From Rajah & Theresa With Blessing...

Make me more like Jesus

2011-03-01T07:50:00.003+08:00

Ephesians 4:24 says, "put on new self, created to be like God...."

What a calling in Christ. He wants us to be like Him....... wow......

As I was reading this chapter this morning, I was reminded of a chorus I used to sing (now we don't hear these songs anymore in churches)

"Make me more like thee
Lord Jesus make me more like thee
Give me a heart that's filled with love
And make me more like thee"

Tamil translation of the song:

உம்மை போல் ஆக்கும்
ஏசுவே உம்மை போல் ஆக்கும்
உள்ளத்தை அன்பால் நிரப்பி என்னை
உம்மை போல் ஆக்கும்

This is my prayer for me this morning and also for each one of you my friends, that you too should become LIKE JESUS............

God bless you

AFGHAN CONVERT SAID MUSA IS FREE!

2011-02-28T07:41:00.000+08:00

AFGHAN CONVERT SAID MUSA IS FREE!

Said Musa is now free

Afghan convert to Christianity Said Musa has been released from prison, where he was under threat of execution for apostasy, after months of vigorous campaigning.
Barnabas Fund has been engaged with others in high-level international diplomacy on Said's behalf, and earlier this month launched a public campaign to intensify pressure for his release. Over 8,000 people signed our online petition.
Yesterday, we received reports that Said was released from prison last week and is now safely out of Afghanistan. Before his freedom was finally secured Said had reportedly refused an offer of release if he would write a statement regretting his conversion to Christianity. He said:

I laughed and replied, "I can't deny my Saviour's name". Because my life is just service to Jesus Christ and my death is going to heaven [where] Jesus Christ is. I am a hundred percent ready to die. They pushed me much and much. I refused their demands.

Said was arrested last May as part of a crackdown on Afghan converts to Christianity. He was tortured and abused in prison but remained steadfast in his faith.

Source:
http://barnabasfund.org/

How should we pray for ourselves and our loved ones???

2011-02-28T07:17:00.003+08:00

Dear friends,

I have been reading the book of Ephesians and doing some studies on it. One thing which impressed me the most in the book was the prayer of Paul to the Ephesians. we see them in 2 places in the book.

Ephesians 1:15-19 and Ephesians 3:14-19.

The prayer of Paul to the Ephesians is so different from the prayers we pray for ourselves and for our loved ones. We normally pray asking God to bless us, provide for us, make us rich, make us healthy, make us wealthy, make us popular, make us better......... this is the same prayer we pray for our loved ones too. Our prayers are so "self centered" and we see only the physical and financial needs and 70-90% of our prayers are in this way.

However see the prayer Paul prays for the Ephesians. I have given the prayer in pint form.

Chap. 1:

1. We may know Him better
2. Our eyes may be enlightened
3. We may know the hope of His calling
4. Have the riches of His glorious inheritance - Christ is our inheritance... wow...
5. Know the great incomparable power for us.

Chap.3

1. God may strengthen you with His power through the Holy Spirit
2. God may strengthen your inner being
3. Christ may dwell in your hearts
4. You may be rooted and established in love
5. May have the power together with all the saints
6. You may grasp the depth, width, and height of Christ's love
7. You may be filled with the measures of the fullness of God.

Isn't this prayer so different from the normal prayer we all pray? This prayer focuses on the Spiritual aspect of our life which is the most important thing in life. So, What is God telling us? Let the model prayer in Ephesians become our daily prayer for ourselves and our loved ones.

Paul in Chap 3: 20-21 finishes the prayer with this;

God is able to do immeasurably MORE than we ask or even imagine......... that means God can give us all things in the physical realm, beyond our imagination, however the priority has to be the areas where Paul has prayed. Isn't it what Jesus taught in Matt. 6:33, seek first the kingdom of God......... Our life in the Spirit is more important than our physical life.

Most of us tent to live as though the worldly life is the only life we ever live. we seem to forget that we are just pilgrims on this earth. we need to "grow up" in our inner man more than our outer man. We need to care for our inner man and our spiritual well being more than all other things in life.....

Thanks God for these beautiful lessons I learned.

The prayer above is my prayer for all my friends this morning even as I remember you this morning.

God bless you all

Shepherd of my soul

2011-01-18T16:01:00.003+08:00

This morning I woke up humming the song, Shepherd of my soul.....
Do you know this song? It is a beautiful song of commitment and dedication to the Lord, who is our Shepherd. Here is the song... you can even download the song from u tube. What a beautiful song of commitment.. This is my prayer of commitment to the Lord today............ i hope the same with each one of you...

Enjoy the song:

Shepherd of my soul I give you full control,
Wherever You may lead I will foll-ow.
I have made the choice to listen for Your vo-vo-ice,
Wherever You may lead I will go.

Be it in a quiet pasture or by a gentle stream,
The Shepherd of my soul is by my side.
Should I face a mighty mountain or a valley dark and deep,
The Shepherd of my soul will be my guide.

Shepherd of my soul Oh You have made me whole,
Where’er I hear You call how my tea-ars flow.
How I feel your love how I want to se-rve
I gladly give my heart to You O – Lord.

Be it in the flowing river or in the quiet night,
The Shepherd of my soul is by my side.
Should I face the stormy weather or the dangers of this world.
The Shepherd of my soul will be my guide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOi4eRlFjpM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSTZ1rKZtZk&NR=1

God bless you

Questions to ponder on during this holidays....

2010-12-27T09:03:00.002+08:00

Question no. 1:
Why are you a Christian - follower of Jesus Christ?
Question No. 2:
Why do I live in this country?
Question no. 3:
What is the purpose of my life on earth?
Question no. 4:
Do I know the plan of God in my life?
Question no. 5:
How can I fulfill the plan of God in my life?

Hope we all can answer these questions in honesty and get answers for them.
God bless you all.

