L IG HT H O U S E

INSIDE : Essay : Foot Ball... Foot Ball,

When Goal Keeper Scores a Goal, Gods Face Book

VOLUME : 48

MESSAGE

FOOTBALLFOOTBALL
Absorbed with World up football? Well, I am one of those who gladly gets
infected with Soccer fever contagion which breaks out once every four 4
years. Let me vouchsafe for the fact that one can never get sick of of the
kick of soccers sorcery! Amongst other things, ever wondered what is so
special about the game of football? Unlike other games like say tennis, cricket,
hockey etc which require their practitioners to use special equipments, the
game of football requires just one air-lled leather sphere to go along with
your juggling feet. Captivating chemistry eh? As one noted Sports analyst put
it you just need to be a man to play it, in the same way, one needs to be just
a man to fall prey to its innite charms.
While football can fascinate for a season, Gods word enchants from eternity
to eternity. It is sweeter than honey declared the Psalmist (119:103). Oh the
joys of reading and absorbing the Scriptural truths! In this essay, I intend to
draw some spiritual lessons from the occurrences and matters related to the
World of football.

EMIGRATION

Luis Monti a famous International Football player of yore

Ever heard of Luis Monti? Well, he has a rare distinction of being the only
player to have ever played in two World cup nals for two different teams! In
1930, he played in the losing Argentine side; later on he immigrated to Italy
and played a pivotal role in Italy winning the 1934 World cup.
In a way every Christian can identify with Luis Monti, isnt it? To start with
we were all in a country of sin playing in the losing side of Satan, werent
we? Our lives were one of one big spiritual defeat, as the following Scripture
portion so amply testies
Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became
slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and
we hated each other. Titus 3:3 (NLV)

But the Good News with a capital G now is we have thanks to His grace
emigrated to Gods Kingdom as it were, and are now playing in a new
victorious team When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he
saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his
mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through
the Holy Spirit- Titus 3:4-5 (NLV)
Hey, we are on the winning side! Then again, what about the author of this
epistle to Titus from which the above-mentioned Scripture portions have
been extracted? Mr. Saul of Tarsus, when he set out to Damascus to persecute
Christians, he was playing for the Satans team but en-route thanks to Gods
everlasting grace, he was wrung out of Devils outt and grafted into
the winning side of Christ (Acts 9:1-20) as an apostle. Look at his touching
testimonial to this effect
For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, Im not even worthy to be
called an apostle after the way I persecuted Gods church. But whatever I am
now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me and not without
results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was
not I but God who was working through me by his grace. I Corinthians
15:9-10
By the way for whose team are you playing? IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM, ONE
CANNOT BE NEUTRAL. If you are not for Calvary cavaliers (read Jesus team),
remember consciously or unconsciously, you are playing for Hell dwellers
(read Satans side)!
Only, if you have this emigration experience, you would be able to better
appreciate what follows in this Essay

INSTRUCTION

Football coach-Different moods

While a football team plays on the eld, unlike Cricket where captain holds
sway, the one who holds the strings in the game of football, is an unseen (in
the eld) manager or the coach. It is he, who spends countless hours molding
his team into a winning combination. Right from training to strategizing to
nal team selection, a manager sheds his blood and sweat in order his team

