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

In the previous devotions of this subject, we considered the man who had a driving God-given vision. The man God uses is one who is conscientious and concerned . Nehemiah's concern led him to the next stage, compassion . 1:4 - When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Being concerned for the kingdom of God is good but if it just ends at that stage, it is meaningless. Yes many times we are moved with concern when we are challenged with the great commission or hear about the disasters that occur around the world. But it does not progress beyond that. Concern that does not lead to compassion is just an impression. It is akin to watching a good soap opra and coming out emotionally charged with dessipates within a short time. I know of many people who come on mission trips, get emotionally charged but nothing more. Its just a good memory. The Bible says of Jesus in Matt 9:36 - But when He saw the multitudes, ...

As the training comes to an end for the first batch of students at the PEC - Ecclesia, the next batch is due in Jun 2010. During the break we want to refresh and challenge needy pastors in Orissa. Orissa is one of the Indian States in which people are living in backward life situation. Majority of the people are Dalits and tribal living in the rural areas. The report is that people are responding to the gospel in the midst of persecution and problems,unless someone goes there and share the gospel souls will be lost. The idea is to get these needy pastors to the centre in Kanyakumari and house them for a month, with good spiritual and physical nourishment. With this in mind we will be inviting 10-15 pastors from Orissa to come to the PEC- Ecclesia for a month of refresher training. Goals Discipling the trainees to reach the unreached people of Orissa. Equipping them to grow in their commitment to their Master. Enabling them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and become witness in Orissa...

In the last devotion we considered in Chapter 1, how Nehemiah was conscientious even as he served in the palace of the king. He was working. It reminds us that God does not use lazy people. That's a very important requirement of an effective leader or servant (or debtor): “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor” (Proverbs 12:24); his future is bleak: “A slugged does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing” ( Proverbs 20:4); he may come to poverty: “The soul of the lazy man desires and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich” ( Proverbs 3:4 KJV). Second we saw the concern of Nehemiah in Chapter 1:2 - I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem .He was concerned about the welfare of his people and more importantly the City of God, Jerusalem. In spite of being a great government official and in a foreign country, he has concern for God and the matt...

Together with my wife Jeya, we went to to Kanniyakumari to officiate the 1st Batch Graduation Ceremony. It was indeed a great privileged to be at the PEC - Ecclessia Training Centre. Pst John Signey, the Principal and the team at the center were extremely hospitable and we are much blessed and humbled by their love care and concern. I was also blessed to have Bishop Nehemiah, Rev Dhanaraj and Pst Joshua from AP to be part of the celebration. Just as David had his mightily men, these are our pillars in AP. We arrived on 8th Mar and on 10th March I conducted two sessions with the students on Biblical Mandate ,17 students participated in the sessions. In the evening we attended a village church where I shared the word. The graduation ceremony was held on 11th Mar at the centre grounds. The whole program was well organised and it was an historic moment for us in PEC as well as for Pst John Signey. The whole centre was started by faith and finally the prophecy that God gave to our dear Past...

The next trip is planned from 7-12 Mar 10. Going there with my wife to attend the PEC Ecclesia Training Centre's first graduation ceremony. The school is located in Kanniyakumari. We will also study the possibility of supporting church planting efforts in Tamil Nadu. Please pray that we will be a blessing.