(This is my S. S. Class I normally teach in Room 208)
James 2:1-13 New International Version Favoritism Forbidden
1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.
3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor.Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court?
7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.
9 But if you show favoritism you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,
13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Well, this is one of the busiest travel days in the year; people packing into airports and airplanes. Maybe not as much this year, but maybe you’re still heading out for whoever they like to be with over Thanksgiving.
But you know what? A lot of air travelers are having to make that choice again: Do I want the scanner, or do I want the pat down? Yeah! Hum…I’m Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “A Personal Thanksgiving.”
So, I have sat and listened at times to all the opinions you hear on the news about Thanksgiving travelers’ privacy, and something in the Bible popped into my mind.
It’s our word for today from the Word of God, Hebrews 4:13. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight; everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
Wow! God sees what we don’t want anybody else to see. The previous verse tells us that God sees and judges “the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).We’re talking all the dark stuff.
The dirty thoughts, the adulterous desires, the seething jealousy, that volcanic anger, the endless lies, the backstabbing words, that hateful prejudice, the hurtful selfishness. He sees the egocentric pride we’ve got, and He knows about that long-harbored bitterness. “Everything is uncovered and laid bare” the Bible says.
Oh, we could try to rationalize it or minimize it or call it by a nice name, but it is what it is. It’s sin against God; sin against another person. Rotting trash is rotting trash, no matter how pretty the paper you wrap it in. And with God, it’s all unwrapped. No secrets.
We think, “Hey, well, no one’s caught me.” If God knows, you’re caught. And He knows. Our secrets are not only exposed to God, but they become the basis for us to be judged by God.
Hear what God says again: “God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ” (Romans 2:16). King David said in one of his psalms, “O Lord, You have searched me and You know me…You are familiar with all my ways” (Psalm 139:1, 3).
My first reaction: “Uh-oh.” Second reaction: “Good. One person I don’t need to hide anything from…I can’t hide anything from.” In fact, the first step to being free from the darkness inside is to say what the Prodigal Son said when he came home to his father: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against You” (Luke 15:18).
There’s just something liberating about being brutally honest about your sin as you bring it into God’s pure light. Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
And then comes the release that we desperately need but we don’t deserve. In God’s words, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). God stands ready to give us a spiritual shower called “forgiven” – and there’s no better feeling than knowing that you are finally clean.
That forgiveness is no cheap thing though. Revelation 1:5 says, “He loves us and freed us from our sins by His blood.” It took the shedding of the blood of God’s only Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for all my junk. A cross He did not deserve; an excruciating death. God’s Son being cut off from God the Father because Jesus was carrying my sin, going through my hell so I could go to His heaven.
But our bill was paid. All we have to do is take for ourselves what He died for, turning from the sin-darkness that has poisoned our life. So, as I see recurring pictures this season of body scanners and hand searches, I’m thinking God doesn’t need any of that. He sees it all. He knew that what was hidden in the dark places would blow up my life and my eternity.
So He acted to defuse it with the most extreme act of sacrificial love in history. He absorbed the “blast” Himself so I could board the flight to His heaven and be with Him forever. Do you want to get started with Him? You want to experience this? Tell Him that today.
Go to our website and find out there how to be sure you belong to Him. That’s ANewStory.com. It is wonderful to live without fear of discovery, with a clean heart, and with nothing to hide!
13-year-old Tanmay Bakshi a kid from India, became the world’s youngest IBM Watson Programmer at the age of 12. Just listen to the conversation, it is mind blowing!
Based in Brampton, Canada, he started coding at the age of 5, created an iOS app at 9, and became the world’s youngest IBM Watson Programmer at the age of just 12.
Meet Tanmay Bakshi – an AI expert for Google and IBM, a TedX Speaker and a Keynote Speaker for associations like NASSCOM. He has also co-authored the book Hello Swift! iOS Programming for Kids and Other Beginners.
What’s more, he runs a YouTube channel that has nearly 300,000 subscribers, where he uploads tutorials and other informative content.
