Dear Church,

What does the word ‘JOY’ mean to us?

As we enter the Christmas season—a time often synonymous with joy—it is worth reflecting on its true meaning. G.K. Chesterton once said, “Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian.” But what is this “gigantic secret”?

Joy is found in God's presence: Psalm 16:11 states, “In your presence is fullness of joy.” Joy is found by spending time in God's presence, delighting in him. Yet, the blur of busy family schedules, particularly around Christmas, presses in and keeps us from entering all that He has for us, including a joyful disposition. One way to combat this is by setting aside time to worship together as a family, singing carols and reading passages about Christ's birth.

Joy flows from thankfulness: It is easy to lose sight of gratitude when we are tired, overwhelmed, or caught up in the hustle of the season. But thankfulness unlocks joy. Take a moment each day to reflect on God’s blessings. Write them down, either alone or with your family. As gratitude grows, so does joy - overflowing beyond Christmas into every part of the year. When we focus on His goodness, our burdens feel lighter, and our hearts are renewed.

Joy must be chosen: “Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!” (Neh. 8:10). Joy is more than a feeling; it is a choice. Satan aims to steal our joy because he knows it’s a source of strength. Choosing joy starts with gratitude. When we thank God for His blessings, we enter His presence, and in His presence, we find joy. This Christmas, we can choose to focus on the stresses of the season - or we can celebrate the joy that came into the world through a manger.

Joy is not dependent on our situation: Steven Furtick says, “My joy is not determined by what happens TO me, but what Christ is doing IN me and THROUGH me.” Even in trials, we are called to “count it all joy” (James 1:2). How? By trusting in the bigger picture. No matter what difficulties we face, we know the end of the story: Jesus has already secured our victory. This truth fills us with deep, lasting joy - the kind that carries us through life’s challenges.
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord! Gladly pronounce the goodness of God in our life!

Joyous Christmas and blessings to you all!
Amutha

​Dear Church,

How can we stand in the gap between war and peace?

Many in our congregation may not have firsthand experience of living through a war, while our elder members can recall the hardships they endured. The church plays a vital role in teaching history and comforting those who are emotionally affected. As we reflect on Remembrance Sunday, two themes resonate deeply: war and peace. Beyond the first and second world wars, conflicts persist around the globe, including the ongoing violence in the Middle East and the Ukraine-Russia war.
Why do people fight? What drives their intentions? What causes wars and conflicts among us? Is it not often rooted in the selfishness that resides within our hearts? Greed, pride, envy—these are the underlying issues. Yet, Scripture reminds us that "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). We are called to submit ourselves to God and draw near to Him, and in doing so, He will draw near to us.
The primary reason for war often lies in humanity's selfish nature - an insatiable desire for more, a lack of contentment with what we have. How can we transform this selfishness into selflessness? By looking to Jesus, who offered the ultimate sacrifice and achieved a profound victory for the entire world. God's gift of peace is embodied in Jesus. He reconciles us with God, and as we learn to share this gift, we become peacemakers and peace-givers. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God."
In an inspiring example, a church intervened in Mozambique, transforming violence into value. After years of conflict, the Christian community encouraged people to surrender their weapons, which were then melted down and repurposed into useful tools and machinery. Some weapons were even transformed into pieces of art displayed in exhibitions worldwide.
Similarly, when knife crime peaked in the UK, the British Ironwork Centre launched an amnesty campaign, requesting people to surrender knives used in criminal activities.The response was significant; some knives even bore bloodstains. These knives were shipped to artist Alfie Bradley, who created a stunning 27-foot-tall sculpture called the "Knife Angel," adorned with slogans of repentance and non-violence. This monument serves as a powerful reminder that, regardless of the situation,
repentance and restoration are always possible. Let us ask God to touch and melt down the stoned hearts and for this world to be blessed in His peace.

God Bless.
Amutha

Dear Church,

Are we able to hear the commander’s voice?

