“Bless the LORD, O my soul—and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.” Psalm 103:1

There’s nothing that makes Him happier than this.

Most of the time we talk about how the Lord has blessed us.  We share of his material, tangible blessings and thank Him for those times when He touched us in a special way.  And, there are other times when we were between a rock-and-a-hard place, not knowing what we were going to do—and, suddenly, He showed up, making a way where there seemed to be no way.

The question, then, is “How do we bless the Lord, Who holds everything that is in the hollow of His Hand?”

Though a seemingly difficult question, the answer is fairly simple:  by “loving Him with all our heart, mind and soul and our neighbor as ourselves” (Dt. 6:5; Mt. 22:37-39).

Think about it:

What blesses you as a parent—the gifts your children give you on special occasions or their willing obedience to you?  You already know the answer, don’t you?

It’s their ready obedience that’s given without complaint or constraint.  That’s what brings a smile to your face and fills your heart to overflowing with joy.

And, the same is true with God, the Father.

He LOVES it when we “serve Him with gladness, thanksgiving and praise in our hearts” (Ps. 100:2, 4).  This lets Him (and others) know that we do what we do with delight, not drudgery or disdain.  How it grieves Him when we profess to know Him but live with a downcast look or always murmuring and complaining like the Israelites did in the wilderness.

Yes, if we want to “Bless the LORD,” it has to be“with all that is within Me:” my heart, my mind, my dreams, my aspirations, my deepest desires, etc.  We can ill-afford to harbor resentment or unforgiveness within us—for those wound Him, not bless Him.

Therefore, today is the Day to “bless the LORD.”

Make that your #1 goal today and see if your day doesn’t go better.  To do this, strive to “forget not any of His benefits” (Ps. 103:2).  Remember how He has “forgiven all your iniquities and healed you of all your diseases” (v.3).  Tell others how He has “redeemed your life from destruction and crowned you with loving-kindness and tender Mercies” (v.4).  Praise Him aloud for “satisfying your mouth with good things” (v.5) and how He is “merciful, gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in Mercy” (v.8).

In so doing you’ll find yourself being renewed in both heart and mind—for praise and thanksgiving glorify the One by Whose Name you are called.  This will also draw others attention to Him, causing them to think how He is “very great and clothed with Honor and Majesty” (Ps. 104:1).

So, what are you waiting for?  It’s time to bless the Lord!  Why not start by shouting“Hallelujah!  Praise the LORD!” right now?  Glory!!  Amen and amen.

Lessons from the book of Judges — Did God tell men to rule over His people?

A certain verse from the book of Judges is one of the favorite verses that most churches use to promote their doctrine of a hierarchy in the church. I used to be sick of hearing this when I used to go to church. Judges 17:6 and Judges 21:25 states:

“In those days there was no sovereign (king) in Israel, everyone did what was right in his own eyes”.

The ministers in the church I used to go would use the above verses to say, see what happens when you don’t follow leaders appointed by God. You end up doing what is right in your eyes. You need to follow us and we will lead you to the right path.

Let us take a step back and pay more close attention to Judges 17:6 and 21:25. We all know that Israel had many kings and judges. Even though they had a king or a judge, they still did the wrong thing. Just because you have a king or a ruler, it does not mean you will do the right thing. The whole point is, at the end of the day, what you do in life determines whether you are with God or not and has nothing to do with whether there is a leader/ruler or not. We must follow God and not men. Man should be ruled by God and not by men.

Judges Chapter 2 tells us, when Joshua died and all the generations after him died (verse 8-10) the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of YHWH and served other gods and served Baal (verse 11).

Evangelist and church ministers want you to listen to them because if you don’t listen or are not a part of their group, then obviously there will be no money (under the banner of tithes/donations) coming into the religious system. If you are part of their system, then you will tell this to many people and bring more people into the system. So it is advantageous for them to say that God has appointed them and you need to follow them.

When we read Judges Chapter 2, we see that the children of Israel started worshiping false gods. Let us now read verses 13 to 19 and see how the story transpires:

“So they forsook YHWH and served Baal and the Ashtoreths” (v 13).

“And the displeasure of YHWH burned against Israel. Therefore He gave them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them. And He sold them into the hands of their enemies all around, and they were unable to stand before their enemies any longer” (v 14).

“Wherever they went out, the hand of YHWH was against them for evil, as YHWH had spoken, and as YHWH had sworn to them. And they were distressed greatly” (v 15).

“Then YHWH raised up rulers who saved them from the hand of those who plundered them” (v 16).

“However, they did not listen to their rulers either, but went whoring after other mighty ones, and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers walked, in obeying the commands of YHWH, they did not do so” (v 17).

“And when YHWH raised up rulers for them, YHWH was with the ruler and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the ruler, for YHWH had compassion on their groaning because of those who oppressed them and crushed them” (v 18).

“And it came to be, when the ruler was dead, that they would turn back and do more corruptly than their fathers, to go after other mighty ones, to serve them and bow down to them. They did not refrain from their practices and from their stubborn way” (v 19).

