Dear prayer partners,
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thank you for your prayers, encouragement and your mails that help us to move forward.
Web recording in ChicagoGod enabled us to be in Chicago. We stayed with Sagayaraj and Mary. I was able to record four messages on missions, and Rosy was able to record her testimony and one message. They also took us for a drive to see downtown and lake.
North Park SeminaryWe visited North Park seminary and visited Paul De Neui and his family. We also discussed about the paper I have to present in January.
Reaching Indians Ministries InternationalThen we were in Saji & Moni Lukos home. They took us to an apple orchard and were able to pluck apples, eat and enjoy. Then we visited Lake Geneva. On 3rd morning we visited the RIMI office.
New JerseyThen we came to New Jersey and we stayed in my cousin sister Vineta Livingstone home. We fasted and prayed on 5th September.
Global cities InitiativeGod enabled both of us to attend Global Cities Initiative for which about 400 leaders from over 90 cities around the world from 9-11 September. I spoke in the breakout sessions on 9th and 10th afternoons on the subject: “Global City Trends and Their Implications for Churches.” Over 60 delegates attended on each day.
GUM networkGlobal Urban ministries Network met at New York on 12 September. God enabled me to participate in that.
Urban Strategists ConferenceSteve Allen invited me to be a panelist on 14 September in the Urban Strategists Conference held at New York School of Urban Ministry. I was one of the four panelists and there were about 30 leaders from as many cities in North America.
Power to ChangeIt was good meeting with Jerry Chee, one of the leaders of Power To Change. We discussed about training urban leaders of India/South Asia next year.
Royal Ontario MuseumRosy and I visited the home of Sarah and her daughter Ria and spent time in prayer. On 19th we visited the museum, which displayed rare Dead Sea Scrolls (temporary display until 10 January 2010). It was amazing to see how God has preserved his Word throughout generations. Manuscript having these passages Psalm 102:26-29; 103:1-3; Genesis 39:11-21 and Daniel 2:19-27; were displayed.
Richmond Hill Chinese Baptist ChurchRev. Dr. Francis Mpindu, invited me to speak in the mission conference of Richmond Hill Chinese Baptist Church. I spoke on two Sundays (20 and 27) in the English worship service and on 27th in the Cantonese worship service. God enabled me to speak to the leaders of this church on Friday (25) and in the mission banquet on Saturday (26).
Tyndale UniversityRobert Cousins, Tyndale Intercultural Ministries Centre of Tyndale University & Seminary organized a special seminar on 22 September with the theme: Ministry Among Diaspora People. It was well attended by leaders from the city and also by some students.
Living Word Missionary ChurchPastor Yoga Thomas invited me to speak to their leaders on 23 (Wednesday) where I taught them the skill to read and mediate the Scriptures. The chief pastor of this church denomination was also here. Rev. Daniel Navakumar has invited me to teach in other churches of this denomination in Europe next year.
Live Springs FellowshipPastor Alvin Koh invited me to speak in the Live Springs Fellowship on 27 September Sunday, 3 PM. This church believes in city transformation and is geared up to transform the city of Toronto.
Visit to Niagara FallsRosy and I were able to visit to Niagara Falls on 24 September. It was a wonderful sight of God’s magnificent creation.
Bencey David & LathaVisited the home of Bencey David and Latha and had time of fellowship on 26 September.
Mission GTAWe had lunch meeting with Hany Boghossian, Chairman of Mission Greater Toronto Area on 28 on our way to airport. At the airport we had a surprise; our tickets were upgraded to business class up to Brussels. We reached home on 30th early morning.
Hosanna and ThambosHosanna and Thambos are doing well. They managed by themselves during our absence. Hosanna’s health is better and should be normal. Her x-ray shows that there is only mild symptom in the lungs. We hope that it would be cured completely in the next few days.
Chennai InsightsChennai Insights is a new magazine being launched for the city of Chennai on 9th October. The editorial board meeting was held on 30 with Ramanathan and Rajkumar.
Please visit the website: http://glocalleadersnetwork.com/main/
Yours in His Vineyard,
J.N. Manokaran
Upcoming schedule3 Oct Operation Harvest, Chennai
9 Oct Chennai Transformation Network leaders meeting
9 Oct Release of “Chennai Insights” magazine
13-16 Oct All India Congress on Church and Mission, Hyderabad
20-22 Oct Mission Maharastra, Kolhapur
23 Oct Mission India Board Meeting, Nagpur
1-4 Nov Ethne Consultation????
7-12 Nov BGU, Urban Consultation, Chennai
9-13 Nov School of Leadership, Oddanchatram
17-21 Nov Akola transformation seminars
26-27 Nov Allahabad Bible Seminary, Allahabad
3-5 Dec Mission Educational Books, 20 years anniversary
6-8 Dec Chennai Pastors’s Mission Conference
201012-15 January SEANET, Thailand
18-22 January School of Leadership, Bangkok, Thailand
24-26 January Cochin
1-3 February TOPIC Trainers, Mentors and Coaches conference, Dimapur
2-6 March APCOD 2010 – Chennai/Delhi
15-21 March Chicago
4-11 April London, Living Word Missionary Church
10-13 April CFCC, Bangalore, Contemporary Missions
5-7 May Colombo, GLOMOS
13-15 May Kolkata, GLOMOS
17-19 May Kalimpong, GLOMOS
24-28 May Summer School of Leadership, Chennai
12-14 August CFCC, Bangalore
16-25 Oct Third Lausanne Congress, Cape Town, South Africa
29 Nov-
5 December Centre For Contemporary Christianity, M.Th. Classes
Ten Commandments for FamiliesJ.N. Manokaran
The Ten Commandments were given to the children of Israel, which was covenant between Israel and Yahweh. The covenant relationship had the Ten Commandments as binding code of conduct. Since, marriage is also covenant between a man and a woman, who become husband and wife;; these commandments could be applied for both the spouse. These principles could help Christian families to excel in relationship and bring glory to God.