Acts 4:32-37 New International Version The Believers Share Their Possessions
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. 36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), 37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.
Acts 5:1-11 New International Version Ananias and Sapphira
1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him. 7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.” 9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” 10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
GOD, THE PERFECT FATHER A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances, said: “My king, do not be discouraged, because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes!”
One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the king. His slave managed to kill the animal, but could not prevent his majesty losing a finger.
Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman said “Is God good? If He was good, I would not have been attacked and lost my finger.” The slave replied: “My king, despite all these things, I can only tell you that God is good, and he knows “why” of all these things.
What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!” Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.
Later, he left for another hunt and was captured by savages who made human sacrifices. In the altar, ready to sacrifice the nobleman, the savages found that the victim had not one of his fingers, so he was released.
According to them, it was not so complete to be offered to the gods. Upon his return to the palace, he authorized the release of his slave that he received very affectionately. “My dear, God was really good to me! I was almost killed by the wild men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go!
But I have a question: if God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?” The slave replied: ”My King, if I had gone with you in this hunt, I would have been sacrificed for you, because I have no missing finger, therefore, remember everything God does is perfect.
He is never wrong. ”Often we complain about life, and negative things that happen to us, forgetting that nothing is random and that everything has a purpose. Every morning, offer your day to God, don’t be in a rush. God is the perfect father.
Ask God to inspire your thoughts, guide your actions, and ease your feelings. And do not be afraid. God is never wrong! You know why this message is for you? I do not know, but God knows, because he never makes mistakes. He is the perfect father and He uses imperfect people.
The path of God and his word is perfect, without impurities. He is the way of all those who trust in Him.LikeCommentShare
1. Weaknesses create a dependence on God. 2. Weaknesses prevent pride and act as a governor in your life. 3. Weaknesses cause a greater dependence upon other people. 4. Weaknesses expand our capacity to minister.
Admitting our weaknesses brings us closer to others, giving us the ability to minister more compassionately. In fact, admitting your weaknesses probably needs to be written on your resume if you’re going to minister effectively to others.
“If you’re going to have a Christlike ministry,” Rick writes, “it means that sometimes other people are going to find healing in the wounds that are in your life. Who can better help an alcoholic than someone who is a former alcoholic? Who can better help a childless couple than a childless couple? Who can better help than the person who’s been there?
I believe that our greatest life messages come out of our deepest hurts.” God wants us to live dependent on him. God wants us to be people in touch with our limitations, aware that we can’t do everything on our own, conscious that without Him and others we are weaker.”
What about you? What weaknesses are you trying to hide today? Look for opportunities to reveal those weaknesses in order that others might see your dependence on God and be encouraged to do the same.
1 John 3:11-24 New International Version More on Love and Hatred
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God Psalm 92:12-13
“Like palm trees meant to flourish, God provides everything we need to grow in Him. This pursuit of growth does not save us, nor is it a heavy yoke. On the contrary, it is a pursuit of joy! It is the striving of a creature seeking satisfaction in the only place it can be found—our Creator and Redeemer.”
Somebody once asked a Christian friend, “I can’t understand you Christians because India is the home of many religions that it is an exceedingly religious country. Why then do you introduce yet another religion and add to the confusion? Surely, India has enough religions.”
The Christian friend answered, “Friend, I’m not interested in RELIGION, but I’m deeply interested in the GOSPEL. I would not walk across the streets for RELIGION, but I’m willing to go around the world for the sake of the GOSPEL.
There is a difference between the two. ”RELIGION is man made; the GOSPEL is God given,
RELIGION is what man does for God; the GOSPEL is what God has done for man,
RELIGION is man’s search for God; the GOSPEL is God’s search for man,
RELIGION is man trying to climb the ladder of his own self-righteousness, with the hope of meeting God at the topmost rung; the GOSPEL is God coming down the ladder of the incarnation of Jesus Christ and meeting us as sinners at the lowest rung (forming the steps of a ladder),
RELIGION is good views; the GOSPEL is good news.