Purpose statement of Jesus, Paul and Every Christian

2010-12-27T08:48:00.002+08:00

Luke 4:18-19 (New International Version)

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free,to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Isaiah 61:1-2

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn.

Acts 26:18-20
To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

“So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.

Christmas

2010-12-27T08:43:00.003+08:00

What is Christmas?
I have been pondering and discussing with friends on this topic. Christmas is Salvation of God brought to mankind. If that is the truth, then we all have a great responsibility of sharing this good news of salvation plan of God with all those who do not know Him yet.
How do we do it?
Firstly, list names of all friends and family members who do not Know this salvation plan of God. Say about 10 names... start praying for them daily. Then ask God to open new doors of Opportunities to share this good news with them. This will make our Christmas celebration a meaningful one.
God bless you all as you celebrate this Christmas in a very meaningful way.

Be in the perfect plan of God - Lesson from Zerubbabel

2010-10-24T20:08:00.001+08:00

It is so important to be in the perfect plan of God. There are many things we want to do and we can do with our won strength and will power. But the question is, is it in the perfect plan of God? For example, we want to construct a new church building or purchase a property for the ministry or start a new ministry in a new place. These are indeed good and noble task. But the question is, is it the will of God?
Many Christian leaders fail to seek the will of God in their lives and in their ministry. We want to do what we feel is good for our lives and our ministry.
Recently I have been challenged by the life of Zerubbabel. Most of us might not even remember who he is. He is mentioned in the book of Ezra and Nehemiah. He was the governor of Judah during the Persian exilic period. He is one who led about 42360 Jews back to Jerusalem when the king of Persia allowed them to resettle in Jerusalem. He stood with Ezra and Nehemiah and helped in the rebuilding of the second temple in Jerusalem.
What interests me is, there is a prophecy on Zerubbabel in the book of Haggai. In Haggai 3:23, God promises that Zerubbael will be a signet ring in the hands of God. What does this mean? He will be exalted and remembered……….. a promise by God. That is amazing!
We see this promise being fulfilled in Mathew 1:12-13, when the genealogy of Jesus is written, God remembers Zerubbabel and gives him a place in the Messianic promise. Wow, what a great fulfillment of promise by God. What a great honor to be in the Genealogy of Jesus Christ. God not only exalted Zerubbabel, but also remembered and fulfilled His promises made in Haggai.
What a challenge to all of us to be in the perfect plan of God. The greatest thing that you and I can have is, being remembered by God ………….. and to do that we need to be in the perfect will of God in everything we do in our personal lives, ministry lives, children’s lives etc.
May we all be found to be in the perfect will of God and see God daily that we will be in His perfect plans in our lives and in our ministries.
God bless
Rajah

Pray for God's intervention............

2010-09-02T14:56:00.001+08:00

Pakistani Taliban Kills Three Foreign Christian Aid Workers

Authorities on Wednesday (Aug. 25) recovered the bodies of three Christian relief workers who had been kidnapped and killed by members of the Pakistani Taliban in the flood-ravaged country, area officials said. Kidnapped relief workers had come to provide aid to victims of massive flooding.

Clay Balls

2010-09-02T14:40:00.002+08:00

Clay Balls

A man was exploring caves by the Seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.

He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock . Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!

Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left.

Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!

It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it.

We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.

There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, , then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.

May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay.

I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with you. Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel.

Taliban execute 10 workers - need to pray for the families and the organization

2010-08-17T06:22:00.003+08:00

CURE mourns execution in Afghanistan

Afghanistan (MNN) -- Following the execution deaths of 10 humanitarian aid workers in Afghanistan, fellow aid groups are mourning their loss. CURE International has worked side-by-side with International Assistance Mission in the eight years that ministry has worked in Kabul. CURE's founder and president Scott Harrison says, "It was something that was almost paralyzing when I heard it. We got to know them very well. They're more than just a group of people. We have affection for them. They're people we share a vision with. We share a commitment to the people of Afghanistan." The Taliban killed the 10, claiming the group was proselytizing. Despite being overtly Christian, Harrison says that's not the case. "Of all the groups we work with, I can't think of any group that is more sensitive. And although individually they're deeply committed Christians, they make no effort to pass out Bibles or tracts or in any way make their service they're giving to the people of Afghanistan contingent on them hearing the message of Christ." Pray for those mourning and for wisdom as the work continues.

Source: Mission Network News [mnn-news@mnnonline.org]

How do we do God's work ?

2010-05-06T07:59:00.003+08:00

I was reading this morning a few chapters from the book of Jeremiah. One verse which came to me as a warning and instruction was Jer. 48:10. It says;

Cursed be he who does the work of the Lord negligently [with slackness, deceitfully]; and cursed be he who keeps back his sword from blood [in executing judgment pronounced by the Lord].

Some English versions says negligently, some say deceitfully, some slackness.... In the Tamil Bible it is translated as "carelessly". When we do the work of the Lord, He expects us to do it diligently and with much care. Because His work which he has entrusted to us is a serious business. We cannot afford to slack in it.

What happens when a security guard sleeps at work???? The thief comes and steals everything. It is the same with the work of the Lord. The "enemy" will steal away precious souls.

Every one of us who know the Lord in our lives is given a task and a ministry. Let us do it carefully.

My prayer this morning for myself and each of you who read this blog is that we should do His work with much carefulness and diligently, without slacking in anything.

May the Lord bless you to this life experience.

Myanmar VBS 2010

2010-05-06T07:31:00.002+08:00

Dear friends,
Time comes again for another Vacation Bible School (VBS) in Myanmar. This year this will be from 24th to 31st May. We are expecting about 1250 children for this event. This is a very major project. Our desire is that these children who are the next generation of leaders in Myanmar will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please pray for the following:

1. This VBS will not be just a program, but a time of ministry and a personal encounter with Jesus by each and every child.
2. Pray for the 200 teachers who will be trained and will be doing follow up program with these children.
3. Pray for the team going from Malaysia and Singapore for this program.
4. Pray for God's protection and freedom in sharing the Gospel.
5. Pray for the needed funds for this big project.
6. Pray that each and every one of the child will not only hear the Gospel, but also respond to the Gospel.

