Monthly Archives: December 2010

Legend Speaks

Legend Speaks

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

(II Timothy – 4:7)

The above verse is apt for a great soul, who recently rested in the Lord.

Our beloved YFT Trustee, Mr.David Thiruthuvaraj who is also the father of our Founder Director, Mr.D Selvin Rajkumar, passed away on November 9, 2010.

We praise God for all His goodness showered upon him in his lifetime.   We also thank all our well-wishers who shared their condolences and grief with us.

Mr.David Thiruthuvaraj lived in this world for 75 years, before proceeding to be with the Lord for Eternity.    Born in a good family known for its values, Mr.David grew-up and joined the Police and had an illustrious career as he retired as the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Chennai.   He was identified as an outstanding policeman on duty, which is demonstrated by the fact that he was nominated for the Presidential Medal and was also a recipient of the Tamil Nadu State Police Medals.   He served in various capacities, across the state of Tamil Nadu, including the position of  Principal of Police Recruitment School ( PRS ) at Coimbatore before retiring as the DCP of Chennai.

As a family man, he was blessed with a great wife in Mrs.Kasthuri David, who rested in the Lord on November 27, 2009.   He is survived by 2 Sons and 2 Daughters and he took pride in the fact that all his children are serving the Lord, in various capacities and their next generation too being actively involved in the Service of the Lord.

Mr. David was very active for the Lord and was passionate about serving Him.   After committing his life fully to the Lord, during the later part of his Police career, he devoted considerable time for His work.   He has preached in various Churches and Meetings and with his deep knowledge of the Scriptures, encouraged many people in the Lord.   Also, he played an active role in supporting various Ministries and Churches, in their Apostolic and other Ministry works.

Having lived a full-life, he breathed his last on Nov 9, 2010 at Coimbatore which was a peaceful death, just after finishing his lunch.   His body was buried at Chennai and he still remains as a great soul, setting benchmarks to follow.

We thank our Lord Jesus Christ for his life and thank you all for your support during the period of our grief.

God bless you !

Tips for christmas celebration

Christmas Tips


Activities that will knit your family together through the Christmas season.

Here are some ideas, activities, and projects that are designed to knit the family together throughout the Christmas season. They range from simple activities to focused projects that require serious commitment. It might be helpful to have your family review the ideas together and choose the ones that they want to implement.

1. Have family members dress in biblical-type clothing and act out the Holy Night for family and friends. (Many young children will love being part of this.) Take photos and use one for next year’s Christmas card.

2. Identify an elderly or low-income person or couple who might not have family support during the Christmas season. Invite them to one of your family gatherings, offer to take them Christmas shopping, or invite them to attend a Christmas church service with your family. You might also take them food gifts over the course of the festive season.
.
3. As a family, bake, make, or buy a special gift for your pastor and his family.

4. Keep a Christmas journal expressing your thoughts about what happens throughout the season with your family and friends. Include your reaction to the news, sermons, Christmas programs, parties, and gifts, as well as your meditations about Jesus.

5. Before opening presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, read Scripture aloud together.

Dedicate the occasion to Jesus.

6. Consider the feelings of Mary and Joseph. For older children, read Matthew 1:18-25 and then discuss:

*How could Mary, a virgin, have felt when she discovered that she was pregnant?

*How could Joseph have felt when he learned of Mary’s pregnancy?

*Why did both Joseph and Mary have the courage to believe God and undoubtedly suffer ridicule from man?

*Who do they (and you) turn to when life is not what they anticipated?

*Why can we always trust God even when His ways are different from ours?

7. After the New Year, officially close the Christmas season by having the whole family dismantle your decorations. Give thanks, as individuals and as a family, for the gift of Christ and your time together as a family. This ritual will teach your children to treasure carefully preserved family Christmas traditions.

HAVE A CHRIST- CENTERED CHRISTMAS

Christmas Message 3

Christmas Special, Messages

Series 2

In continuation to our Series 1, which you can find in our Archives, we continue our meditation on the Christmas message :

As we celebrate Christmas and meditate on the greatness of God,  we are also reminded of an important event which happened during the birth of Jesus Christ.    When Christ was born in a lowly manger, we find that 3 wise men, took a long journey from the other end of the earth, to visit and worship Jesus.

God has kept a few important lessons for our life, through their visit to Bethlehem.   We saw in the earlier series of  the lesson of Seeking God and now let us turn to the next lesson :

1)     Worshiping God

The 3 wise men who traveled from far, not only sought Jesus but came and worshipped Jesus Christ.    We find that the objective of their visit was to see the God child and worship Him.

From the Bible, we understand that they are learned men and should have commanded a great stature in the society.   But we find that they had the understanding and maturity, to know who they were, before the Almighty God and their Creator.   They fell down, in abject surrender and respect, before the Child and worshipped Him.    They knew the greatness of God and the importance of worshipping Him.