RELIGION is good advice; the GOSPEL is glorious announcement.
RELIGION takes a man leaves him as he is; the GOSPEL takes a man as he is and makes him what he ought to be.
RELIGION ends in an outer reformation; the GOSPEL ends in an inner transformation.
RELIGION white washes; the GOSPEL washes white.
RELIGION often becomes a farce; the GOSPEL is always a force, the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.
Here are some Healing Scriptures by Keith Moore, and as Narrated by me. The First Section consists of Healing Scriptures from the Old Testament, and the Next Section consists of Healing Scriptures from the New Testament.
You can play the Video over and over to Memorize the scriptures, and to say them out loud with your own mouth. You can also pause the video whenever you want, to repeat a particular scripture.
I am doing this because some people may be struggling with sickness, and specially Covid 19.
Former collector of Jabalpur, Dr. Roman Saini’s story is one which is bound to inspire many to do something good for the welfare of the society. To help all those students who cannot afford IAS related education, he launched an online institution by the name “Unacademy” and has been providing not just IAS related education, but coaching in various fields.
Another shocking thing about Mr Saini is that he had turned an IAS officer at a tender of 22. He also became the youngest to clear the pre medical examination and a doctor at the highly reputed AIIMS. When he visited a village in 2011 as a part of the medical camp and then he realized how much people were struggling in such meteor towns.
He runs the Unacademy website with the help of his friend Gaurav Munjal and is doing a spectacular job, gaining great popularity on social networking websites such as Facebook, Quora, Instagram and Youtube. When his popularity increased, he decided to quit the IIT job and focus completely on becoming a full time educator.
There are closely 400 videos in his portal and is currently having more than 1 Million subscribers on Youtube, which indeed is a significant number to achieve. His channel provides a great platform for all those students who cannot afford costly coaching or materials required to prepare for competitive exams.
He covers almost all main aspects like Geography, Physics, History, Politics, Arts, Environment, Ecology, Biodiversity etc.
Financial conditions becoming a barrier to educational progress is a common sight in our country, but from many years we have failed to bring a solution to this thing. Here’s a young 25 year old, who is showing way for this generation people to not just settle yourself well, but also to help your surroundings to improve and live a sophisticated life.
We all salute you Mr Saini, keep doing the great job!
Sundar Pichai, the India-born CEO of Google, was interviewed by The New York Times on how he is steering the tech giant through the most turbulent period in its history. Pichai, who helped develop Google’s browser, Chrome, dwells on employees who protested sexual harassment at the company and on Silicon Valley’s troubles in the interview, but it also provides a fascinating account of his childhood and how it was like growing up in India. Below are the highlights on those aspects of his life:
Voracious Reader
Pichai, who attended prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, then Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he received advanced degrees, was a voracious reader as a boy. “I had a lot of time to read. I was processing a lot,” he said. He told NYT that he read whatever he could get his hands on. He read Dickens.
“Simple” Childhood In Chennai
Pichai, who joined Google in 2004 after stints at Applied Materials and McKinsey, said there was a simplicity to his life, “which was very nice compared with today’s world”. He told NYT that he lived in a “kind of modest house, shared with tenants”. He and family would sleep on the living room floor, according to him. And because there was a drought when he was growing up, even now, he said he can never sleep without a bottle of water beside his bed. He told NYT that other houses had refrigerators, and then his family finally got one, it was a big deal.
Studying In IIT
Pichai said he rarely had access to the computer— maybe three or four times — during his stint at IIT. “To come and just have these labs in which you had access to computers and you could program, it was a big deal to me,” he told NYT in the interview. He said he was so wrapped up in that, that to some extent he didn’t understand there was a much bigger shift happening with the internet.
Screen Time With Family
Pichai said he wants to let go of his devices for the weekend, but hasn’t succeeded yet. The TV at home is not easily accessible, according to him. He told his son is 11 years old, and he is mining Ethereum and earning money. Though his son getting insight into how the tech world works, how commerce works, he still doesn’t have a phone, Pichai told NYT.