Thank you for being with us in this major project. God bless you as you partner in this ministry.

In His harvest field
Rajah

Myanmar pictures

2010-04-03T09:16:00.002+08:00

Myanmar mission trip report

2010-04-03T08:53:00.005+08:00

Report on the mission trip to Myanmar
(22nd to 31st March 2010)

Dear friends and prayer partners,
Mingalabah! (Greetings from Myanmar)
The team of 9 people went for the mission ministry trip to Myanmar from 22nd to 31st March 2010. The team included a pastor and 8 lay people. I want to just share a few highlights of the trip with you for praising God and for prayer purposes. God is at work in Myanmar and he will fulfill his purposes in this country soon.

Teaching seminar

We had 3 days of seminar for pastors and leaders in Yangon. About 150 to 200 people attended this seminar. The topic was “Praying effectively for our nation” Beside an hour of teaching; the whole group was led into time of prayer – mainly to pray for Myanmar. God used this seminar to reconcile people and helped them to pray for the leaders and the situation in Myanmar.

Evangelistic healing rally

For 3 evening we had evangelistic healing rally. Many non Christians had the opportunity to hear the Gospel. God did many miracles and many were delivered from bondage of sin, sickness and demons. We heard many testimonies from people after the meetings. All glory to God. One thing I realized is that the people are bound by the evil one and they need deliverance.

Visit to community centers

The next 3 days we visited about 7 community centers around Yangon which we set up. 3 of these centers have their own buildings and the others meet in homes, roadside or under the trees. In each of these centers there are more than 100 children being taught the good news of Jesus Christ every week. Many older people also join in the meetings. Most of these villages have 1 or 2 Christian families and all others are Buddhist, Hindus or Muslims. What amazes me that they are so open to the Gospel and willing to listen and willing to accept Christ. The people have such a simple faith that they accept Christ as the Gospel is shared. The children are such lovely ones, adorable…… but so poor, it brings tears when you see them. Most of these kids have 1 or maximum 2 meals a day. Many do not have the opportunity to go to school. The community centers are looking into having special education classes for such children. Please pray along with us for these projects. One of the main needs is medical facility. Some of the villages have no medical facility and people as young as 16 years old are suffering from cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure etc. How sad it is!

Gift of Hope 2010 project

Last year we adopted 750 children under this project to send kids for school. This year the churches there have requested for atleast 1050 children. There are more than 1000 of them waiting for this opportunity. It costs only USD 35 per child to educate in the school per year. With an average family income of USD 20 per month, the parents have no opportunity to send children to school – rather they send them out to do work even at the age of 5 or 6. Poverty is such a big problem there in Myanmar. Please pray for these poor people. I was glad to receive from some of the parents, certificate of recognition for being the “Best student of the year” for 4 students whom we adopted last year. The parents were so glad that their children were top students in the school in 2009. What a joy to hear this news.

Vacation Bible School (VBS)

Last 2 years we had VBS in Yangon area. Last year we had 950 children and this year we are restricting the number to 1250 children only. This is due to lack of facility for VBS, finances and police permit we need for such activities. Our vision is to bring a new younger generation of people who love the Lord and will transform the nation. The total cost expected is about RM 60,000 (USD 17,500). We want to thank a friend who has given about 40% of the cost for this year’s VBS. I am sure God will provide the rest. ‘God’s projects will never lack God’s provision’. Please pray as the team is preparing to go in May. The VBS is from 24th to 31st May.

Needs and prayer requests

1. Four of the villages we work need community centers. Please pray that God will provide the needed funds.
(In one village about 100 children sit under a tree to learn about Christ every week)
2. Pray that God will bring about changes in the nation soon. People are really suffering and crying out daily.
3. Pray for the remaining needed funds for VBS and GOH projects.
4. Pray for Christian leaders that they will stand for the Gospel and justice in the country.
5. Pray for new younger generation of leaders who will take on the task and move forward.

Conclusion

Friends, our vision is to see Myanmar reached with the Gospel. We are a very small org. working mainly among the villagers and children. My vision and dream is, if we can educate the children well, give them the Gospel and Jesus in their lives, one day (may be 10 – 20 years from now) they will make an impact in their nation. I look forward to such a glorious day. This is my dream, prayer and desire.
Please pray for the team which is preparing for VBS and GOH project in May. I will be heading the team again in May. We want to see children coming to know Christ and growing in the Lord. We want to see the churches opening their doors to the new generation of people.
All glory to God alone! Amen.

If today is the last day in your life...........

2010-01-27T22:18:00.003+08:00

I was told by a friend of mine this. He said every time he goes up to preach, he preaches sermons as though this is the last time he will ever preach. As he prepares the sermon, he will put all efforts into it as though this is the last chance he has to share a message.
How true it is if we realise and know the truth in life and give our best to the Lord.
You remember in one of my earlier posts I mentioned of king Hezekiah, he did everything for the Lord whole heartedly unto the Lord.
This is my prayer that we will all serve God whole heartedly and realise the uncertainty of life, and work for Him as thorugh today may be the last day we will ever have a chance to serve Him on this earth.
God bless you my friends.

St. Francis of Assisi

2010-01-27T22:15:00.002+08:00

The poem by St. Francis of Assisi impressed me about 35 years ago when I first read. Just recently I was reading it again and the words are still so alive and powerful.
I wanted to share with you all the poem and a quote by him in this blog.
God bless

Make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

St. Francis of Assisi, 13th century

Preach always. If necessary, use words. ~ St. Francis

Abigail and her experience at Passion 2010

2010-01-21T20:15:00.002+08:00

Dear friends, Abigail went for Passion 2010 conference in the US and is back all charged up..... We are glad she could go for this conference. here are some pictures with the Passion leaders and her international friends. You can get a full report on her trip on her blog at: http://www.abbybabygurl.blogspot.com/
I have put some pictures for you.
God bless

Give yourself fully to the work of God wholeheartedly.

