Pentecost Blessing

I am sharing the following message from my dear friend Fr Simon Khurshid of Sacred Hesrt Church Toba Tek Singh, Pakistan:

Dear Frank,

Greetings in Christ. I hope this email finds you well. 

Wish you all a very happy and blessed feast of Pentecost. I wish that you’re showered with the choicest blessings of Jesus Christ and blessed with a wonderful feast time. Please be sure of my prayers for you all and America. 

Today, as we are celebrate Pentecost Sunday, the day when the spirit came upon the timid disciples in the form of tongues of fire and transformed them into true messengers of Jesus.

Once they received the Spirit, they went out boldly and preached to all in Jerusalem and elsewhere.

On this day Jesus wants us to know the freedom of living in his Spirit. This feast is the culmination of the Paschal mystery where Jesus fulfils his promise of sending the Spirit of the Father and the Son on his disciples.

This feast also indicates that the Holy Spirit is an on-going reality, who will be with the church forever and who will touch our lives every single day.

We celebrate this day to recognize the gift of the Holy Spirit, realizing that God’s very life, breath and energy lives in all believers.

The celebration tells us that the same Spirit is given to each one of us, that we are all baptized by one Spirit into one body and that the Spirit which raised Jesus from the dead will raise us too.

The church tells us of the seven gifts of the Spirit.

The Seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are the following:

Wisdom

– desire for the things of God, and to direct our whole life and all our actions to His honour and glory.

Here we see God at work in our lives and in the world.

Second,-

Understanding – enables us to know more clearly the mysteries of faith.

It perfects a person’s speculative reason in the apprehension of truth.

Third-,

Counsel – warns us of the deceits of the evil one, and of the dangers to salvation.

With the gift of right judgment, we know the difference between right and wrong, and we choose to do what is right.

Fourth-,

Fortitude (courage) – With the gift of courage, we overcome our fear and are willing to take risks as a follower of Jesus Christ.

It strengthens us to do the will of God in all things.

Fifth-,

Knowledge – With the gift of knowledge, the Spirit enables us to discover the will of God in all things.

Sixth-,

Piety (Reverence) – With the gift of reverence, sometimes called piety, we have a deep sense of respect for God and the church.

And finally the seventh-,

Fear of the Lord (awe of God) – With the gift of wonder, prayerful respect and awe we are aware of the glory and majesty of God. A person with such awe and wonder has perfect knowledge, perfect goodness, perfect power, and perfect love.

Today’s feast rounds off the tremendous mysteries that we have been commemorating since Holy Week – the Passion, the Death, the Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus culminates in the sending of the Spirit of the Father and the Son on his disciples.

This feast has been the extraordinary intervention of God into our lives by what we can only call the “mystery” of Christ.

Today’s feast indicates that it is an on-going reality, which still touches our lives every single day.

This week, let us reflect upon the purpose of the Holy Spirit in the Church. He can guide and teach us according to the purpose that He has been sent by the Lord God.

Through the power of the Spirit we ask for the grace to be forgiven and the grace to forgive.

As Jesus empowers his disciples with the new life of his Spirit, we look for the gift of Peace from the same Spirit.

May God bless you all

In communion of prayers

Fr. Simon Khurshid

Dear Simon,

Salutations and great blessings be multiplied to you and the body of believers your ministry touches every day.

Happy Feast and thank you for your powerful prayers for America and for the world against the extreme forces of darkness intent on the destruction of civilization as we have known it.

I am very blessed to receive the words you have written about the world changing event of Pentecost the birthday of the Church.

These words are both beautiful and powerful in their description of this special day when the Heavenly father fulfilled His Promise to all those who will come home to Him through His precious Son Jesus the Christ.

I will gladly share your message with those whom I am in touch with via email and social media.

Simon your words of love have brightened my day.

Standing together with you for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom.

In Christ

Brother Frank

Pentecost and the Jesus Virus

Pentecost and the Jesus Virus

Christianity spread from a few people at Pentecost to a global force in a few short decades. This is not hard for us to imagine in this time of dealing with the effects of a pandemic.

Think this through.

A few people received the Holy Spirit ( Jesus Virus ) and boldly preached to thousands in a crowded city filled with internationals.