The Bible says that God has created mankind for Him and we have to declare His praises.   Worship is an act of showing our love for God.  It is an act of adoring God for who He is.   Just as we share words of love and affection, between our loved-ones, which expresses our love for them, we should express our love for our God by our praises and worship.    We have to make it a habit, of praising and worshipping Him daily in our Morning Prayer time and continue to praise Him, during the day, whenever we can.

We also find another lesson from the 3 wise men.   It is written that they offered precious and valuable gifts to the Child.   They gave to God, what was considered best and valuable with them.    As children of God, we too should give to God, the best in us and with us.     We should give the best of our time, praise, talents, wealth and actions for His service.    Again, we find that, we always try to get the best for our spouse or kids, because we love them so much and it is another expression of our love.   We never try to give sub-standard things but the best to them.  Similarly, with God too, we should give the best of us, to His service.

Worshipping God and giving to God are two essential things in our life and this is a key to our wellbeing.

Let us practice it and receive God’s blessings.

May God bless you and Happy Christmas !

Christmas Message 2

Christmas Special, Messages

Journey to the Manger

As we celebrate Christmas and meditate on the greatness of God,

we are also reminded of an important event which happened during the birth of Jesus Christ. When Christ was born in a lowly manger, we find that 3 wise men, took a long journey from the other end of the earth, to visit and worship Jesus.

God has kept a few important lessons for our life, through their Journey to the Manger.   Let us see 3 lessons in this series of messages in the coming days.

1)   Seeking God

We read from the Scriptures, that the wise men, traveled a long distance, guided by the star on the sky, to visit Jesus Christ. It is important to understand that they had a burning desire to seek God and see Him.

There were so many people who were living in the world and seeking God to help them in their  problem at  that time but the Bible records that only 3 men, who were wise, came seeking for God. This underlines the fact that though the population of the world is swelling, only those who seek God or have the inclination to search for Him, will be able to see Him.   Yes, it is true, that Jesus came to this world, seeking the lost souls and has laid His life on the Cross, but He is gentle in allowing the mankind to choose their ways, based on their self-will but He ensures that everyone is given chances to have Encounters in their life, to know their Creator and walk to Him, but never forces anyone.

The 3 Wise-men sought God diligently but in their search they went to the wrong place.  According to their assumptions, they went to King Herod’s palace, expecting the Child at the palace.  Because of their wrong choice, so many young children below 2 years were killed.  It was a black day in history.  Similarly, if we search God in the wrong places,  it will only hurt us and our surroundings.

The Bible says “Those who seek will find”.  God presents Himself to those souls who diligently seek Him. Bible also says that “Those who seek me early in the morning, finds me “.   It is important that everyday, we turn to Him, before our day actually starts.   We should make it a habit, to seek His face first early in the morning and have a regular time of prayer and worship, followed by Bible reading.  This experience will energize our inner man and provide us the nourishments required for our life, enabling us to face any challenges that might come our way, in the course of the day.


Let us be seekers of God and His counsel and this is the sure and simple way to success!

God bless you and Happy Christmas!

Christmas Message 1

Messages

Christ is the Reason for this season  !

We are in the month of December !   Everywhere you can see activities of Celebration and Joy, marking the Advent of Christmas !    Christmas is celebrated as a Universal celebration, rejoicing on the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.   Amidst the celebrations, it is important that we meditate on the basis of this celebration.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in this world as a Man for all of us.   Yes, the Creator who created the entire universe, took the humble form of a man and came to live in this world as a man, to pay the price for the sins of mankind on the Cross of Calvary and thereby assuring us of Deliverance from Sins and paying way to Eternal Life.

The Birth of Christ, which is celebrated as Christmas, has in fact got 3 dimensions, among all the various impacts on mankind.

1)      History Creation :

Christ’s birth is the most significant event in the history of mankind.   Yes, we can see that the History was divided into BC and AD, only on His birth.   The greatness of God which is indescribable, taking the form of a lowly mankind, was just amazing and it marked a new beginning, not only in history, but in the true sense to mankind.

2)      Transformation of Man :

Man, who was entangled in sins and entitled for punishments, received a new hope by the birth of Christ.    Christ by His birth, paid the huge price for our sins on the Cross and thereby assured mankind of the hope of forgiveness, to those who accepted Him and repented for their sins.     Man was transformed from a sinful and guilt-filled entity moving towards death to a new forgiven and hopeful entity, walking towards Eternal life.

3)      Good News :

The Good news of Peace to all men and Joy in the world, irrespective of their nationality, background, caste, creed, gender or any other differences was proclaimed by the birth of Christ.     An assured Peace, promised by the Prince of Peace Himself, and not just ordinary peace but His own peace and Peace that the world cannot give and cannot take.

Oh !  What a true joy to celebrate Christmas remembering what Jesus has done for us !   Also,  we need to spread this joy across the mankind, who are still ignorant of these facts and live in a vicious circle of life.    A true deliverance and joy, promised by God, should mark our Christmas celebrations.

May God bless you and a Happy Christmas !