2010-01-18T14:22:00.004+08:00

Friends, recently I was reading the book of 2 Chronicles and seeing the patience of God and the grace He showed towards His people in spite of what they did. I was amazed at the mercy of God, which is shown to us even today.

One of the kings who did well in that time was king Hezekiah. I was touched by these verses in 2 Chron.31:20-21. The verse goes like this:

Vs. 20 This is what Hezekiah did throughout Judah, doing what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God. Vs. 21 In everything that he undertook in the service of God's temple and in obedience to the law and the commands, he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered. NIV

Vs. 20 This is what King Hezekiah did in Judah. He did what was good and right and obedient before the LORD his God. Vs. 21 Hezekiah tried to obey God in his service of the Temple of God, and he tried to obey God's teachings and commands. He gave himself fully to his work for God. So he had success. New century version

Hezekiah did what was GOOD, RIGHT and was FAITHFUL.Moreover in verse 21 we see that he did it all in obedience to the law. Most of all in the second part of vs. 21 we see that Hezekiah worked wholeheartedly. God expects us to do His work like Hezekiah. He does not like a shabby work for Him. We are called to do His work in excellent way. When we do his work, we are called to do the work wholeheartedly.
This was a challenge to me as I continue His work that I may do it WELL / GOOD, RIGHTLY/ FAITHFULLY and WHOLEHEARTEDLY.

May i encourage each one of us be like Hezekiah and do His work wholeheartedly. May God give us His grace to do His work.

God bless you all in this new year 2010 as you continue to do His work.
Rajah

Year of Promise

2010-01-03T20:07:00.003+08:00

The theme for our church this year is the year of promise God has made so many personal promises to each one of us. We have made many promises to God. This year is going to be a fulfillment of promises on both ways. All of God's blessings are based on certain conditions. We have made many promises to God but we might have failed. But when God makes promises to us He keeps it up no matter what happens. He is a faithful God to the very end. So, in the year 2010 as the year of promise, let us hold on to His promises and make it a blessed year.

Have a wonderful new year 2010! God bless.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010

2010-01-03T19:31:00.003+08:00

Dear friends,

We are already in the year 2010. God has been faithful to me and my family in the year 2009. What an amazing God we have.
As we begin the new year, let us consider Jesus who is the author and finisher of our race.

I have been studying the book of Romans these days. Just want to share with you a few thoughts God has been speaking to me these days from the book of Romans.

"Consider these"
1. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus
2. If God is for us who can be against us?
3. Anyone who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.
4. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

Therefore let us.....
1. 'Not be conformed any longer to the the pattern of the world" - Rom. 12:2
2. Overcome evil with good - Rom. 12:21
3. Cloth yourself with Jesus Christ - Rom. 13:14
4. Glory in Christ Jesus in our services to God - Rom. 15:17

These days it is very easy to be and become 'part of the world systems' and there is a tendency to forget Rom 12: 1-2. Even in our ministries to God we can become "worldly". God is reminding me and all of us that we should not CONFORM to the system of the world or pattern of the world.

As we run the race in 2010, let us consider Jesus who is the author and finisher of our race and run with His guidelines.

God bless
Rajah

With Grandpa............ Spiritual Grandpa.... RJ Maraj

2009-12-19T09:07:00.003+08:00

Our favorite grandpa ........
Learning to play guitar and mastering it........... for God's glory.........

Mission camps

2009-12-19T08:48:00.002+08:00

Dear friends,
My second and 3rd daughters (Tabitha and Deborah) recently went for a mission camp called "Teen street" organized by OM Malaysia. They were in East Malaysia - Sarawak (2 hours flight from Kuala Lumpur), and after the camp they spent another 4 days in the villages as a mission exposure program. After 8 days they came back so exhausted, but EXCITED........ I am so glad that they had this wonderful opportunity to be in the mission field and experience missions at their teen age.

Our eldest daughter Abigail is selected to go for a mission conference called "Passion 2010" in Atlanta, USA from 2nd to 6th Jan. 2010. She was sponsored for her ticket for this trip by the organizers. Praise God for His provision. She leaves for the US on 23rd Dec. Pray that she will have a wonderful and very meaningful mission conference.

Please pray as all our children get involved in missions and seek God's guidance for their future life and ministry. They all want to serve God in their lives. God has to appoint them in the right places.... for His glory.

Appreciate your prayers much for our children and our family as a whole.

Have a wonderful Christmas.......... God bless you all my friends......

Rajah, Theresa and the RANGELS

Month of December......... CHRISTMAS is here....

2009-12-08T13:57:00.005+08:00

My friends,
Wow,we are already at the end of the year 2009.
2010 is just a few days away....
God has been so sooooooooo good to me and my family through out the year 2009. The step of faith we took in Jan. 2009 - God was more than faithful to hold us for the entire year 2009

For the past few days I have been pondering on Christmas. I went for 2 church school Christmas programs..... saw Christmas plays and sang carols. But then what is Christmas today? Is it just celebrating the birth of Christ? Having good food and fun with the family?

The world is in a chaos, and there is war and terrorism all over the world. The prince of peace came 2000 years ago and mankind still have not found peace in Him.

I am so convinced that as long as the world does not recognize the prince of peace, there can NEVER be peace on earth. The mighty powers of the world can come together to sign peace treaties, but nothing will change the world situation. New terror groups are coming up every day. More soldiers are sent out to fight. What is the use of all this..... The world situation will deteriorate day by day. Only when we find the prince of peace, the situation will change.