"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me. "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments. "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. "You shall not murder. "You shall not commit adultery. "You shall not steal. "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." (Exodus 20:2-17)God loves to bless each and every family in the world. God also likes to use each and every Christian family as His instruments for the world. The ten principles for successful, productive, God honouring and God glorifying marriage are detailed below:
1. Primary, supreme and exclusive loyalty to spouseThe first principle in the marriage is primary, supreme and exclusive loyalty to the spouse. And this place is reserved and privileged for the spouse alone. All other persons in the world cannot be compared or equated with that of the spouse. It is a unique dignified exalted status a spouse enjoys from the married partner. There can never be compromise in this aspect. There are few men who give mother this position and relegate the wife to a secondary position. There are few women who give their father an exalted status and relegate the husband to a secondary place. This is sin against God and the spouse.
2. Faithfulness, truthfulness – no substitutesIsraelites were not allowed to make pseudo or substitute gods. They were called to be faithful to Yahweh. Similarly, as husband and wife, they are created to be faithful to one another. Any extra-marital affairs and fantasy thoughts are violation of this principle. Pornography, playing with sex toys and cyber pornography are substitutes that is abomination in the sight of the Lord.
3. Honouring and giving dignity and affirmation to spouse in public and privateIsraelites cannot take the name of God in vain. The Name is sacred and cannot be used casually with inferior motives and intentions. Giving honour in the public for spouse is very important. Some do not like their spouse to accompany them, as they think the spouse is below their dignity. One woman would ask her husband to drop her at a distance from her office, as she did not want to be identified with her husband, as in her opinion he was not looking so good and earning much. Many men also mistreat their wives, by not allowing them to accompany them in the public sphere. The self respect and dignity of the spouse should be respected, guarded and affirmed both in private and public.
4. Facilitate adequate time to rest and relax for my spouse.Both need to work hard, and at the same time have enough rest and relax. It is common for Indian woman to work eight hours outside home, then work at home cooking and taking care of children. Husbands do not help their wives at home. In fact, women work more hours than a man which is shame for men. But, they think, doing house hold work is shame or below their dignity. Allowing spouse to adequate rest, creating opportunities to relax, planning to take spouse out, and creating opportunities to purse his/her hobbies are important.
5. Healthy relationships with parents, parents-in-laws and other relatives.By biblical definition, marriage is companionship and partnership between a man and a woman. It is not alliance between families or business houses and political dynasties. Some families want their children to be married within the circle of their relatives to retain the clout or influence or wealth within the family. But, that is not the purpose of a family. Some like to establish business partnership by having marital relationship. This violates the sacred relationship of a husband and wife. Solomon married women as strategy for foreign diplomacy, which ended his spiritual relationship with the Lord. Many marriages are destroyed by parents-in-laws rather than misunderstanding between the spouses. Unhealthy and unwarranted criticism of parents-in-laws and unlawful interference of parents-in-law can bring stress in family life.
6. No hatred, No unforgiving anger, No destructive anger, No envy, No uncontrolled emotionsMurder is the expression of uncontrollable emotions triggered by hatred or anger or envy. Some men are not able to tolerate the growth of their wives in their respective profession. One woman lawyer was killed by her lawyer but not a loyal husband because of professional envy. Marriage relationship is not power play, with the goal of discovering who wins. It is a united effort to build the family, to nurture children and bring glory to God. Many young women are victims of greedy men and their families – dowry deaths. When wives do not bring huge dowry before marriage and continuously bring money in, they are hated and harassed. Any form of violence against spouse is suicidal and dishonouring God.
7. Sexual faithfulness in physical life as well as thought lifeHusband and wife should have close physical relationship. Healthy sexual relationship is a must for dynamic couples. Depriving one other of this, is not good. God has provided this gift for intimate relationship, emotional stability, pleasure and fulfillment. Lord Jesus Christ has warned about ‘thought adultery’. (Matthew 5:27,28) Pornography is also a kind of ‘thought adultery’.
8. Community of property with room or gift for privacyAs couples, most of the things become common, but with respect for other person’s privacy. There could be some things or aspects a spouse would like to keep it for themselves, which is perfectly alright. Trying to provoke the other by trespassing into those exclusive areas is being mean to the spouse. Selfishness has to be replaced by sensitivity and sacrifice.
9. Truthful and transparent communicationThe communication between husband and wife should be truthful and transparent. They should be able to share their fears and feelings without being condemned or judged. That would provide the sense of security, belonging and self worth. The level of trust, will increase the level of comfort between the spouses. That would provide channels for open communication. The transparency level should be high, may be 90 per cent or more.
10. Contentment: No greediness or covetousness.Enjoying life with his wife (Eccl 9:9) is a blessing God provides for a husband. And they should learn to be content with all the blessing God provides. Being thankful for God’s provisions and managing their family within their income, and also helping those who are poorer than them is very important. Godliness with contentment is great gain. (I Timothy 6:6)
ChallengeThe Ten principles for healthy marriage should be strictly followed in letter and spirit to experience heaven on earth. Violating these principles is self-destructive and could break families. As Ten Commandments are not multiple options to choose from, these Ten Principles are also not choice from multiple options.