and its supporters taste sweet success. Though in the sidelines, during the
game his involvement is total! Do not we see the whole gamut of emotions
registering in his countenancefrom agony to ecstasy, from anxiety to relief
when TV cameras zoom in now and then to show the global audience his
varying emotions, during the key moments of the match?
Could there have been a greater manager than Christ? Though the disciples
were in some cases from diametrically opposite backgrounds, he fashioned
them into a winning unit, who would now play with a single goal in mind.
Oh yes, Nehemiah made men of different professions work side-by-side (a
goldsmith and a perfume maker Nehemiah 3:8) but Christ is greater for he
accomplished a far more difcult task of making men of TOTALLY DIFFERENT
IDEOLOGIES work shoulder to shoulder. Imagine a Taliban terrorist and US
marine sinking their differences for a common cause and playing in a same
team in a football eld in Kabul! Preposterous? Well, that exactly is the picture
which comes to the fore, when we see Matthew (a pro-Roman government
tax collector before becoming a disciple- Matt 9:9-13) and Simon the Zealot
(violently opposed to Roman government- Mark 3:18) together putting their
shoulders to the Gospel wheel, as it were
How could Christ do it? By his own exemplary uncompromising lifestyle, which
was all about of being willing to lay EVERYTHING at the altar for the glory of the
Father, leave alone petty (relatively speaking that is) ideological differences?
Consider this verse In my rst book I told you, Theophilus, about everything
Jesus began to do and teach- Acts 1:1. Look at the sequencing of the words,
DO precedes TEACH. Right? He would not ask his men to do anything, which
he himself would not do before (from the foreword They call me coach
thanks Bill Walton)!
He also trained up His mostly unschooled disciples in a way that the religious
leaders of his day simply marveled
When the Council saw the boldness of Peter and John, and could see that
that they were obviously uneducated non-professionals, they were amazed
and realized WHAT BEING WITH JESUS HAD DONE FOR THEM Acts 4:13
(TLB). Do you know one more secret- post Pentecostal experience- in spirit
he was now WITHIN them?
Further a look at his strategies would convince us that he put the right men
in the right position. While on the subject, ever pondered why Jesus
chose doubting Thomas of all apostles -a person whose name is dubiously
synonymous with cynicism to minister- for Him in India (a country with a
deep religious mindset). Only a rationalist like Thomas could have logically
expounded the sound Biblical precepts to men who were well founded in
matters of religion (Indians as always were quite religious in I century AD
also). Tradition says that having studied the Vedas and seen them speaking
about the coming Lamb of God , LIKE A TRUE RATIONALIST Thomas pointed

at all the Vedic proofs relating to Christ with conviction to religious men of his
day. Is it any wonder then, that the very rst persons, Thomas baptized in his
ministry in India were orthodox namboodhiri Brahmins in Palayur, Kerala! For
more on the Vedic Christ-related proofs, you may click on this link
http://www.jandsmministries.com/vadic.asp

This pond and statues at the Palayur church represent

St. Thomas baptizing the Brahmins
Finally consider the unwitting compliment that the enemies (I repeat not
friends) of the Christs disciples paid to them THESE MEN HAVE TURNED THE
WORLD UPSIDE DOWN Acts 17:6 and the picture of the HISTORYS GREATEST
COACH emerges with no shades of grey! Boy, disciples accomplishment thanks
to Christs enablement was not merely about winning the World cup but the
World itself for the Master!!!
By the way Christian leader are you faithfully following your Masters footsteps
in being an example to people around you (Titus 2:7)?

CAPITALIZATION

The Bomber bombing away

Dribbling and dodging, lets speed away into one more lesson from Soccer.
Gerd Muller? Does it ring a bell? With national record of 68 goals in 62
international appearances, this German footballer was aptly nicknamed the
Bomber. He is one of the very few players of 50 or more caps to score more
goals than the games he has played. What made him so effective in goal

mouth action? His uncanny ability to capitalize on even a small opportunity

and convert it into a goal.
Now coming to Gospel action. Be on the go when it comes to looking out
for an opportunity to share the Gospel. When a chance it arises, it needs to
be grabbed... with both feet oppsI meanhands!
They all rushed out in amazement to Solomons Colonnade, where the man
was holding tightly to Peter and John. Peter saw his opportunity (emphasis
mine) and addressed the crowd. Acts 3:11-12
Preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance,
in season and out, when it is convenient and when it is not II Tim 4:2
(TLB)
Didnt somebody say if we do not evangelize, we fossilize! If we realize this
truth and work sincerely, we get the PRIZE (I Thess 2:19 NKJV)!

