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Vol. 9 / Issue 44 / May 18 2006

Contents of this issue

Editorial

Ministry is not a bed of Roses - Part 7



News Items (Common to all issues) :

Standing in the Gap - Fasting prayer on 8th Dec.. 2015

Download Articles in Handheld Computers

Please Join us in "Peace Prayer Room"

Your Spam Folder

Hindi / Malayalam/Tamil Bible Online

Through the Valley of Death

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

Abraham had no child. Once God spoke to Abraham in a vision and said in Gen 15:1, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward." But Abram said in Gen 15:2-3, "Lord GOD, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!" Further we read in Gen 15:4, "And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."

When Sarah heard this promise of God, she knew it was not possible because of her age so she got an idea. She gave her maid Hagar to be Abraham's wife. But it became a nightmare for herself. Bible says in Gen 16:4, "So he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress became despised in her eyes." Now Sarah became very upset about it and started dealing with Hagar very harshly. "So Hagar fled from her presence.(Gen 16:6 )"

This is what happens when we try to fit our own plans between God's plan.

In the book of Genesis 16th chapter we read about Hagar. Hagar was Sarai's maid servant. In this chapter and further we read more about Hagar. She was an Egyptian woman. She ran away from her home because of the hardship and the Bible tells us in Gen 16:7-14, "Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai." The Angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand." Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." And the Angel of the LORD said to her: "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?" Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered."

Now God knew everything about Hagar and her condition. and her afflictions. Yet Angel of the LORD told her to return to her mistress, and submit herself under Sarah's hand. God also told her, what would be her future and what would be her son in the future. When Hagar heard all those things, she was comforted by those words, and the Bible tells us in Gen 16:13, "Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees.."

Yes, there is a God who sees afflictions of desperate ones. He is the God who knows what is best for His children. Sometimes He allows a person to live in the midst of hardship instead of running away from the problem.


So Hagar returned to her mistress and lived with her about fourteen years. This time her son Ishmael scoffed on Sarah. Now, Sarah got upset again and told Abraham to send the bondwoman away from her. Though Abraham did not like the idea, yet he sent her away. God told him in Gen 21:13 "Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed."

God's grace came upon Ishmael because of Abraham. Because Ishmael too was Abraham's seed. Now second time Hagar wondered in the wilderness with her son, completely heartbroken and not knowing what to do. Bible says further in Gen 21:15-16, "And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept."

You can see the desperate and hopeless condition of Hagar once again. She was at the end of her road. Her son was dying and a helpless mother was in despair. Now without a miracle her and her son's survival was impossible. She might have thought of the promise of God for her son. Oh, where are those promises now? Look God, My son is dying... Are you not the same God who sees your children? She might have pleaded like this before God.

But you will be amazed reading the story further that how God comes in the right time to rescue His children. The same God who promised Hagar once had not forgotten His promise. He came in for her rescue. In Genesis 21:17 and further we read that, God opened her eyes and she could see a well of water. She filled the skin with water and gave it to Ishmael. Both survived and God was with Ishmael. (Gen 21:20 )"

Often we go through difficult situations when we feel that without a miracle, we cannot survive. My friend, God has not forgotten you. He is the God who sees us and He knows our needs. He will not allow you to die in the wilderness but He will come for your rescue.



Ministry is not a bed of Roses - Part 7

By Sheela Isaac

Deu 5:24 "And you said: 'Surely the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man; yet he still lives."

The old and new testament clearly says that God speaks to people. The question is, "why God speaks?" In the first place God wanted fellowship with people. That is why God created the human beings and the Bible says that God used to visit Adam and Eve in cool of the day to talk with them, to have fellowship with them. Gen 3:8, "And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day,.." That is God's quality and He still speaks and He speaks with His own people i.e, blood washed and saved people. Not only that, He speaks to His people to bring solace, correction and deliverance.

God's voice brings solace and comfort:
Bible talks about the story of Jacob. He did not intend to deceive his father and brother, but his mother insisted him to disguise himself and acquire the birth right of his brother Esau. Gen 27:13, "But his mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me." Jacob got the birth right, but it put him in trouble. He had to flee from his father's house to survive. Jacob might have been very upset at this time. He did not know what his future would look like. He might have been thinking whether he is going to see his parents again. He might have regretted enough by this time about the mistake he had made. As he was fleeing to his uncle's house, God met him on the way.

Gen 28:11, "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.
Gen 28:12 Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
Gen 28:13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.
Gen 28:14 "Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Gen 28:15 "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."


God said to Jacob, "I will be with you and keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land." Then Jacob made a vow with God. Gen 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, Gen 28:21 "so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. Gen 28:22 "And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

Here we see that God was speaking to Jacob and saying, "I will be with you and one day I'll bring you back to your father's house." In time of trouble not only God became his comfort and companion but He gave him big promises and hope. Are you a child of God? Do you love God? Do you say that Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Then I would say, "be of good cheer. He will be your comfort and solace in the time of trouble.

