In His Time.......... with P.Ramachandran

Judges 6 Sometimes we wonder if we are doing the right thing, especially when things tend to go wrong, or when a close friend betrays your trust or when God simply does not seem to say a word. This week the Spirit led me to meditate on Judges Ch 6 to consider the live of Gideon and to draw strength from that passage. Gideon's condition (6:11-12) Lost Bearing . He was supposed to be a leader but was doing the wrong job (threshing wheat) and doing it at the wrong place (vineyard). A chosen leader doing the wrong thing at the wrong place. Total disorientation. Lost Bravery . He had no courage. He was filled with fear of the enemy and hence runs into hiding. Lost Belongings . All his possessions taken away by the enemy. Living in Bondage . Enemies were in control of what was supposed to be God's people. Life of Questions. He questions God in verse 13. "Where is God? He has abandon us. Where are all his miracles? Gideon seems to be in a helpless and hopeless condition and mos

It has been a trying week. On Monday the mission team for the Sep trip gathered for prayer. One by one has been hit with some crisis after signing for the mission trip. Some have been hospitalized and other going through severe difficulties. In my case suffered a traffic accident, unnecessary expenditures, work related problems and the agony of a close friend gong through serious health related problems. From these episodes, the enemy's intentions are becoming clear: Distract, Divert, Discourage and bring Disorder. Nevertheless God has been merciful and gracious. It was reassuring to know that friends form HI and elsewhere are upholding the team, whom they have never met, in earnest prayer. The following text from Psalms 91 was given as an assurance of God's protection: He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord , He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and

Last week we considered the meaning of prosperity in Joshua 1:8 and we distinguished if from the views of those who prefer to see it as the basis for the health and wealth gospel. What about the word success. Does it mean that successful as in prosperity? Well the Hebrew word for success used in Joshua 1:8 is "sakal". That word means to act wisely, to have insight and to act circumspectly. In fact the Young's Literal Translation says: then thou does act wisely. Another translation says "you will finish well". The same word "sakal" is used in 1Sam 18:14 and the KJV translate - David behaved himself wisely .... In other words to be successful is to act wisely or behave wisely. How different from the normal way we would have considered success. How then does one become full of the spirit and act wisely. The verse in Joshua 1:8 gives two commands: a. Meditate upon it day and night. We hear this so often but we seldom do it. Isn't it true that many tim

Faculty at the Training Centre Pst A Anantha Kumar. Pst Stephen Yesudas, Pst Samuel Raj, Bro Wilfred, Pst S John Signey, Pst Nehemiah (Hyderabad, PEC Rep), Pst M E Prabakar, Pst Boaz Please remember them in your prayer: a. God will use these men to touch and influnce the lives of the ten students. b. All the financial needs of running the school will be met. c. God will raise christians to support/adopt the students financially after their training as they go into the mission field. We are looking at a support of S$100 a month per student.

I remember reading a mail from a local church pastor. It said something like this, "Come and attend this special service and you will find out how to become prosperous and successful in your financial life. Many have testified that they have got promotions in their work after following the principles given by this anointed man of God. God has promised us success and prosperity..." The problem with this kind of of theology is that it does not speak about the theology of suffering and carrying the cross. What really then is the measure of prosperity and success. In Singapore you are deemed successful if you have the 5Cs. i.e career, cash, car, condominium and a country club membership. Unfortunately some churches also measure success and prosperity in this manner. In the Old testament Issac was the son of promise associated with all the promises of blessings while Ismael was the son of the flesh and a castaway. But towards the end of their lives, Issac was almost blind and bed-

On 6 Jul, I conducted the first brief for the team members planning to go to India in the first week in Sep. So far 11 have been confirmed. The objectives for this visit are as follows: Conduct 3 church dedications Conduct 2 Days Pastors' seminar Conduct 2 Days Sunday School Teachers' seminar Conduct Children's Program at two locations Visit 3 outreach churches. Please pray for the following: God's anointing on the team and that the objectives will be fulfilled. Need to raise $4,500 for the above programs. Safety for the team and participants who will be arriving from distant locations. Good weather

Genesis 4:2-5 - Now Abel kept flocks and Cain worked on the soil, 3 In the course of time Cain brought some fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord.4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favour upon Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering He did not look with favour. So Cain was angry and his face was down cast. Many times before I thought that God required a blood offering and that's why he rejected Cain's offering. It was while going through the TAFTEE course that this mater was clarified. In fact cereal offering was much acceptable under the law (Lev 2:1). What was it then that was offending on the art of Cain. The first indication is in verse 4b . The Lord looked with favour upon Abel and his offering. It is the person that God looks first an then the offering. God cares most is the attitude of the one bringing the offering. If the attitude is right , the gift will also be right. Man sees the outwar