PROTECTION

Gordon Banks save of the century of a Pele header Mexico WC 1970

In Football, winning is not only about goal-scoring but also goal-defending!
You can bank upon Gordon Banks (of England) anytime old timers would say
of Worlds greatest goalkeeper. Old English football commentators bemoaning
his absence (taken ill before the match) in a critical quarter-nal encounter
against ole enemy Germany, which England lost despite leading 2-0 at one
time, even today claim the Banks presence could have made all the difference
on that day. So a good guardian of the goal can indeed spell difference between
the Victor and the Vanquished in a Football match. In the Church also good
guardians of the Biblical truths are required lest the apostates and heretics
score a goal on devils behalf (Jude 1:3/ I Thess 5:21). With several wrong
doctrines and cultists on the prowl, how do we guard ourselves against their
subtle machinations? The answer is to be well-grounded in the Scriptures, so
we can immediately detect their wrong teachings. A banker (Banks again eh!)
would say the best way to detect a counterfeit currency is to know well how
the original one looks. Ditto in the Spiritual realm too! Didnt somebody also

say in the same context You can recognize a crooked line, only when you
know how a straight line looks?

UNDERESTIMATION

A Goalie taking a goalkick

So we think that a goalkeeper is merely the last line of defence with an
important role to play in saving goals but with no role to play in scoring
goals and basking in the limelight subsequently. Nay! A shrewd guardian of the
citadel is actually the rst line of offence say Sports analysts. A crafty goalie
while taking a routine goal kick does not look at it as one long aimless punt
into the middle but rather as an opportunity to pass the ball the aerial way
to some unguarded teammate to seize the opportunity on the moment. AND
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT (STRAIGHT FROM RIPLEYS BOOK OF BELIEVE IT OR NOT)
GOOLKEEPERS CAN EVEN TAKE THE BALL ALL THE WAY TO THE OPPOSITION
CITADEL AND SCORE A GOAL
How like in the Christian realm! In His kingdom, unexpectedly the least are
used of the Lord for achieving great goals. Do not underestimate your own
capacity, when it comes to be used by the good Lord. For instance, John
4:29, captures the scene of the most unlikely woman missionary in action,
so much so our Lord remarked in the context of rewards on the judgment day
that there shall be plenty of surprises
But many who are rst will be last, and many who are last will be rst.
Matt 19:30 (NKJV)
Not in the frontline? Dear brother/sister do not get discouraged. Make taking
the goal kick whole-heartedly and meaningfully for the Lord, your goal AND
IF THE LORD INSPIRES YOU TO COME TO THE FRONTLINE, DO IT BOLDLY

CO-ORDINATION

Now lets play a defense -splitting pass, splitting devils defense that is. What
is a football team without teamwork? A BIG ZERO! To win, the team needs to
work like a well-oiled machine with each part playing its role to perfection.
The defenders, the midelders and forwards with a goalie in tow, HAVE THEIR
OWN SPECIALIZED ROLES TO PLAY TOGETHER IN CONSONANCE WITH THE GOAL
OF THE TEAM TO SCORE A GOAL!
By the same token what is a Church with several gifted individuals without
proper co-ordination amongst themselves? A non-entity! Team work in its
noblest form is not only about playing with each other but playing for each
other. Consider Apostle Pauls wise words here, spoken in the context of much
needed teamwork in the Corinthian church
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source
of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord.
God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all
of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. I Cor
12:4-7
Best example of team work? You do not have to look beyond the Trinity working
in unity to procure our salvation. God chose us, Son shed his blood on the cross
as a ransom to purchase us from sins grasp and the Holy Spirit convicted us
at the right time and made us accept the Divine Redemption plan and would
keep the sanctication process going till we reach the heavenly shores or the
Bridegroom comes rst to receive us (I Peter 1:2). Didnt somebody say in this
context of Salvation God thought it, Christ bought it, Holy Spirit wrought it
and though devil fought it, praise God, I have got it! Hallelujah! Also have
we ever praised the Trinity for absolute selessness within themselves? The
Son was willing to die an excruciating death on the cross to obey His Fathers
will (Luke 22:42) and the Father selessly exalted the Sons name above ALL
names- Philippians 2:9 (including His own names such as Elohim, El-Shaddai,
Adonai etc) and the Holy Spirit when we are worshipping the Father in Sons
Name helps us but never calls attention to Himself. AMAZING ISNT IT? THE
OTHER-CENTREDNESS IN TRINITY! If this does not inspire us to play for each
other, then nothing else will!