My friends, we need to share to the world that Jesus is the ONLY Prince of Peace. Are we willing to share this good news to our friends this Christmas??? Then your Christmas will be meaningful.

Have a meaningful Christmas. bring one friend to the prince of peace this Christmas.

God bless you.

Pepsi soccer....

2009-11-14T10:11:00.002+08:00

Please watch this video.. it is so funny... I laugh and laugh at it every time I see it.. Enjoy the video clip
God bless
Rajah

FEAR OF THE LORD

2009-11-14T09:36:00.003+08:00

Hi,
These days I have been reading the book of proverbs. One thing which strikes me the most is the topic Solomon covers on the fear of the Lord. As I look at my life and the world around, one thing which lacks among the Christians is the fear of the Lord.

Solomon in the proverbs talks of it much in this book. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, it is the fountain of life, it turns men from snares of death, it gives security in the Lord, it is the refuge for our children, it is better than great wealth, teaches men wisdom and so on.

Oh how I wish that all of us will have that awe and fear for our living God. It is my prayer that all of us will have such fear for our awesome God and walk in His ways fearfully. This is my prayer for you my friend today that you will walk in His fear all your life.

Please view the video I uploaded earlier on the Greatness of God. I think if all of us can see God AS HE IS we will definitely have the awe and fear for Him. Because He is so great and beyond our wildest imagination.

God bless you all
Rajah

MUST I GO EMPTY HANDED.. TO MEET MY SAVIOR

2009-10-29T21:58:00.000+08:00

MUST I GO EMPTY HANDED.. TO MEET MY SAVIOR

2009-10-29T21:09:00.002+08:00

I was listening to this very old hymn this morning, written by Charles Carroll Luther. I have not heard this song sung in churches for years. The words of the songs inspired me so much, I thought I should share with you all. If you want to hear this song on piano, please log on to the site,

http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/930

Here is the lyrics of the song - so meaningful... and speaks to our hearts.... Hope you will be blessed.

1. "Must I go, and empty-handed,"
Thus my dear Redeemer meet?
Not one day of service give Him,
Lay no trophy at His feet?
* "Must I go, and empty-handed?"
Must I meet my Savior so?
Not one soul with which to greet Him:
Must I empty-handed go?
2. Not at death I shrink nor falter,
For my Savior saves me now;
But to meet Him empty-handed,
Thought of that now clouds my brow.
3. O the years in sinning wasted;
Could I but recall them now,
I would give them to my Savior,
To His will I'd gladly bow.
4. O ye saints, arouse, be earnest,
Up and work while yet 'tis day;
Ere the night of death o'ertake thee,
Strive for souls while still you may.

How great is our God ....

2009-10-18T20:00:00.004+08:00

Friends,
Recently I was watching a DVD message by Louie Giglio. He explains scientifically and in reality how great is our God. He actually takes us through some NASA statistics on the magnificent sun, earth and stars. He brings back to the Bible to say all these were created by our God. It's awesome to see how great is our God. Many times we take God for granted. We take Him very lightly. We do not see Him as the creator of the whole universe. We see the greatness of God in creation in Isaiah chapter 40. We read them but do not see it clearly............ But Louie helps us to see the greatness of our God in a wonderful and simple way.

Then Louie goes on to talk about the human body. from birth, we are fearfully and wonderfully made by the same God. Then he gives a punch to his finale of the message - with a protein molecule which holds our body together and all our cells in the body called Laminin............... let me not talk too much..... you watch this video on you tube. I have given the site below.... you can watch the whole message in parts in you tube............ I hope you enjoy and also know H=how great is our God..... in the you tube the message is in 5 parts.....

Let us fear Him with the awe due to Him.............HE IS AWESOME..... and best of all is He is our father, friend, brother and most of all our Savior. Praise God.

One of the Video clips from VBS in Nepal

2009-10-11T20:00:00.002+08:00

The lady who "bore my burden" as I walked back from the village in Nepal for more than 2 1/2 hours..... She take only 25 minute.....

2009-10-11T19:52:00.002+08:00

Nepal Mission trip seminar and VBS photos

2009-10-11T19:45:00.000+08:00

Dr. Val Inchley and Shoba Panth

2009-10-11T19:43:00.001+08:00

Phurka and Lily who helped us in the ministry in Nepal

2009-10-11T19:40:00.000+08:00

Nepal photos

2009-10-11T19:30:00.002+08:00

Nepal

2009-10-11T18:58:00.002+08:00

Dear friends,
I was doing a paper on Nepal mission trip. As I was looking at some statistics, it puzzled me that the percentage of Christians in Nepal is only 0.8%. One of my Nepali friend told me that more than 83% of the people live in villages. He told me that "If you have not visited a village in Nepal, you have not seen Nepal" How true it is. people are so scattered over the mountains of Nepal and these are real geographical challenges in mission works. Let us pray that God will move all the mission agencies and organizations to work in the villages rather than in the cities.
Please keep praying for Nepal - a country open to the Gospel and with lots of mission opportunities.
God bless you all............

VBS in Nepal - a very tocuhing moment

2009-10-09T08:29:00.002+08:00

Nepal Mission trip - October 2009

2009-10-03T22:40:00.001+08:00

Nepal Mission trip

2009-10-03T22:26:00.002+08:00

Dear friends,
I promised to get back to you with exciting stories from Nepal. Indeed God was at work. I just got back on 1st October from Nepal.

A team of 12 of us went on this mission trip. This time our trip was focused on ministering to people in the villages in Ghorka District. We had organized a seminar for adults and VBS (Vacation Bible School) for children. To our great surprise about 400 adults came for the seminar and about 150 children came for the VBS. Some of them had to walk about 10 hours over the mountains to come for the seminar. One of the guys who had gone back from Malaysia traveled about 14 hours to meet us at the seminar. What a joy to see such people.
God did honor their faith and efforts put in. God did many miraculous signs and wonders during the 4 days of seminar. People were getting healed, demons fleeing and people being slain in the Spirit........... Most of all.... many adults and children committed their lives to the Lord whole heartedly.What a joy to see some of them weeping and confessing their sins to the Lord and committing their lives to Him...

