CYF NEWSLETTER September 2013

Issue 5

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September is here already! As the psalmist says, let everything that has breath Praise the Lord! Praise God who has brought us through these 8 months of 2013. Yes, He has been good to us. We hope and pray that this newsletter would be a blessing to you. Read on.. And have a wonderful month ahead!

God’s Patience Reading: Jeremiah 7:1-16

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! How often I wanted to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings; but you were not willing" (Mt 23:37)

Jesus concluded His last sermon with this lamentation. He used this image of hen and chicks to explain divine patience. God is never in haste. Especially in His dealings with people He is graciously patient. He is called the "God of Patience" ( Rom 15:5). None of us can survive if God is impatient with us as we are with one another. At the same time we cannot take His patience for granted and go on in our own ways. The Jews were guilty of misunderstanding the patience of God. The apostle Paul warned them sternly, "Do you despise the riches of God's goodness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that the kindness of God should lead you to repentance?" (Rom 2:4).

In this issue God’s Patience He won’t let you go! About our Bible He touched me! The Best Friend of All Best Friend See the unseen About us Birthdays in September He has done mighty things yet again Solve it

Jerusalem was called the "perfection of beauty" and the "joy of the whole world" (Lam 2:15b). But she always had her enemies. Her safety was under the wings of Jehovah (Psa 17:8; 36:7). Her prosperity was because of the warmth of His fellowship. She despised it by rejecting God's message that came to her through prophets and wise men. She heaped for herself false prophets and teachers who would speak to her taste. She was not willing to listen to those who preached what she needed but only what she wanted. She not only kicked away true messages from God but also killed truthful messengers. Jesus warned the Jerusalemites that God's patience was running out as they were martyring one by one every true messenger of God, A to Z (Abel to Zechariah)! (Mt 23:35) The hen calls the chicks at the distant sight of an eagle. Safe are the ones which run into the mother's wings. Others will be easily snatched away. Our safety is only in immediate and implicit obedience to the mildest whisper of the Spirit of God. We will face no danger in our lives which God has not warned us of. When we commit ourselves to walk in obedience to God, He will check even the slightest deviation (Isa 30:21). Keeping our ears sensitive and our hearts soft before God is the surest way to crush Satan in our lives (Rom 16:19,20). Hardening our hearts will lead to sudden self-destruction (Prov 29:1). God waits patiently till the "cup of iniquity" overflows! (Gen 15:16). Let's not mistake it.

“Looking unto Jesus, I go not astray; My eyes are on Him, and He shows me the way; The path may seem dark as He leads me along, But following Jesus I cannot go wrong!”

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He won’t let you go! Motivation Column

Some years ago on a hot summer day, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His mother, in the house was looking out the window, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved. The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn’t let go.” You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic, but, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He’s been there holding on to you. The Scripture teaches that God loves you. If you have God in your life, you have become a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril – and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That’s when the tug-of-war begins, and if you have the scars of His love on your arms be very, very grateful. He did not – and will not – let you go!

About our Bible 

Facts and Statistics

The system of chapters was introduced in A.D. 1238 by Cardinal Hugo de S. Caro, while the verse notations were added in 1551 by Robertus Stephanus, after the advent of printing.

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A Bible in the University of Gottingen is written on 2,470 palm leaves.

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According to statistics from Wycliffe International, the Society of Gideons, and the International Bible Society, the number of new Bibles that are sold, given away, or otherwise distributed in the United States is about 168,000 per day.

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The Bible can be read aloud in 70 hours.

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There are 8,674 different Hebrew words in the Bible, 5,624 different Greek words, and 12,143 different English words in the King James Version.