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me – John 10:27

The apostle Paul teaches us how believers should conduct themselves in the seen world and in their relationships with others—slaves with their masters, husbands with their wives, and children with their parents (Eph. 5:21–6:9). He concludes the letter by addressing how believers must defend themselves against the unseen world. Paul instructs all believers to put on the whole armour of God so that they can stand against the schemes of the unseen enemy.

Our mind plays a vital role in our life journey. If we do not guard it, the enemy can deceive us and lead us away from God. Paul highlights the importance of the helmet, which symbolizes the protection of our mind, as a crucial piece of spiritual armour.

In ancient Rome, soldiers wielding swords would often split the skull of their opponents with a single blow to the head. To protect themselves, soldiers designed helmets that left their ears uncovered, 3 enabling them to hear commands from their commander and act accordingly. Similarly, as Christian soldiers, we must ensure that we hear the voice of our Chief Commander—the Holy Spirit—and diligently follow His instructions.

Hearing is essential to our walk with God. We can respond to God only when we hear Him. Let us be quick to hear, and more importantly, quick to respond, as this is crucial to saving our souls. Every Christian is called to be a soldier who listens and acts according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have not yet entered the zone of peace; the fight is ongoing, so let us keep our ears open to God!

God Bless.
​Amutha 

​Dear Church,

Let us go and do likewise
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus,
’And who is my neighbour?’    Luke 10:29
 
The Good Samaritan is a familiar parable that would be often quoted within Christendom. It is also a well-known story often mentioned by our other faith and no faith friends in their colloquial conversations. The law expert who met Jesus raised two important questions:

What should I do to inherit eternal life? It is a question about salvation. Christian believers know the answer from John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son and whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jesus responded to his question by asking a question back to him - What is written in the Law and How do you read it? This is Jesus’ way of conversing with people. The law expert answered, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’. He knows the answer. Knowing God is essential, but our understanding of God will only be completed by doing what we have read. This law expert is self-righteous. Jesus drew answers from him to authenticate that inheritance to eternal life is possible only by God’s righteousness and not by self-righteousness as it has been found in the Priest and Levite in the Good Samaritan story. The law expert ends his answer by saying, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ from Leviticus 19. This chapter is about ethical, moral, and social laws which also includes how to treat neighbours, especially the foreigners.

Although he recalled and recited the two commandments in a nutshell, it is so unfortunate to hear from him the second question, Who is my neighbour? This story is the mergence of both spiritual and social genres. It is like the cross, Jesus came down from heaven to earth to offer us salvation – the vertical bar; Jesus reaching to the society – the horizontal bar. Christianity comprises both. Therefore, the good news is, Christ came down to earth and offered his life for many. In the story, we read that a ‘certain’ man fell into the hands of robbers. It is not said, whether he was a Jew or a Samaritan. In those days, there was social discrimination between these communities. Christ is breaking such boundaries by lifting the Samaritan as the good Samaritan. Also, you could be religious like the Priest or the Levite, but if you are not attending the need, you are not being a neighbour and you are not fulfilling the purpose of your calling.

​God Bless,
Amutha

Dear Church,

One of the uniqueness’s of Jesus Christ!

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only on from the Father, full of grace and truth – John 1:14
 
The supernatural birth of Jesus Christ, born without the involvement of a male, is by and large viewed with a great deal of scepticism. His birth, however, can be very convincingly explained by a remarkable occurrence in genetic science called parthenogenesis.
 
The Greek root of parthenogenesis, meaning ‘Virgin creation’ is a common phenomenon in the animal kingdom, whereby reproduction takes place from an ovum without fertilization. Komodo dragons, monitor lizards, geckos, zebra sharks, pythons, honeybees, and many more species fall in this category. In some of the species, males do not exist at all. The only limitation that parthenogenesis entails is the inability of the female to reproduce a male offspring – with Jesus being the only exception in all of creation!
 
In john 1:1, Apostle John, the only gospel writer to do so, presents Jesus as being the same God of creation as the One in Gensis. Jesus existed long before He was born. He created the universe before He became a creature just for the sake of His flagship creation, man. He created the trees much before He came into the world to work on wood as a carpenter. He is the only one in human history who chose to be born, signifying that He knew who His parents would be before His incarnation. Conversely, in the annals of human reproduction, it is our parents who choose to bring us into the world.
 