John 15:1-17 New International Version The Vine and the Branches
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.
3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.
11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
The Deepest Cry of the Human Heart – by Ron Hutchcraft
In 1963, the United States Supreme Court outlawed prayer in America’s public schools. One of the plaintiffs in that case was America’s best-known and most visible atheist at the time, Madalyn Murray O’Hair. Over the years, she was a vocal proponent of atheism and an aggressive campaigner against religion in public life.
Then one day she vanished, leaving her sports car in an airport parking lot and $500,000 missing from the American Atheists Association bank account. The Internal Revenue Service seized Mrs. O’Hair’s home to pay her creditors and some back taxes, and one of the items at auction was her diaries.
And one entry said, “The whole idiotic hopelessness of human relations descends upon me. Tonight, I cried and cried, but even then feeling nothing.” Then I was really struck by four words that Madalyn Murray O’Hair reportedly wrote at least half a dozen times over the years, “Somebody, somewhere, love me. “I’m Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Deepest Cry of the Human Heart.
“I don’t know about you, but that cry for love in Mrs. O’Hair’s diary touches something inside me. In a way, her cry is the cry of every human heart, “Somebody, somewhere, love me.” And for many who do believe in God, there is still that awful vacuum. It’s possible to believe in God, to do God’s things, and still miss the deep experience of His love.
And without that love, the emptiness and loneliness in our heart is never satisfied, no matter how many human loves we experience. Well, you’re probably nowhere near an atheist. It could be that you’ve invested a lot in good things that could easily become other gods: your career, your children, your projects, maybe your friends, your charity work, even your spiritual pursuits.
But the deep, aching sense of aloneness doesn’t go away. Every earth-love has ultimately either failed you or failed to satisfy you. So, after all these years, your heart is still whispering, maybe even shouting, “Somebody, somewhere, love me.”
Our word for today from the Word of God describes the only love that can ever truly satisfy this deepest cry of the human heart. It’s found in Romans 8:38-39. “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
There it is…unlosable love, unconditional love, unmeasurable love. God wants you to experience that love more than you can imagine, so much that He sacrificed the One He loves the most for you. That’s His one and only Son, Jesus. The reason we’re missing that love is because we’ve pushed God out of our lives with our sin. We’ve lived “my way” instead of God’s way, over and over again. And that’s left us separated from God and from His love with a death penalty on our heads.
But God just lavished His love on you by sending Jesus to actually die in your place. But you’re still missing this love that your heart wants so much until you respond to it by placing all your trust in Jesus Christ to remove that sin-barrier and give you eternal life that only He can give. You’re that close to finally making ultimate love your own.
Because He’s alive today. He walked out of His grave under His own power. If you want to begin this personal love relationship with Jesus, the most important thing is that you tell Him that right now in words maybe something like this. “Jesus, I was made by You and for You. I’ve lived for me. I know that’s sin. I know I deserve the penalty for it. You didn’t deserve the penalty, but You took it. You loved me so much You died for me in my place. And today I’m loving You back. I’m giving myself to You.”
If you’re feeling that you want this, go to our website. It’s called ANewStory.com. There you’ll find all the information that will help you be sure that you’ve got this settled. See, Jesus is the “Somebody, somewhere” that your heart’s been lonely for. And you don’t have to live one more day without His love.HUTCHCRAFT.COMhutchcraft.com
Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen. —Romans 1:20
A man wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a baseball cap positioned himself against a wall beside a trash can at the L’Enfant Plaza station in Washington, DC.
He pulled out a violin and began to play. In the next 43 minutes, as he performed six classical pieces, 1,097 people passed by, ignoring him. No one knew it, but the man playing outside the Metro was Joshua Bell, one of the finest classical musicians in the world, playing some of the most elegant music ever written on a $3.5 million Stradivarius.
