the one missing sheep. He walked back to the places where all his sheep were grazing, calling the name of the missing little sheep. Looking for it in every pit and every bush, when he finally found the lost sheep, his joy had no bounds. we read in Luke 15:5-6, "he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Again Jesus said another parable of a woman who had ten silver coins. She lost one of her coins. She lit up a lamp, swept the house and searched carefully until she found it. She would not rest but continued searching diligently till she succeeded in her mission. The reason, her precious thing was lost. Luke 15:9-10 says "And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!' Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

Jesus said yet another story of a prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. There was a man who had two sons. One day the younger son told his father to give him the portion of his goods. So the father divided his possession and gave a portion to his younger son. Soon the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. When all his money was gone, his friends also left him and so with no other choice he started doing the work of feeding swine in the fields. He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, but no one gave him anything. One day he realized his mistake and says in Luke 15:17-19, "'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."'

He returned to his country and while he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. He threw a big party. He rejoiced over his lost son who was found. That's the love of a father. No matter how bad his son was, no matter how much money he wasted yet father received him with open arms. That's the love of a father.

We are also like lost sheep, lost coin or prodigal son. Our sins have separated us from God and His loving care. But He could not sit quiet. He came searching for us leaving His heavenly abode. Why? Because He loves us and cares for us. We are precious in His sight. He wants us back in His fold. Bible says in Ezek 34:11, "'For thus says the Lord GOD: "Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.'" For the very purpose Jesus came in this world and gave His precious life for us. We read in Luke 19:10 "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." He is calling you to receive us with His open arms. Come to Him and enter into the joy of the Lord.

The Servants of the Cross

By Sherly Isaac

Those who truly follow Christ suffer greatly. It is the way of the Cross which is not an easy one. I was reading the Biography of a missionary named John G. Paton who worked among cannibals. It is a story of a person who was among vicious, blood thirsty people who did not give a second thought before killing and eating others. These were the people who did sorcery, witchcraft and human sacrifices to demons. Several times Paton's life was threatened and at times he thought that those were the last moments of his life and yet God protected him every time miraculously.


When he was chosen to be sent among man-eaters almost everyone thought it was very foolish for a promising young man to go to live among the cruel and uncivilized natives of the islands of the South Pacific. One old man exclaimed, "The cannibals! You will be eaten by cannibals!"


"Mr. Dixon," replied the young missionary appointee, "you are advanced in years now and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms. I confess to you that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether my body is eaten by cannibals or by worms and in the great day, my resurrected body will arise fair as yours, in the likeness of our risen Redeemer."

In the year 1858 when he left for the South Pacific with his wife and one other missionary, in his heart a song kept singing and the oft-repeated refrain was, "Lo, I am with you all the way."

As soon as they landed in purely a cannibal island, his faith was severely tried. He and his wife were surrounded by those vicious, painted savages, filled with superstitions and unimaginable cruelties. They worshipped evil spirits so that they could be protected from calamities and from the wrath of enemies. Often they were engaged in deadly bloody battles with other people. The victorious party would kill men from the lost party and cook them and eat. If a man dies, his wife would be strangled to death so that her spirit could accompany him to the next world and be his slave as she had been in this world. Old people were also treated badly and often murdered or starved to death.

When Paton saw all those cruelties his heart was broken. He felt shear horror and pity even he felt despair. "Had I given up my much-beloved work, and my dear people in Glasgow, with so many delightful associations, to consecrate my life to these degraded creatures? Was it possible to teach them right and wrong, to Christianize or even to civilize them?" He was soon reminded, however, that he had not undertaken this work on his own account and that he had at his disposal resources that were equal even to so staggering a task. "We were conscious," he says, "that our Lord Jesus was near us and that through Him we were made strong for any assignment which He had given or might give."

With those thoughts he was so much empowered and emboldened that he began to tell the natives plainly of their wickedness and the saving grace of Jesus who could deliver them from their evilness. Whenever two parties were about to engage in war, he would run in between them and call upon them to desist. How was he enabled to face such perils amid savages frenzied by hate and shrieking for blood? Let him answer in his own words: "My faith enabled me to grasp and realize the promise, 'Lo, I am with you always.' In Jesus I felt invulnerable. These were the moments when I felt my Savior to be most truly and sensibly near, inspiring and empowering me."

But the task was not that easy. His wife and newborn son died within a few months after arrival in that new land. Paton was filled with such grief that no one can ever explain it nor any pen could ever describe it. No one was there to help him. He dug the grave by his own hands and buried his bride and newborn son.