While Jesus brought divinity into humanity on earth, He also took humanity to the divine Godhead in Heaven. Because of what, we have someone who understands us and intercedes with the Father on our behalf, who extends grace, sustains the universe, and is seated at the right hand of God. Without Jesus, both physical life (Colossians 1:7) and spiritual life (John 5:39-40) fade into nothingness.
 
God Bless,
Amutha
 

Dear Church,

God leads His people in an unusual way!

That you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before – Josh. 3:4b

When the Lord led His people of Israel out of slavery from Egypt, He did not lead them through the well familiar trade route that the Egyptians generally took. If Moses, Aaron or any of the leaders were asked to lead, they would have ultimately led them through this established route, because that is the only way they have heard and known. God knows that this would be the outcomes, and since he took in-charge of leading His people.

When Jacob’s sons went from Israel to buy food from the Egyptians, it took them eleven days by road to Egypt. So, people including the leaders would have thought about these eleven days journey ahead of them. God’s ways are different from humans – His ways will be eventually the best that no human minds would have pondered. The journey would have been a long one (took 40 years!) to reach the Promised Land. However, things that He executed miraculously, and the lessons people were taught were so significant and essential. In their long journey, God revealed His almighty power by parting the Red Sea and these people were part of His mighty work. He fed them with manna from heaven for their daily need, led them by pillar of cloud and fire, provided meat as they desired, turned bitter water to sweet as they were thirsty, they were getting all these effortlessly. These events are spoken among the believers still today remembering God’s faithfulness. This gives confidence and hope for us to expect from Him that He will make a way when there is no way.

God’s route is always unique and special. When the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea on dry ground, the Egyptian army followed suit, presuming that the way was opened for them too. Presumption, which closely imitates faith, led the Egyptians to cross the Red Sea with all their horses and chariots only to be drowned in it. Even today, the world gets to know the greatness of our God when we are led in unusual ways. That is, in ways that are different from the people of the world. When we allow God to lead us, our journey becomes supernatural.

God Bless,
Amutha

Dear Church,

Let us soar like eagles!

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isa. 40:31

A special quality in the bird eagle is to fly to heights to rest itself and then wait for the winds to
blow. When the stormy wind blows, the eagle spreads its wings wide so that it allows the storm
itself to pick it up and lift it above the blowing storm. While the storm blows below, the eagle soars
above it. Eagles do not escape the storm, but rather use the storm to lift itself higher!

Isaiah the prophet metaphorically associates believers with eagles - this nature of eagle can be
adapted in our stormy situations. Sometimes the storm of life blow heavily against God’s children.
In those difficult moments, instead of yielding ourselves to fears, we must allow the miraculous
power of the Holy Spirit to take us to a higher level of faith. Our response towards the storm is
letting the Holy Spirit work instead of us trying to overcome and fly against the storm. We can rise
above every raging storm that comes our way by setting our minds to give room to the wind, the
Holy Spirit. God longs to give us His divine power to ride the storms of sickness, tragedy, failure,
economic instability, disappointments, and poverty in our lives.

It is not the burdens of life that weigh us down but how we handle them. We can lighten our load
by letting God work in our troubles. When we are willing to obey God’s promise to wait on Him, He helps us to renew our strength and mount up with the wings of eagles. The troubles and
difficulties that we encounter on this earth are inevitable. We will be running through the troubles,
but we will not be exhausted. We will be walking through the difficulties but will not faint. That is
the difference we God’s children set comparing the worldly.
​
God Bless,
Amutha

Dear Church,

Which sin is not forgiven?

And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Matthew 12:32

All sins are forgiven by the grace of God. The basic step of entering into Christian faith is repenting for our sins to seek His forgiveness and from there onwards, our walk continues with God. There is no sin too great for God to forgive. Yet out of all sins, He draws our attention to
one particular sin that cannot be forgiven. Which sin is not forgiven? 

Before Christ ascended to heaven, He commanded His disciples not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father, saying ‘for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5b).