I again recall the recent horrible sickness of my dad. As his condition got worst and he was admitted in ICU, his breathing ability failed and so they put him on ventilator (life support). The doctors gave no hope for his survival. As one day when he was still in ICU his heart rate began to waver from 114 to 45. The nurse looked in panic and she said, "his heart rate is rapidly dropping from last night, let me call the doctor and see if he can send some cardiologist to check his condition. The nurse began to make several phone calls frantically. As his heart rate was plunging the computerized machine began to beep. As machine was constantly beeping, my dad looked little restless. We did not know when his heart would stop and the whole world would collapse. When I saw it, I was scared to death. My heart froze and I was about to be freaked out and burst in tears. Somehow I was holding my tears back. I said in my heart, "I do not want to come again in the hospital to see all these things. I can't take it any more." I never felt such despair and hopelessness in my life before. I never saw anybody before in my life this sick unto death and here it was my dad. Sitting day after day in hospital seeing him very ill was so painful. It was like sitting before a dying person and watching him die with slow death. Most of the time he was looking as in semi unconscious state. All the time he was sleeping and it looked like this sleep can not be interrupted in any way. Whenever nurse used to come and call his name he used to wake up for a little time, replies few questions and again slips into deep sleep.

As I was watching the machine constantly beeping in horror my anxiety grew. That point I knew that worry can't do any good nor it can change the situation. A thought came in my mind, "you can't give life to anybody then why worry, life and death is solely in the hands of God and only God can do something." Then I began to praise God remembering the incidences of Bible. I said, "God when Daniel was in lion's den you only shut the mouth of lion and they could not kill Daniel, you can do it. You saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego from fiery furnace you can do it." Do you know that praising can turn the tables around and it can bring peace and solace in heart. So in my heart little faith arose. And when I was praising God I heard God speaking clearly to me in that ICU room. God said, "at the end there will be a result and your hope will not be cut off." I heard this sentence twice in Hindi language and I remembered that I had memorized this verse long back and it is in the Bible somewhere. I did not hear the audible voice but the verse came as a thought of deep impression in my heart as if somebody spoke deeply in my heart. Prov 23:18, "For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off."

The New international version says, "There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off."
The New American Standard Bible says, "Surely there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off."
The King James version says, "For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off."

This verse brought some comfort in my heart and I began to repeat this verse and began to claim this promise. We left the hospital very scared thinking if we are going to see my dad alive next day or not. In night also there was great fear thinking, don't know when telephone will ring and the news would come that everything was over. We lived in this fear almost for two months while we were visiting the hospital. For two months while he was in hospital his condition did not look very good. One day he looked better the other day worst and it continued. But I was kept claiming the promise proverb 23:18. When you are in trouble nothing brings comfort not the things you love much to do nor the comfort of the riches of the money of this world. Two months passed like that and I found that in that period I did not do anything. I did not work in computer much nor opened the emails for many days. We were sitting in hospital just praying all the time or at home sitting and doing nothing. I wanted in that period only peace and solace in heart nothing else. Yes my friend, when you are in deep waters when you are in deep trouble nothing gives solace but God's words. One word from God turns everything around. God's voice has ability to drive away the deepest depression in split second. If you know how to hear God it is a great blessing. The voice of God not only gives solace in heart but one day the things spoken by God comes to pass. If really God has spoken to you something hold on to it some day it is going to come to fulfillment. It may take a month or a year or years but one day it would turn to be true. Do you know God's spoken word which never falls to the ground but it yields fruit.

The words spoken by God in the ICU room finally came to pass and my expectations and hope were never cut off. God healed my dad and brought him back home. He got out of the hospital after two months not fully healed but in better condition. After coming home now six months have passed and he is still in the process of healing though it is very slow. His health is still improving slowly day by day, little by little. He still has problem climbing steps and doing many things normally but God has kept his promise.

Hearing God's voice is the sweetest thing of this world. After getting saved I heard God speaking to me hundreds of times. God's voice is so sweet and gentle no human being on this earth can ever speak so gently and lovingly. Even God's scolding is so sweet and gentle, it brings correction and deliverance. God spoke many things to my family and me and He fulfilled those things. Look at the life of Jacob. The things God had spoken to him came to pass one day though it took twenty long years. One day Jacob indeed returned to his father's house. Though his uncle Laban played many tricks with him and cheated him many times but finally he could get out of that place safe. Yes one day God's promise did come to pass in Jacob's life and he could return to his father's house not empty handed as he once left but as a very wealthy man with his wives, children, enormous wealth, riches and with lots of animals and livestock. What a great God we have. If you love God and you know for sure that Jesus is your Lord and Savior know it for sure He would always be there for your help. He would always be there to rescue you from all the troubles. He would speak words of comfort and solace in the time of trouble.




Standing in the Gap - Fasting prayer on 8th Dec.. 2015

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 16th Nov. 2015

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

Your Spam Folder

If you are getting this newsletter in your bulk/junk/Spam folder please hit the "not junk" or "not spam" button so that you could receive it in your mailbox. Also adding feedback@insearchofpeace.org email address into your contact list can avoid this email from ending up in your bulk folder.

Hindi / Malayalam/Tamil Bible Online

Now you can read Bible in Hindi online at http://www.hindibible.org
in Malayalam online at http://www.malayalambible.org
in Tamil online at http://www.hindibible.org?ver=tamil

Through the Valley of Death

As many of you know that in the year 2005, our dad was very sick even unto death. God miraculously healed him. We have compiled it in a book form. I sure believe that it will inspire you and encourage you greatly.

This book is available for purchase at JasmineCorp Store

Free Tutorials for your Kids!

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" Available at JasmineCorp Store, and "Is Jesus God?" Available at JasmineCorp Store,

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.

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

Free E-Cards

Send free E-Cards (Greeting Cards) to your friends and family. Its an easy way to stay in touch with friends and family. The website address is:
http://ecards.jcsearch.com

Online Games for you!

Now you can play games online at http://insearchofpeace.org/games




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