Historically, it has been proven that if the Church is to take wing all the
wings of the Church have to work in harmony.
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets,
the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip
Gods people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.- Eph
4:11-12
Remember the good ole denition of the word TEAM? TOGETHER EVERYONE
ACHIEVES MORE! Do I need to say MORE?

DESTINATION

What is the ultimate goal of any player/team in the World cup competition? To
win the cup that matters. All the hard work, tonnes of sweat shed in training,
the expectations of countless fans, players personal dreams all suffuse in
that one ethereal moment when the cup is handed over to the team. Oh the
joys of lifting the cup in full media glare! Hey, Christian you are pursuing a
loftier goal, isnt it?
I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for
which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. - Philippians 3:14
This heavenly prize (too beautiful to describe), mind you wont slip away
from our hands after say 4 years like the earthly World cup does at times.
OURS is for keeps! So press on and land the prize, praising Him! Hallelujah!
Suresh Manoharan

POEM SECTION
GODS FACEBOOK

In enhancing contacts, Social media has given people

especially the young the boost
The likes of Facebook, Twitter, Linked in now rule the roost
You can have contacts far and wide
Oh the Earth has shrunk thanks to technology, we say with pride
But do you go know before modern technology made its advent
The Creator brought the right resource in connection
with His many a Servant
Remember the Earth is made of Sky, Sea and Sod
In all the three spheres we see the working of a Divine I-Pod.
Lets rewind and go to the Elijah and Ravens story,
We see the amazing Sky connection at work, all for Gods glory
Then what about Jonah and Big Fish of the sea
Contact by Providence is there for all to see
When Daniel was thrown into the lions den
The predators became like sheep in a pen
They became friends with the Lords prophet
The term Friend of Lions has since become an epithet
Ethiopian Eunuch reading Isaiah 53 (in Acts 8) never knew Phillip before
But on the Lords leading there was this Apostle at hand
to explain the Scriptures of yore
As Phillip expounded the Scripture, the High Ofcial was
by Gods love mesmerized
And before long he accepted the Lord and was baptized
Now lets go visiting the City of Damascus in the Book of Acts Chapter nine
We see an another instance of network established between
total strangers, which is oh-so-ne
We observe there Blind Paul in a sorry plight
And yonder there comes Ananias on Lords instructions
to restore Pauls sight
Friend is your face there in Gods Facebook
If it is there the Cosmic crook can do no harm to you by hook or by crook
At your disposal, ready to help, there will be many a contact Believe me
my friends, that is a solemn fact

Suresh Manoharan

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CATCHY QUOTES
Thinking Christianly is thinking by Christians about anything and
everything in a consistently Christian way in a manner that is
shaped, directed, and restrained by the truth of Gods Word and
Gods Spirit.
To the world, you may be one person, but to one person, you may be
the world.
The noble love of Jesus impels a man to do great things, and stirs
him up to be always longing for what is more perfect.
Trials are not enemies of faith but are opportunities to prove Gods
faithfulness.
If God led you to it, He will lead you through it.
Many times disillusionment comes simply because our circumstances
dont t our concept of who God is and how He works.
You must not lose condence in God because you lost condence
in your pastor. If our condence in God had to depend upon our
condence in any human person, we would be on shifting sand.
Above all, desire to please Christ; dread his disapproval above
everything else.
We never become truly spiritual by sitting down and wishing to
become so. You must undertake something so great that you cannot
accomplish it unaided.
The whole being of any Christian is Faith and Love... Faith brings the
man to God, love brings him to men.
Lord revive Your church and begin with me.
It is an abuse to confess any kind of sin, mortal or venial, without a
will to be delivered from it, since confession was instituted for no
other end.
Since God offers to manage our affairs for us, let us once and for all
hand them over to His innite wisdom, in order to occupy ourselves
only with Himself and what belongs to Him.
For a small reward, a man will hurry away on a long journey; while
for eternal life, many will hardly take a single step.