Often his house was surrounded by armed men full of hatred and anger. At times John Paton knelt down and entrusted his life to Jesus thinking that his end is sure but every time those men left him without harming him as if they were restricted by some outer force. Whenever any calamity came upon islanders they blamed Paton assuming that because of him and his God, evil spirits were angry at them and brought those calamities on them. They killed many missionaries and they wanted Paton to be dead man as well. They told him that though you have escaped several times yet we are determined to kill you because you are changing our customs and we hate the Jehovah worship."

Once a furious man rushed with his axe and tried to kill him. Next day a fierce looking chief followed him around for four hours, frequently pointing his loaded musket at him as if to shoot. Once three men stood up and told him that they will kill him with their sorcery and witchcraft. They gave him fruit on which they had done witchcraft for eating. Paton took a bite, three wizards were looking at him hoping that he will fall down immediately and die. But to their utter surprise Paton was not only alive but in good health. It brought great fear in their hearts.

Once he was completely tired and fell in deep sleep. In the night his dog silently sat on him and woke him up. He saw armed men around his house and the building was on fire. They were waiting for the missionary to come out so that they could kill him. There was no other option except to pray. They were shouting, "kill him, kill him."

Just at this juncture, a rushing, roaring sound came from the south. An awful tornado of wind and rain was fast approaching! If it had come from the north, the flames from the church would have quickly reached and burned the mission house. Instead, the wind blew the flames away from the house and soon a torrent of rain was falling. Terror stricken, the natives fled, shouting: "This is Jehovah's rain! Truly their God is fighting for them and helping them."

But their fear was short lived. They came back again in the morning to finish their bloody work. When all hopes were lost at that very moment they heard the cry from the sea, " "Sail O! Sail O!" Missionaries were afraid to believe their ears but it was true: a vessel was sailing into the harbor just when all hope seemed lost. The missionaries were soon rescued and taken to another island.

This awesome missionary was protected by God and by His mighty presence. In his dark days he survived by clinging to Jesus. His presence and His power was his strength. Not only did he survive but could win souls. His work was not futile. When he was old, he could still rejoice because his son (by his second marriage) was working in the same place where he was hated and where attempt was being made to destroy him. His eyes could behold the mighty work of God among those vicious people who were now turning to Christ.

My dear friend, you may not be in the same situation as Paton was, but every minister suffers greatly. You can only survive by clinging to Jesus. No matter what happens in your life, no matter how many difficulties you face, He will always be with you. He will always protect you until your work is finished in this earth. No man can ever touch you before your time. Do not lose your heart be of good cheer.

Standing in the Gap - Fasting prayer on 8th July. 2008

As the Bible says in Ezekiel 22:30 "So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it." And also the Bible says in Numbers 16:48, "And he (Aaron) stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped." We have fasting prayer every second Tuesday of each month. Our next fasting prayer meeting will be conducted on 8th July. 2008

Printed Version of the Magazine

We are excited to announce that we are starting printed edition of the magazine that will be monthly. And will contain all the four or five issues of a month. Our online magazine will still be free and can be read via email or on our website

There was a huge demand that we send our magazine by snail mail. So that you can read it offline as well as give it to your friends. So we are starting a printed version. To cover the printing cost we decided to charge a small subscription fee. And it is just $35/year that you can pay using our subscribe link at In Search of Peace Magazine

Hope this will bring the Gospel to people where we cannot reach online.

Thanks and God bless for your continuous support and interest in what we do.

Download Articles in Handheld Computers

You can now download articles in Palm Doc format for your palm handheld computer. It will work with any devise that has Palm OS and Palm Doc Reader installed. To download click on the link named "Palm Doc Format" i.e. at the top of this page by the side of each articles.

Please Join us in "Peace Prayer Room"

If you have any prayer request please join us any time at our New Chat Room at http://insearchofpeace.org/prayer If any of us available in prayer room, we will be praying online otherwise you can email your prayer request to feedback@insearchofpeace.org

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Hindi / Malayalam/Tamil Bible Online

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Now you can learn Graphics and web designing online. These tutorials are free but you may need to get login ID by registering yourslef. Currently tutorials for Paint Shop Pro, HTML and Dreamweaver/Fireworks are available but in future more tutorials will be added.

Check the tutorials at:http://jasminecorp.net/tutorial

Allah and Elohim - Are they the same God? Book

Now available "Allah and Elohim - Are they the same God" and "Is Jesus God?"Books in major book stores like http://amazon.com, http://bn.com (barnes & noble), http://booksamillion.com etc. Both books compares the Bible and the Quran and read eye opening facts about Jesus, God of the Bible, Allah and Islamic faith. I am sure that you want to read this. Here is the link:
http://insearchofpeace.org/books.htm

Also read:
Book Title: Is Jesus God?
Author: Sherly Isaac
ISBN: 0759628092
http://insearchofpeace.org/books.htm

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