But no crowd gathered for the virtuoso. “It was a strange feeling, that people were actually . . . ignoring me,” said Bell._ 🙇♀️
God also knows what it feels like to be ignored. The apostle Paul said that God has sovereignly planted evidence of His existence in the very nature of man. And creation delivers an unmistakable message about His creativity, beauty, power, and character.
Although God has revealed His majesty, many refuse to acknowledge and thank Him. But God will hold everyone responsible for ignoring who He is and what He has revealed: “They are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful” (Rom. 1:20-21).🙇♂️
*All creation is an outstretched finger pointing toward God. Let us acknowledge and thank the Virtuoso of heaven, who has wonderfully revealed Himself to us.
John 13:1-15 New International Version Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God;
4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.
5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.”
11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them.
13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am.
14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
John 13:34-35New International Version
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
One of the most amazing things I ever discovered is how the power of prayer TRANSCENDS barriers of time as we understand it. This story illustrates just that.
This true story was shared by Dr. Helen Roseveare, in her book “Living Faith.” The time is the 1950’s, the place is the Belgian Congo and the person sharing is herself…
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive; as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).
We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One apprentice midwife went to fetch the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). “And it is our last hot water bottle!” she exclaimed.
As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. “All right,”
I said, “put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.” The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me.
I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills.
I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During prayer time, one ten year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. “Please, God” she prayed, “Send us a hot water bottle today. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.”
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, “And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?” As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say “Amen?”
I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything; the Scriptures says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever, received a parcel from home.
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there on the verandah was a large 22-pound parcel.
I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box.
From the top, I lifted out brightly-colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas – that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.
Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the… could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out. Yes, a brand new, rubber hot water bottle! I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, “If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!”
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked, “Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that God really loves her?”
“Of course,” I replied! That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child – five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it “that afternoon.”
“Before they call, I will answer.” ~ Isaiah 65:24When you receive this, say a prayer. That’s all I ask. No strings attached. Then just send it on to whomever you want to – but do send it on. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive. There is no cost, but a lot of rewards. Let’s continue to trust in God with all our heart. What a faithful God.
~ Helen Roseveare, Living FaithLiving Faith was written in 1980 by Dr. Helen Roseveare. She was born in England in 1925 and went to medical school at Cambridge University. From 1953 to 1973 she was a Christian missionary to the Congo where she practiced medicine and trained many others in medical work.
In 1964 she was taken prisoner by rebel forces, held captive for five months and suffered many beatings and rapes. After her release she went back to England, but returned to the Congo two years later to help with the rebuilding of the country.
Over the next seven years, she supervised the funding and construction of a new medical school and hospital (the others she had built were destroyed during the civil war) and cared for countless numbers of patients. She lived in Northern Ireland until she passed on in 2016.
A real life story that happened in Tinsukia District, Assam…A vegetable seller, Soberan, was coming home, pushing his vegetable thela.
He heard a baby crying in the bushes. Soberan went near the bush and saw an infant lying on the heap of garbage, crying. Soberane looked around, waited a while and when no one appeared, lifted her in the lap.
It was a baby girl. Soberan brought her home. Soberan was 30 years old at that time and was unmarried. He was very happy and decided to raise the child single-handedly. He named the girl, Jyoti!!
Soberan worked hard day and night and did not let her feel the lack of anything. He sent her to school and did everything he could to fulfill her needs. Even if he had to remain hungry, he never let his daughter fall short of anything.
Years passed by….. And Jyoti graduated in Computer Science in 2013. She started preparing for competitive exams. In 2014, Jyoti performed brilliantly in the examination conducted by the Assam Public Service Commission and was appointed the Assistant Income Tax Commissioner!!!
Soberan’s eyes welled with tears on seeing his daughter fulfilling her dream. Presently, Jyoti is taking good care of her father and is fulfilling all his wishes. Even though she insists on him relaxing, her father still runs the vegetable vendor trade.
Soberan says,”I did not pick a girl from garbage; I got a diamond from a coal mine. She has filled my life with divine light.” That’s Soberan & his daughter, Assistant Commissioner Jyoti!