The team also visited some of the village churches nearly.... well, when we say nearby - for the Nepali people it takes 20 - 30 minutes to go to the village (I visited) .... BUT for people like me, it took more than 2 hours to go one way.... those were trying times and times to shed some sweat and fats........... But God sustained us to go to these villages and minister to the people there.

We praise God for this wonderful experience of God's power and Spirit at work. God could use even weak vessels like us for His glory... Amen.....
God bless
Rajah

World hunger

2009-08-27T09:03:00.004+08:00

Please watch this video which I recently downloaded.....
This scene must be breaking the heart of Jesus. Let us as Bob Pierce (Founder of world Vision) said, "Let my heart be broken with the things which breaks the heart of Jesus"

Nepal Mission trip

2009-08-27T08:55:00.003+08:00

Friends,
I will be taking a team of 12 to Nepal from 22nd to 30th September. It is going to be a time of ministry in the villages in Nepal. We need lots of prayer for this trip.
We will be conducting 3 days of teaching seminars for new believers in one district. During the seminar we also intend to have a children program for about 200 children. So the team is going to be very busy working for our master.
Please pray for the safety of our team. For most of the team members, this is the first trip to Nepal. As some of you may be aware of the struggles the Nepali churches are going through right now. Persecution is very real in this country. Pray that our teaching sessions will help, encourage and motivate new believers to move forward in their new found faith. When i come back, i will give a detail report on the blog. Thanks for praying....
God bless
Rajah

Sorry for not posting any news

2009-08-27T08:40:00.002+08:00

Hi friends,
It is more than a month since I put up my last posting. I am really sorry as I had been so busy with ministry. i have been traveling to various parts of Malaysia over the last 7 weeks. most of the time conducting seminars on mission over the weekends and also sharing God's word in churches on Sundays.
I still have another 3 more weeks of such ministry. Please uphold me in your prayers. I need His wisdom and His grace. The more I share in churches, i realize that it is not our ability which make people "mission minded", but it is the work of the Holy Spirit which makes the deep conviction in their hearts and minds. So the more we need to depend on the work of His spirit in the lives of people.
Friends, as I have been preparing for many of these seminars and sharing the word of God I realized that world today needs Jesus more than ever before. I am so convinced that He is the ONLY HOPE for humanity and the situation in the world today. How much it is true that we all need to be His instruments of peace in this world today.
The other fact I get more convinced of is that each one of us is a missionary in our own area of existence. God has placed us in a particular place so that His peace and Love will be made know to the non-Christians. But many times we seem to fail in this area. Most of the time we do not even realize that God has a purpose in putting us in a particular place of work or place of stay or a country / community for a definite purpose. It is so important that we identify his purposes in our lives and fulfill his divine purposes in this world.
I will try to write again later in the coming weeks. I have so much to share, but have time constrains... Once again I covet much of your prayers for me and our family.
God bless you all.
Rajah

Leading a lost soul to Christ is priceless

2009-07-17T13:42:00.004+08:00

Watch this very interesting video clip called the "MASTER'S CHARGE"

Friends, leading a lost soul to Christ is priceless..............
It is our

Master's charge

- the Great Commission. Let us do it faithfully.

Last weekend

2009-07-17T13:28:00.002+08:00

Friends,
Last week end I was in Ipoh Tamil Methodist church to conduct a missions seminar. God was at work. There were more than 100 people and out of which about 30-40 were young people. We had a very good presentation on world missions and showed them the works of MMM at the seminar. I was challenged and blessed by the seminar.

As I walked into the church I saw a big banner hanging at the alter area which says, "It is a season of break through" Yes, indeed this is the season of breakthrough. God is at work every where around the world. Amazing things are happening in Malaysia, Asia and in other parts of the world.

I was so blessed to hear that at the end of the seminar 3 people committed their lives for full time ministry in mission. What a joy. All my tiredness of preparing for this seminar over the past 3-4 weeks was made into joy and strength. Praise God.

Surely we live in a season of break through. God is at work. Let us move along with him and align ourselves with Him and be part of this great breakthrough in our country and around the world.

Please keep praying for me as I prepare for another 3 more such seminars over the next 6 weeks in different parts of Malaysia.

God bless you all and prepare you and equip you for a season of breakthrough. Amen.

Ecclesiastes - the Wisdom book

2009-07-17T13:15:00.002+08:00

One of the subjects I am taking in my Bible college course for this semester is the study on the book of Ecclesiastes. Yesterday I read the whole book of Ecclesiastes and was reading notes from the lecturer's blog. It is very interesting to note that this book is called the book of Wisdom. Even in the book of James, God says, those who lack wisdom can ask of Him. What the lecturer told us in the class last week, made lot of sense to understand what is wisdom.
He said, we get information and when our mind processes it it becomes knowledge. When knowledge is put into practice with understanding it becomes Wisdom.
Many a times we act on issues and things in our life just with information and knowledge only. We do not process these information into wisdom. When we act ONLY with information / knowledge and NOT with Wisdom, people get hurt, things gets messy and problems are caused.
God wants us to have wisdom and lead our lives with wisdom, and NOT with just information and knowledge. It is something we need to really put into practice in our lives. May the Lord help each one of us that we will be people of WISDOM and not just knowledge. We need His wisdom in every aspect of our lives.
God bless.

Our cow girls....... making of missionaries.....