Judges 2:13-19 shows us that even though YHWH raised rulers to save the children of Israel from their enemies, they still went back whoring after other gods. The whole point of Judges 2:13-19 is that, ruler or no ruler, at the end of the day it all depends on you. Your faithfulness to God is what matters at the end of the day. The other thing we find over here is that the role of the ruler was to save the children of Israel from their enemies as their enemies were ruthlessly crushing them. The ruler was not supposed to rule over them as we see in today’s modern-day churches, where ministers rule over its members.

In Judges Chapter 6 to 8, we further see the rise of a mighty brave man called Gideon. Here the children of Israel were given into the hands of the Midianites as they were worshipping false gods. God delivered the children of Israel from the Midianites through Gideon who was faithful to YHWH.

Here is the test of faithfulness (the choice we make in our life) that Gideon had. When Gideon delivered the children of Israel, they came to Gideon with a proposal that could make Gideon a great ruler. Let’s see what they offered to Gideon:

“So the men of Israel said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us, both you and your son, also your son’s son, for you have saved us from the hand of Midyan.’”

“But Gideon said to them, ‘I do not rule over you, nor does my son rule over you. YHWH does rule over you.’” (Judges 8:22-23)

We see from the above verses what Gideon said to them — you must allow YHWH to rule over you and not men. The primary lesson that we need to learn from the book of Judges is that we must allow YHWH to rule over us, and not men. We must also understand that it is not Elohim’s will for people to have rulers to rule over them. But it is the Israelites who demanded someone to be their ruler. All throughout the Tanakh we see, regardless of who ruled, the decision to follow God or the ways of men was the choice of every individual.

– To be Continued

Somewhere I remember reading a prayer of Mother Theresa “Enlarge my heart O Lord, so that I can love the whole humanity as You love them”

If one’s heart is small, he/she will stick to one or two commands of the Lord from the Bible and their whole life will be centred around the one and the same command.

As one’s heart grows bigger and bigger the circle of one’s acquaintances expand, the boundaries of caste, religion, clan, nationality, colour, race are broken. That is why king David prayed a prayer as this.

“ I will run the course of Your commandments,

For You shall enlarge my heart. Ps 119:32

As the Lord enlarges one’s heart, two things happen.

1. One starts running – not walking in slow motion
2. In the course of all the commandments – not one or a few of them.

Somebody asked me “Is it wrong to attend night clubs or parties where you share your love with others”? A good question. It is a command in the Bible to love your neighbor.

But there is another command,        

 “You have heard that it was said to those of old,* ‘You shall not commit adultery.’*  But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  Matt 5:27-29

Pro  11:18  The spirit which makes one do deceptive work

Binding prayer e.g.. In the name of Jesus Christ, I bind and destroy the works of the spirit which makes one do deceptive work. (Pro  11:18 )

Magdalene Fernandes

When we were worshiping the Lord. I saw a Vision .So many colored pearls pink, green, golden, etc. were spreading all around. A fresh green tree was there clouds hiding the top of tree and a bright light came from above . The next day during the anointing preparation I was crying . A soft hand touched my cheek. First I didn’t know what it was but the second time I opened my eyes and saw a big white hand coming from heaven and touching my cheek. I am very happy and feeling blessed. Thank you Lord!

Gerard J . Fernandes

Though I am a Roman catholic , the vision God gave me is that the troop church is a the way of God for a model church tending towards “ one shepherd and one flock “ this flock is to empty out the churches which are not true churches and do not fit in to God’s plan.

Maria Luiza vaz Fernandes

My vision is that our lord spoke to sr. Angelic and that vision will be fulfilled and India will in 2020 enjoy the reign of Jesus. Many troop church will be formed all through India and many other countries will say that India belong to Jesus . Thank   you lord !.

Vimala Rajkumar

I came late for the Anointing preparation class taught by mother, I just went and sat in the last chair but mother told me to come and sit in the first chair in front. I thought it was a punishment because . I came late , but after sitting there only I was filled with Holy Spirit and god gave me a vision . Our Lord Jesus   Showed his face to me from heave in a long white bright light . My 8 years of prayer was fulfilled on that day . I am very happy . Thank you Lord !

                       A wonderful opportunity for ladies who want to serve the Lord

Covenant Women Meet (CWM)

A movement to raise the status of Women in India

“Now gather yourself in Troops, O daughter of troops, he had laid siege against us. “ Mica: 5:1

Both in history and in the Bible Women’s role is very important.

During the crucial period of our Lord’s visitation to India (2007 – 2014), He wants our fair sex mass play a vital role in the transformation of our nation. In order to train them up, a 12 hour training Programme is given by the Lord. KHRDC started implementing it.

This training session covers the following subjects,

• Fallen nature of women and restoration by Jesus Christ
• Building relationship
• Finance Management
• House Maintenance
• Exercising the authority of parents
• Behavioral patterns
• Common sicknesses of women and Medical checkup.
• Civic Sense

According to God’s plan this has to reach all across India in order to lift up the women.

KHRDC offers a wonderful opportunity to ladies.