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WHEN GOALKEEPER SCORES A GOAL

Rene Higuitas coming up with his famous Scorpion kick, scored a goal
going on a solo foray himself
Needless to say, this kind of title is bound to raise many eye-brows &
any media mogul with a nose for sensationalism is bound to capitalize
on News as odd as the Goal keeper scoring a goal in this month, when
the football fever globally has touched its peak what with the curtains
going up on the Mega event in Brazil Football World Cup 2014!!!
Keeping the core content of my message in suspense let me continue to
dwell awhile on the media or to be more specic on the Indian electronic
media. Those of us who grew up satisfying ourselves with the bland News
coverage of DD were swept off the feet literally in late 1980s & mind you
it was an enjoyable experience getting swept off the feet when one suave
bearded gent answering to the name Pranoy Roy appeared in the TV screen
as an anchor for a programme which claimed to encapsulate all the World
events of a week. News is News is News, so what was New about that News?
Its slick presentationLadies and Gentlemen!!! Honestly it would not be an
understatement if one were to afrm that the The World this week with the
creative air of its producers oozing, revolutionized News presentation in the
Indian Electronic media, like none before it. The News coverage would never
be the same again in the History of Indian Electronic media. The icing on the
cake as it were in this program was, it would invariably end with clippings of
bizarre eventslike for instance of a goalkeeper scoring a goal & what a goal
it was! If I am not mistaken in late 80s, there was that rare clipping of that
maverick Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita (of the scorpion kick, ashy
attire fame et al) in a local league encounter with his team staring right
down the barrel-a goal down- in the dying minutes of the game setting out
on an undulating run. Away went this freakish goalie dribbling and dodging
his way past hostile, frustrated legs of the defenders and cutting into the box
with a masterly gymnast-like-turn and slotting the ball in past the hapless
goalkeeper. Now why did I introduce this interlude in my message? The reason

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is the stunning theme for our meditation GOD PRAYING (permit me to unveil
the theme) would sound just as bizarre to some of us with xed mindsets.
Before, I go any further I would like to make it abundantly clear, the very
purpose of me expounding this rare theme is to bring to the fore the
innite love of God for his most cherished creationMan. Yes, I would like to
herald that God condescends to this level only in order we -the faithful lotaccept a rescued sinner and NOT FOR ANYTHING ELSE, lest a mistaken view
emerge in our minds that the Creator has become weak.
While on the subject of God in action, some imaginary postures of God
oat in & out of our minds eye, most of which I ought to add here are those,
which are acceptable to the majority. No one would object to a poster
depicting God in the posture of answering prayers to a man on his knees or
for that matter to any poster which would portray Him as superior to man
which anyway is an undeniable truth, so how would we with rened spiritual
sensitivities categorize a scene where God entreats puny, fallible, irreverent
man. Even given His boundless love to man, would He ever lower Himself to
such a level of pleading with esh and blood man? Do we see such a scene in
the Bible? If so, where?

RELATE...Welcome once again to the good ole Prodigal Son parable (Luke

15:11-32)! Welcome once again to this timeless, touching story which throws
up new insights every single time we study it. Mind you since any complete
Scripture exposition (thanks Inductive Bible Study) entails observation,
interpretation and application of the same, rst lets get done with the
observation part.
Some wise souls have creatively related this evergreen Lost and Found
story thus:
The parable can be divided into 3*3 partsrstly Madness, Sadness and
Gladness. Now under the Madness scene, it can be said that the Prodigal
Son caviled (raised unnecessary objections), rebelled and travelled and
under that of Sadness, it can be said our principal actor went with the dogs
(his friends), lost his togs (property, mostly clothing) and ate with the hogs
and nally under the climactic, culminating third scene-Gladness , it can
be said of our hero that he got back his seal (to transact business on his
fathers behalf), danced the reel and ate the veal. This witty and creative
observation apart, is that all there is to this oh-so-insightful parable? NO, FAR
FROM IT!!! Now lets go to the interpretation and application parts which go
hand in hand and may even appear inter-twined.