About 2000 souls are infected with the “Jesus Virus” and begin exposing others to the Christian message.

It sweeps through Jerusalem and the surrounding area.

Suddenly thousands strong, infected individuals begin to return home on-board crowded ships. Many traveling in groups on Roman roads sharing their faith as they went.

It has all the makings of a “Holy Spirit pandemic.” That is how Christianity spread then and how Christianity must spread now.

And who is going to spread the Good News?

You and I.

We have been called and equipped to take the baton from the disciples until Christ’s last promise is fulfilled. The coming kingdom of God.

— adapted from an article on Pentecost

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Please take a moment to join us today in world-wide kingdom call to prayer.

We pray for the elimination of the Corona Virus worldwide and we stand against any covert or overt threat to the God-given freedoms which are rightfully ours.

We come against any power whether they be human or demonic.

Lord we ask you in Christ’s name to thwart and put an end to any and all schemes and activities designed to alter the minds and souls of any man,  woman or child made in your image.

We pray that you strengthen and infuse your spirit into every minister of your Gospel and that they with all boldness spiritually invade the kingdom of Satan and preach the Good News of the kingdom to every creature.

Lord we pray that you will continue to cause your children to hunger and thirst after righteousness and that they will seek first your glorious kingdom.

Dear Father in heaven we pray for all those afflicted to be healed in Christ’s name.

We pray for our brothers and sisters around the world to receive your provision for them to sustain life and health. Food to eat, clean water to drink and a safe place to sleep.

We pray for the unrestricted use of technology and social networking to be used for the furtherance of the Good News of the kingdom of God worldwide.

We pray as believers and followers of Christ that you strengthen us with the ability to exert the God-given power and authority of our prayers against any and  all Principalities and Powers of darkness and that they be eliminated by their own device’s.

We pray the extreme unprecedented power of the holy, pure and precious blood of Christ to absolutely foil and defeat all enemies of Christ and His Kingdom.

We pray for the supernatural healing of the inhabitants of all Nations, Tribes and Tongues in the name of Jesus The Messiah of Nazareth.

We call upon you Father to send the angelic powers of God’s Army to the aid of any and all who are persecuted.  

We pray for Thy kingdom and Thy Will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

We as you dear children humbly and joyfully in Christ’s victory offer up all honor, and praise and glory to you.

Kingdom Dynamics the Power to Overcome By Frank J Manaseri

Today with the corona virus pandemic many are wondering what is going on?
How did this happen?
When will it end?
Why is this happening to people in over 184 Countries?
Sometimes it is difficult to figure out what’s going on in life. Much of life is an enigma.
It is during tragic times like these many wonder if God has anything to do with what is going on.
Man cries out to God in desperation and asks why is this happening?
We do this because we think that if there is an all knowing God then surely He must know what is happening.
I have found that God has a tendency not to inform us of everything He is doing, or not doing on a day to day basis.
God does not reveal to us the specifics of everything going on in our lives.
I have also come to understand that God desires that we place our complete trust and faith in His unlimited abilities.
To trust God gives Him joy!
The one thing God asks for is to be trusted completely through any and every situation and storm we face in life.
We ask if this situation is of God.
Is that action from God?
Lord what are you doing?
Do you even hear my cry?
God please save us from all this pain!
We may not know everything but what we we do know as believing followers of Christ is that His kingdom is coming soon.

Yes! The answer to the Lord’s prayer is imminent!
This is our greatest Hope when we pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy Will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
His kingdom shall be established on this earth and nothing or no one has the power to stop this from occurring.
Only our heavenly Father knows the timing of this magnificent universal event and all He desires is that we have peace by putting our trust in Him.

We know as each day passes the kingdom draws closer to becoming a reality.
We know this as we see the mystery of iniquity manifesting through the action of evil in the lives of those who embrace hate and death.
There is so much uncertainty in life today therefore we must be awake! We must awake thou that sleepest and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee Light.(Ephesians 5;14)
We must watch and be sober! We must embrace the kingdom Christ has prepared for us. Prepared to invite everyone we see to become a member of God’s Kingdom.