Statistics Number of books in the Bible: 66 Chapters: 1,189 Verses: 31,101 Number of promises given in the Bible: 1,260 Commands: 6,468 Predictions: over 8,000 Fulfilled prophecy: 3,268 verses Unfulfilled prophecy: 3,140 Longest name: Mahershalalhashbaz (Isaiah 8:1) Longest verse: Esther 8:9 (78 words) Shortest verse: John 11:35 (2 words: "Jesus wept"). Middle books: Micah and Nahum Middle verse: Psalm 118:8 Middle chapter: Psalm 117 Shortest chapter (by number of words): Psalm 117

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He touched me! Testimony by David Raj & Annet

Dear in Christ, I praise the Lord for this opportunity to share my testimony with you. I am David Raj, a Software Engineer working for a mobile product company. My wife Annet Precilla, is working in CTS. Both of us are born again believers and we are doing God’s ministry. Late in July, I fell sick. I thought it was just an ordinary fever, and took medicines for it. But I wasn’t healed completely. The temperature would rise and fall. And this happened for about a week. Suddenly I developed nausea with vomiting. We went to the hospital, all the medical tests were taken and it was diagnosed that my platelet count had decreased – for some unknown reason. They screened (tested) me for all kinds of viral and bacterial infection that might cause fever such as malaria, dengue, etc. But I didn’t seem to have any of them. This was confusing even for the doctors. I was given platelets from 16 different donors but my case was becoming worse. I had only 15,000 platelets which is a life threatening state. A normal person should have a count of above 1 lakh and 50 thousand. But before all this, the Lord spoke to me very clearly that I would be severely affected by this fever because I had to do a serious work for God's Kingdom. I used to teach from the bible, but I couldn't do that in the recent days for some reason. But God said that He would revive me and help me to write books for the younger generation to know the word of God. This was so amazing to me and I was thinking - how could this happen? But the Lord told me that He was placing this sickness as a sign for me. I asked the Lord how. He told me that my condition would get worse, but amazingly I will be healed all of a sudden – at such a time when the doctors are confused about my state. While I was reminded about all this, the doctors who were confused, transferred my case to a hematologist (who diagnoses diseases like cancer). Even this doctor couldn't find out anything after taking all the blood related tests. But Praise God! All of a sudden I was healed. My platelet count started to increase, and the temperature returned to normal. In the same way, my wife fell sick the very next week. But since the doctors had some experience with my case, they easily treated my wife and in the same way she came back to normal with simple medication. Both of us thank God for all He has done for us. I am also grateful to everyone who had given us platelets for transfusion. With this testimony I would like to convey one simple truth. "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 We may be perplexed with the problems or sickness that we go through in life. But we need to know that if we are under the purpose and plan of our God, then everything is for good. Yeah! whatever it might be, if you are a true child of God, then you will have problems with a purpose. If you dont face any problems in life, and you are free, then you need to check your spiritual state 

"What good it’s for a man to gain the Whole World, yet loose his SOUL" - Jesus Christ

The Best Friend of All Poem by Ruby McKenzie

How sweet the sunshine after rain, And sweet the rest that follows pain, But sweeter far His face to see, The Son of God who died for me. But not until He calls me home, No, not till then will I behold The Saviour who did die for me, And bore my sins on Calvary. He suffered, bled and died alone, Alone, alone for you and me, Could I for shame reject such love, A sacrifice from God above? I do accept His sacrifice, Will serve Him now for evermore. For only such a Friend as he, Could pardon, cleanse and make me free. If you receive His pardoning grace, You'll meet Him yonder face to face, And have a home in Heaven above Where all is joy and peace and love.

Then when around God's throne we meet And lowly bow at Jesus' feet, A song of praise we'll ever sing To Christ, our Saviour, Lord and King.