ROLE-REVERSALEven

while pondering at the turn of events

of this popular parable, let us never lose sight of the symbolic roles of
each one of the characters in this memorable parable. If to the prodigal

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son belonged the role played by many a contrite sinner, then that of his
forgiving father was representative of a loving God Himself. Period.
When the self-righteous elder son, who presumed inadvertently that he was
the very denition of lial delity, refused to accept his penitent younger
brother, what did the father do? HE PRAYED ENTREATINGLY TO HIM TO
WELCOME HIS ERRANT BUT NOW PENITENT SIBLING (Luke 15:28)! Now, let us
freeze this frame.
What does it teach us? What lessons does this moving picture of an
innitely superior God pleading with His followers harboring a holierthan-thou disposition, hold for us today? More than anything else,
it screams that if GOD FORGIVES A SINNER, WE SHOULD TAKE HIS
WORD FOR IT! WHO ARE WE TO HOLD OUT AGAINST GODS GRACE!
Sadly, when a penitent Christian comes back onto the right track & wants to
make amends for his mistakes, we are often the stumbling blocks as it were,
being the very last ones to reconcile with him. If by using our God-given
common sense, we can make out that the penitence of our contrite brother
in faith is genuine, we ought to welcome him with open arms, rather than
giving him a cold shoulder. Shame on us, if we play the contemptuous elder
brother! The fact that God himself is pleading with us on behalf of the errant
one should melt our stony hearts.

RETENTIONNow

lets take a loop line and look at a lesson within a

lesson. Do not we see the regular Church goers, Christians of many years,
the ones of who have lost their rst love for the Lord (forgetting that they
too were once forgiven and received into the Divine family) All personied
in the Elder Son, who though living physically close (in the same house)
to his father, in his heart of hearts was living miles away from him? If his
heart had been one with that of his father, would he not have shared the
same sentiments his father had for his repentant brother? One litmus test
for knowing that we are retaining the First love (so precious to the Lord
Jeremiah 2:2/2 Cor 11:2/Rev 2:4) or not is to reect deeply as to whether
our priorities are same as that of our Lord or not. Mind you, sometimes we
can be even in Ministry but yet lose out on our First honeymoon love for
the Lord!!!

RESPONSIBILITYNow coming back to the main track of accepting the

repentant brethrenlets look at the earnest plea of the James in the closing
verses of his down-to-bootstrap, practical epistle Dear Brothers, if anyone has
slipped away from God and no longer trusts the Lord, and someone helps him
understand the Truth again, that person who brings him back to God will have
saved a wandering soul from death bringing about the forgiveness of his many
sins (James 5:19-20-TLB). If so high a responsibility rests with the faithful lot
of seeking & saving their strayed brethren, how much more it is binding on

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them to accept the strayed brethren once the latter come back on their own!
Should we not celebrate along with angels on the lost being found (Luke 15:7)!
Christians, even the devout lot amongst them unfortunately display a
steely heart rather than the one of esh, when it comes to immediately
accommodating a rueful brother-in-faith, exhibiting in the process an animal
streak in them. Just to elaborate on the animal streak, has it ever occurred
to us why the Shepherd (Luke 15:1-6) of the Lost & Found sheep, carried his
precious rescued one to his home (verse 6) rather than releasing it amongst
its mates in the pinfold? Biblical scholars assert that he wanted to build it up
by showering more love & care which would not be the case in its pinfold,
where this remorseful one would be welcomed not by warm hugs but by head
butts of its scolding mates bad mouthing all the while because of you, do you
know, how our shepherd had to suffer? when ironically the shepherd himself
would not have any complaints on that score! How this denes our relationship
with our contrite brethren! They need to be built-up lovingly after a fall with
all the care a nurse would muster whilst bandaging the fractured limb of a
tender child (II Cor 2:5-8)! But how ironic it is that when our Lord himself has
no complaints, we make a huge fuss of welcoming them with a reconciliatory
hug, worse we compound their woes by emotionally head butting them for
the troubles they have apparently caused the Lord by their erroneous ways!