On the day of Pentecost, when the hundred and twenty disciples had gathered in one place, the Hoy Spirit was poured out on them like the rush of a mighty wind. Apart from the hundred and twenty disciples that were anointed, people from every nation under the sun were also gathered there. Everyone was bewildered when they heard the disciples speak to them in their own language. While most of the foreign hearers were amazed at what they heard, there was one group that mocked them and claimed that the disciples were drunk with new wine.

We must be more careful in making any statements concerning the work of the Holy Spirit. The comment they passed was blaspheming the power and work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible records that this is the only sin that God will not forgive, and that its consequence will be grave. Sametime, we need to seek for discernment to distinguish the work of the God’s Spirit and the evil spirit as these days many are wrongly using the work of the Holy Spirit for their own personal benefits. This is to have a clear understanding of where it is coming from and to abide in God’s spirit alone.
​
God Bless,
Amutha

Dear Church,

What is it about carrying the cross?

And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’ Luke 9:23

Arthur Blessitt, an American evangelist, made a wooden cross for himself and carried it on his back, walking for more than 42,000 miles by foot across 324 different countries preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ. His efforts won many souls to Christ. This is an example of someone physically carrying a cross, but what does Jesus mean by taking up our cross daily. 

In Jesus’ time, the people who were convicted by the Roman courts and were given the death sentence were forced to carry the cross before the soldiers crucified them. Here, Jesus is challenging His disciples who choose to follow Him to pass the death sentence on himself and crucify his worldly desires on the cross. The word ‘deny’ means ‘forgetting about oneself’. Jesus spoke continually about self-denial, keeping God and His people before them.

At the end of Pauls’ ministry Paul warns Timothy that in the last days men will be lovers of self and not be willing to deny themselves. We do not have to carry the cross for miles like Blessitt. However, we believers must deny all cravings of flesh and follow the footsteps of Jesus. We too must endure the cross just like Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.

Christianity is not about wearing the cross around our necks or hanging the cross in our cars or at home. It is not necessary to show our identity in Christ by wearing or hanging for others’ view. It should be evident from the way we live out for Christ. That will make the real mark.
​
God Bless,
Amutha

​Dear Church,
​
Let us reflect on His grace during Lent.
I was inspired by a poem written by Diana Ng-Sutherland and am sharing it here with you expecting God will bring changes in us through this period of Lent.

Lord Jesus, when I am sad and depressed,
Help me think of you praying in the garden.
Lord Jesus, when I am fearful,
help me to think of you being taken prisoner.
Lord Jesus, when I am ill,
help me to think of you being scourged at the pillar.
Lord Jesus, when I have a headache,
help me to think of you wearing the crown of thorns.
Lord Jesus, when I am tired,
help me to think of you carrying the cross for love of me.
Lord Jesus, when I am humiliated,
help me to think of you being stripped of your garments.
Lord Jesus, when I am in pain,
help me to think of you being nailed to the cross.
Lord Jesus, when I am lonely,
help me to think of you hanging on the cross.
Lord Jesus, when I am dying,
Help me to think of you dying on the cross for love of me.
Lord Jesus, help me to remember,
how much you suffered for love of me,
and help me to love you more and more.
Amen

During the Lent period, people get ready to give up something which primarily helps believers to draw their focus on God as a spiritual discipline. There are no mandatory regulations given in scripture to observe Lent in a specific fashion though we can take heed of it to develop a much closer relationship with God. Lent is the period of preparation. In fact, our Christian life itself is a preparation on this earth until we see Him.
Lent is the advent season for the Lord’s resurrection day. We humble ourselves before God’s presence reflecting his suffering and sacrifice for our sake. Lent is the advent season to reflect on from dust to Glory. We reflect on His life which was glorified through his perfect will, submission, and desire for many to be glorified. Lent is the advent season for the upcoming Pentecostal Sunday. His mission on this earth was not completed by resurrection alone but began in a powerful way through sending His Holy Spirit.

Let this season not only get us closer to God but also help others to come to know Christ. Let our preparation during this season be extended for the rest of our life on this earth and after.

God Bless,
Amutha