2009-07-01T20:07:00.001+08:00

The fear of the Lord

2009-07-01T19:56:00.002+08:00

This morning I was reading from Acts chapter 5. In verse 11 it says,the "great fear (of the Lord) seized the church". what a state of the church. One of the thing we lack in our life is this - seriously let us say to ourselves is there fear of the Lord in our personal lives, in our church life, in our ministries.
May the fear of the Lord grip me all my life and may I live in His fear and in His love.....all of m y days....
Friends, we all need to check our lives to see how much we have gone "numb" in our lives when it comes to the fear of God. May all of us have this fear which will grip us and lead us in His perfect will.
God bless you all
Rajah

25,000 people die every day due to hunger

2009-06-28T06:43:00.004+08:00

Der friends,
Please watch this short video clip on YouTube. Firstly we must be grateful to God for His provision. Secondly, we must take efforts to help others who are hungry.

This is commitment .... to God

2009-06-26T22:02:00.005+08:00

Please check this U tube video testimony on how an old man used to witness for Christ.
This is really commitment to our call and our love for God. Please watch the video below.

God Bless

Psalm 91

2009-06-26T07:42:00.002+08:00

Often we read Psalm 91 as the Psalm of protection. Though it may be true, it has more than just protection promised by God. All of God's promises comes with conditions. This is what I learned this morning which i felt want to share with you all my friends:

Ps. 91 : 9 says "make God your dwelling place" - This means the protection God promises is for people who dwell in Him.
Ps. 91: 14 says "we must love Him" - lovingly living for Him is a prerequisite for our protection.
Ps. 91:14 again says "we must Acknowledge Him" - that means we must recognize Him as Lord and proclaim Him to others...

If we do all these things, then the protection of God mentioned in Ps. 91 is ours..

God expects us to live in Him, Love Him and acknowledge Him in our lives to get His protections in our lives..... wonderful the Word of God....

A cheerful heart is good medicine .....

2009-06-23T08:06:00.000+08:00

Dear friends,

I received this today from a friend and really made my heart merry.... so I thought I should share with you to cheer you up.... God bless..

A new pastor was visiting the families in his parish. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out his business card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door. When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this message, "Genesis 3:10." Reaching for his Bible to check out the verse reference, he broke up in laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins with: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."

"A cheerful heart is good medicine" (Prov. 17:22)

Father's day special

2009-06-22T16:32:00.000+08:00

We had a wonderful and meaningful father's day worship service.
The young people had a small play or a skit on the "Craftsmanship of God"
Do you know who wrote and directed the play..... it is Tabitha again...................
That was one very meaningful play from Galatians.
Tabi did not act in the play, but the 2 of her friends who did the play was excellent... I have asked Tabi to put it on U tube and give the site in this blog... hope she will do it by today. Well God chisels lot of things from our lives which cna be painful, but that is what we always pray for...
Please waatch the video and give us your comment..
You know what this girl, my second angel can really do lot of things, i do nto know of... Hope she will use ALL her gifts for God's glory.
Thanks Tabi for the wonderful play yesterday.....

Oh ya.... i forgot to mention that I got a gift for fatehr's day from my angels. It is a small water fountain, now I have it on my office table... beautiful gift..... Thanks RANGELS....

Our trip to Genting Highland

2009-06-22T15:48:00.000+08:00

We have our friends Pas. Alex @ Zaw Min Thu, his wife Grace @ Mya Mya Aung and another friend Stanley @ Hla Myit were with us in Malaysia. They ahve been our main contacts in Myanamr for our ministries there. We decided to take them to Genting highlands along with our whole family last Saturday. It was a day of fun and relaxation. Well we spent may be about 4 hours up the hill and then we came back. We had good time of fellowship and fun. Prasie God we do have fun time.....
Stanley and Alex's brother Raju @ Khin Soe even tried the "flying saucer" up in Genting.... I think they enjoyed it.....

Stanley after his "flying saucer" ride....

Grace @ Mya Mya and Alex @ Zaw MIn Thu with us...

Well, today Stanley went back to Myanmar. He has lots of memorable things to share with his wife and family. This was his first trip outside Myanmar..

God keep His promises

2009-06-16T07:58:00.000+08:00

As I was reading the word of God this morning, God reminded me of his faithfulness through Joshua 21:45. It says:

"Not one of all the Lord's good promises to the house of Israel failed: every one was fulfilled"

Yes He keeps up to His promises even when we fail in ours, that is why He is worthy and worthy of all praises and honor and glory.

Me and My studies

2009-06-15T11:59:00.000+08:00

It was the year 2002, I decided to do further my studies in the Bible school. I enrolled myself in the nearly Bible school for a Master of Christian studies program.
On the first day of my college, Debo, the 3rd angel asked me… “Appa, why are you going back to school….. did you fail in your classes? Are you starting your studies all over again?” Well, she will learn soon, that as the Tamil proverb says, “What we have learnt is limited to our level of our palm, and what we need to learn is ocean level” (Katrathu kaialavu, kallathathu kadalalavu or ulagalavu”) we learn all our lives..never stop learning….
Well 7 years later I am still studying…. Enjoy my classes and assignments… sometimes it is hard… Doing my MCS (Masters in Christian Studies) I should have finished in 4 years… but taking it slowly, BUT Steadily… Hope to finish by 2010. I have done about 35 units (credits) …...need another 25 units (credits) Well, I am about 60% done… Well my GPA is about ….. will let you know later… Please pray that I will keep up the GPA above this level.
I have not been a good student in the college, due to my ministry and travel, I have not been able to part take in most of the student activities… I just attend classes and do my assignment.. I should be doing better.

Rajah

My Rangels

2009-06-15T11:34:00.000+08:00

Now, people often ask me what is this 'RANGELS'. Well, that simply a shorter version of Rajah's Angels...which are my three daughters.

I have three lovely and wonderful angels in our family. What brings joy to me is that they all love the Lord Jesus Christ whole heartedly.