REMAINNow coming back to enduring image of God praying which would

forever remain in our heartsit melts my heart when the truth contained in the
closing verses of Luke 15:28-32 strikes home. The story ends with the picture
of the father STILL PLEADING WITH HIS ELDER SON WHO IS NOT BUDGING
AN INCH as though to re-emphasize the point that our Heavenly Father for
some thousands of years, now, is still reasoning out with the stubborn louts
like us, on the paramount issue of welcoming back our rueful brethren!
Oh, let our stony hearts melt at the scene of God praying.
(Suresh Manoharan)

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Dear friends,
About the person behind the Ministry: While stating at the outset that the
abbreviation J & SM stands for Jesus & Suresh Manoharan, I, Suresh Manoharan
would like to introduce myself as a person who the good Lord out of His grace
& mercy touched & transformed at the age of 16, when I as a young college
sophomore was leading a pleasure-seeking, godless life.
With no great educational qualications to boast of (I am only a commerce graduate),
it is again out of His great mercy & grace that after a humble career beginning as a
Sales Ofcer (trainee) - soon after my graduation - in a private sector undertaking
namely BPL-INDIA (Ofce Automation Department), I ended up holding a highly
responsible portfolio in one of the mini-ratnas amongst the Indian PSUs, namely
IBP Co. Limited (an Indian Oil group company). In October 2004, after a 12-year
innings in the aforesaid organization, once I received a specic call from Him to
take up full-time spiritual ministry, I put in my papers & was subsequently relieved
from my duties in late January 2005. No, no, I cannot boast that it was a case
of implicit obedience since prior to taking this step, I had given more excuses to
the Almighty for not taking up His work than Moses did before nally taking up his
assignment of representing Him before Pharaoh, (in order to seek the release of
His people from the Egyptian bondage Exodus Chapters 3 & 4) however, as
always, the Lord had the nal say on the subject.
J & SM Ministries was formed on 17-02-05 (subsequently registered on 2802-05) with me & my wife as partners, who I should emphasize has always
faithfully stood by me in all of my decisions/actions.
Not only at this moment, but at all times I would convey my heart-felt
thanks to my parents, my parents-in-law, my other kith & kin, my friends
& well-wishers who have through their encouraging words, actions,
et al stood by me, ever since I heeded the good Lords call to take-up full-time
spiritual ministry.
Since any spiritual ministry is only as good as its credibility, after much
prayers it was decided that this ministry would be a self-supporting one,
(only free-will offerings would be accepted) with me in the manner of Paul (while I
may not be worthy of untying his shoelaces, his style of ministry is a great source
of encouragement to me) raising requisite funds by using my tent-making skills
(Acts 18:2-3/I Thess 2: 9/I Corinthians 9:15). The tent-making in my case would
be offering my services in the Oil Sector (as & when time permits) for trainingup driveway salesmen of the retail lling stations & undertaking some part-time
insurance assignments. Glamorous? Honestly, I do not want to hazard a guess.
Highly fullling? Surely, considering its purpose.

ps this magazine is sent on absolutely subscription-free

basis to its readers, if you are edied and inspired by it , kindly
recommend it to your other friends.

J & SM Ministries
413/3RT, Sanjeeva Reddy Nagar, Hyderabad - 500 038.
Tel : 040-23702431, Mobile : 0-98490 09104
Email : manoharansuresh@yahoo.com,
16 web site : www.jandsmministries.com