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Best Friend Gospel Tract

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See the unseen

Message shared at CYF by Victor Selvaraj Many of us see things in the natural which is common and is the right thing to do. But at the same time we fail to notice that which is in the spiritual realm. But you know what? That which is unseen in the spiritual realm is more real than that which is seen in the natural. Hard to believe isn’t it? Let’s see how this could be true. In the book of 2 Kings Chapter 6 verses 8-12, we read that the king of Aram wanted to attack and capture Israel. Whenever he made an attempt and set up his camp in any particular place, the king of Israel would come to know about it and evade it. Frustrated with all his futile attempts, the king of Aram inquired of his officials as to who was revealing these secrets. He came to know from them that there was a person by name Elisha, a prophet who could tell the very words the king of Aram spoke in his bedroom. In the subsequent verses (13-17) we read that the enraged king of Aram sent a strong army to capture Elisha and they went by night and surrounded the city. The servant of Elisha was terrified by the sight of the massive army. Elisha asked him not to be afraid and said “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Elisha then prayed to God to open the eyes of his servant for him to see the unseen. And when God did so, the servant was able to see the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha, an army much greater and mightier than the army which the king of Aram had sent. The servant would have felt so good on seeing the unseen presence of God in the spiritual realm. God struck Aram’s army with blindness as they approached Elisha and the prophet led them to Samaria. There they were given a great feast and sent back to the king of Aram. Hearing all that had happened, the king of Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory. The moment we understand that we are God’s children, we know that we have this unseen presence of God. Many a times we are so blinded by our situations and circumstances that we like the servant of Elisha are not able to see the unseen protection of God. Satan gives us worries and hopelessness and we tend to believe that liar rather than trusting God for strength and deliverance. God says don’t be anxious about anything but pray with thanksgiving and let your requests be known unto God (Philippians 4:6). God has already planned everything for us, but it is we who don’t trust Him and dwell in our own problems. Let’s take courage and try to hold on to unseen providence of God whenever we are faced with the challenges of the world.

About us

Corporate Youth Fellowship, Coimbatore We are a group of believers, working in corporate companies, who come together every Thursday for a good time of singing, listening to God’s word, prayer and fellowship with each other. We welcome you to be a part of this fellowship. We meet at

12:45

pm on Thursday at CSI church, Keeranatham. Do be a part and you shall be blessed indeed!

Contact us and we’ll be glad to help you. Victor, CTS (SEZ) 9487413146 Justus, CTS (SEZ) 9500456335 Ramesh, CTS (SEZ) 9787737726 Sasikala, CTS (MMC) 9443648154 Daniel, CTS (MMC) 9894596090 Vernon, BOSCH (SEZ) 9894437648

Vision of CYF “To serve Jesus as we Equip and Strengthen passionate believers to be a witness at their work place besides Transforming and Motivating budding followers for Christ.”

Transportation will be arranged from SEZ, KCT, MMC (CTS) at 12:30 pm Feel free to reach out to any of us for help

“And the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing …, and to prayer” (Acts 2: 42)

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Birthdays in September Let’s pray for them, wish and bless them! Gerold Livingston

1-Sep

Vijay Emmanuel

1-Sep

Evelin Jenitha Priya

6-Sep

Alina Florence

10-Sep

Florence Reena Antony

10-Sep

Flora Sylvia Christopher

14-Sep

Blessed Singh

20-Sep

He has done mighty things yet again We praise God for His blessings in August         

New project assignments for Shakila, Ramesh, Benisha Rajalakshmi’s son got selected in state level football tournament Maruthi, Karthikeyan’s onsite project Arun’s relatives family members salvation and baptism Daniel’s recovery and good health Nandhitha’s transfer to Bangalore Daniel Jeeva’s friend was delivered from his drinking habit August 15th youth event at Pudukottai (Jude’s parents) was wonderful Sasikala’s family’s new home

By God’s grace we have started preparations for the CYF Christmas Gospel Event Don’t forget to keep this in your prayers

Go to the next page for Crossword puzzle

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Solve It

Crossword Puzzle for September Across 1 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be ___ 5 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be ___ 7 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the ___ of heaven 8 Woe to you who laugh now, for you will ___ and weep 10 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go ___ 12 Blessed are you who weep now, for you will ___ 13 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the ___ 14 Blessed are those who are ___ because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Down 2 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown ___ 3 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of ___ against you because of me 4 Woe to you when all men speak ___ ___ ___, For so did their fathers to the false prophets. 6 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of ___ 9 But woe to you who are ___, for you have already received your comfort 10 Blessed are the pure in ___, for they will see God 11 Blessed are you when men ___ you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man

Enter your answers into this document, take a snapshot and send it to [email protected]

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