My first angel Abi says she wants to be a missionary and work among children. Working among children need lots of patience… hope she has that ‘fruit of the Spirit’… When I mention of children, I read recently that 55% of the world population are under the age of 15……… they are children… that means you need 55% of our missionaries must be working among children… am I right in my calculations??? Should be right…. Well all the best for her as she finishes her diploma on early childhood education next July. Hope she will pursue her career in this and be a blessing in the mission field some day. There is so much work you can do among the children.

As I was writing I remember one more statistics… it says, 65% of the people who come to know Jesus as their personal savior accept Christ below the age of 15. Well that shows how much work need to be put among children……………… well Abi, you are on right track………… hope your track is on course and not derail it….

My second angel, the funny one is Tabi, she keeps all of us laughing all the time… well one day I told the angels that after doing my Masters program in Christian studies, I may do my doctorate program Ph.D … well it was suppose to be a joke.. Well she in her witty way told me, “Appa, don’t do PHD…. You will have a Permanent Head Damage…. So what to do… have to drop the idea of doing Ph.D. atleast for now……

Well she also told me that she wants to serve God in the IT industry,,,, well I don’t know how… but I am sure mission need IT cracks like her who can sit in front of the computer for hours and never get tired… hey, you know something, she can really write well…. Good at it… so she should be good in IT… God will lead her in the right way… well by 2010 she has to choose her career…..

Yesterday my last angel, Debo and I had some discussion while going in the car… As we were sipping the cold slurpeeeeeeeee in the car, I asked her what she wants to be after her school studies finishes in 3 years time. She said, “apaaaaaaaaa I told you last week that want to take up some studies which will allow me to serve God……………. , don’t you remember?” well she told me something while I was half asleep ….. at midnight…. How to remember what she said…….

Wow… that is amazing.. that is exactly what my wife and I have been praying for. If this decision can come from their own mouth, that is enough for us. So looks like all my 3 angels will be serving God in some way or other, full time or part time…

Here are my angels… this photos were taken just last week. I still think that they are small whom I used to cuddle and rock them on my knees… now they are grown up young girls.. times flies so fast.. that reminds me that I am getting old.. so I netter do what God has intended me to do in my life time without failing Him.

Vacation Bible School (VBS) in Myanmar

2009-06-15T01:21:00.000+08:00

VBS is one very effective way of sharing Jesus with children.

We initially had VBS last year for the children we adopted under the GOH project. We expected about 350 children and we ended up with 650 children. We were so excited about this event. So this year we planned it in a better way to bless more children. So we planned to have it for 1000 children. However finance was a limiting factor to it. We shared this with a few friends who caught the vision and raised funds to have VBS for 950 children.

What a joy to see children smile and enjoy 4 days of staying in the camp site and enjoy good healthy food, play together and at the same time learn about God.

Next year we hope we can have for 1000 children and have it for 6 days……again finance is a factor to consider…. But then, what is USD 20,000? If it is His plan and will He will provide the funds… we just go on and plan trusting Him to do the rest.

Well if any of you want to be part of this exciting project, you can contact me. Our next VBS will be in May 2010.
I have posted some pictures of the VBS 2009 here……………………….

Pastor Alex and his wife

Rajah

Mingalaba!!

2009-06-15T01:06:00.000+08:00

My trip to Myanmar…..

If I am not mistaken I have gone to Myanmar over the last 5 years for more than 10 times. In the last 12 months alone I have made 5 trips. As I visit this nation which is full of wealth, yet the people are poor, my heart aches for the poor people. My first trip to Myanmar was to visit some Indians and the churches there. I did not understand the Indian culture well, (they are different from Malaysia or even form India) and had lot of difficulties understanding them. But what impressed me the most was the love of people in Myanmar. They look forward to people of Indian origin and they give you the best they have or more than what they have. In my first 2 trips as I visited some villages in Yangon (Rangoon) area, I saw children playing near those huts. I asked a friend (innocently), “why are they not in school?” Then I got the most shocking news that most of the children do not go to school as they cannot afford to go. Some of the families have 8-12 children and the parents earn so little that they cannot afford to send all of them to school. I thought to myself, if these children don’t learn and if they don’t gain knowledge, what is going to be the future of this country. I shared this with my friends back in MMM (Malaysian Missionary Movement) and there born the project called the “Gift Of Hope”. We launched a project to raise funds to support these poor children to go to school. Do you know it costs only about RM 120 (USD 35) per year to educate a child in Myanmar… When MMM shared this vision with our people in Malaysia, people got excited. Now we are able to support about 750 children. There are still many more on the streets waiting for someone to sponsor their education. Atleast we are doing what we can… Over the last 3 years I have met many of these kid whom we support in school, they are so happy. You know something last year 2 of these kids who were on the streets without going to school were the no. 1 and 2 students in that school. That means these children are born with so much of God given intelligence, but they lack opportunities… How I wish I can take up 10,000 children and send them to school… see some of the children we have adopted over the years. Recently I was in Myanmar and met some of the children, all I can see on their sweet faces were smiles.. they are so happy that they can go to school. It is my prayer and dream that some day we will see some great engineers, doctors, lawyers, businessmen, teachers and other professionals out of college and bring hope for this nation. I am sure they will be a blessing to the nation of Myanmar.

God bless
Rajah

Take A Step Into My World

2009-06-14T23:12:00.000+08:00

Hi friends,

Greetings from Malaysia !

Frankly speaking, I am not a blogger…. But my daughter says I must learn the latest technology and keep up in this world. She keeps telling me that I am still very young and must do what young people do. So here I am trying to write something on this blog.

I always think that blogging or facebook is for the young ones who have fewer things to do… maybe I am wrong…. If this is the latest way of disbursing information, let me be part of it too.

Hope you read my blog once in a while and do give me a feed back. I have and can write a lot of things, but my time does not permit me to do so. I will try my best to share some of the things which are happening in my life.

God bless.

Rajah & Theresa with the Rangels