This transcends church or any other worldly organization in that the kingdom is not limited to these but is greater than all. This is why Christ told His disciples to Go into the entire world and preach the Good News of the Kingdom to every creature.
Kingdom business is serious business!
With each passing day we can see and perceive the deepening contrasts between those who are of the darkness and those who are of the true light.
This separation of light and darkness indicate there are two basic cultures in this world. These are the cultures of hate and death and the cultures of love and life. These are complete opposites in every way.
There were only two trees in the Garden to choose from. We must choose either the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or the Tree of Life and we must choose wisely.
If we have chosen wisely then we are Sons of the kingdom. Therefore we are of God who is Love and Life.

The law or code of the kingdom is love but it is not a selfish love but a selfless love.

God’s Love is a selfless love and nothing can ever separate us from God’s love!
Christ was/is the full expression of this perfect love.
Christ is the Word become flesh!
What does this mean?
Christ is the perfect reflection of the image of God to humanity.
Christ fleshes out for the entire world to see the invisible God so mankind may learn to see what God is like.

We see the character of God in Christ’s words and actions. Through Christ we may now experientially know our Father and become imitators of Him as dear children.
At the same time, Christ is the example of how we as people should live if we really do love God.
In this Christ is the prime example of our personal and social behavior.
How is this realized?
It is realized in our loving others even as we love our selves.
It is not enough for us to just love God with all of our mind, soul, heart and strength!
We must love the people around us also.
Loving God without loving people and your own self cancels out the benefits of the greatest love ever expressed.
Those who refuse to love God’s Way are the ones who lose the most in life. When a person does not love themselves they become hard and judgmental on themselves and others around them.
Paul said that if we do not love we become like a noisy clanging cymbal or a blaring trumpet. (I Corinthians 13:1- 13)
It is only in the expression of this love that fear is cast out. There is no fear in love!
It is only love which is the active ingredient of faith.
Nothing else has but God’s Love has the ability to energize true faith.
Without faith no man can please God!
The goal of the plan of the ages is that those of us who have accepted Christ may grow up into the perfect, completely, whole image of Christ, which is the image of God.
Maturity in Christ is that we become like mirrors reflecting God’s image to this world. A true light shining into the darkest darkness is what our Father desires we become.
This is the outcome of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount!
That we may be perfect even as our Father is perfect.
This is our reward!
Too many have given up on achieving this goal because we have tried to accomplish this through our own self efforts. Thus we soon learn a lesson in futility. We become discouraged and faint in our minds.
A self-centered righteous person is hard and uncompromising, but a Christ-centered righteous person is tender, merciful and accommodating.
When we begin to learn true humility we then begin to move away from a self-centered existence to a Christ-centered existence.
We are now out of the picture so Christ may live through us as a New Man.
This is what it means to pick up your cross and to follow Christ. We are to begin our journey with Christ as one who is Poor in Spirit mourning for others as we show then the love of our Father.
This is what it means to die to a self-serving attitude and to pick up a self-less attitude carrying it through life as a servant of mankind.
Too many of us have not learned the vital role of the beatitudes for our spiritual growth into the new creation of the Sons of the Kingdom.
We have rarely taken the time and considered that the kingdom of God is relevant to life today! It is not merely relegated to the kingdom being in some faraway place somewhere in the future age.
In this many have fallen short and reduced the kingdom from its biblical center of a universal global reality into a smaller model that is not equipped to make its citizens over-comers.
In many ways over the centuries the kingdom has been reduced to a smaller concept of a place of glory (heaven) reserved for believers after they die.
To most the kingdom is not relevant now but sometime in the future as our eternal home and reward.
Is it possible this kingdom of God that Christ preached is vitally relevant for both this present evil age in which we live and also for the future age to come?

Have we as a whole lost the one and only key Christ gave that is able to unlock the doors of division and bring unity to the true followers of Christ?
What might happen if we became focused on the kingdom of God and its application to life today thus becoming one with Christ and God?
Could it be this is what Christ meant when he said that we all may be one?
(John 17:20-23)
Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Do we as God’s people need to begin to focus on seeking first the kingdom of God as the Lord Jesus taught the disciples?
Do we need to learn as the Apostles and first century Christians learned from Jesus how to live these kingdom values today?
The kingdom of God is of such a priority to Christ that he spent 40 days in his resurrected body teaching the disciples “the things concerning the kingdom of God.”
Not only was Jesus of Nazareth a living example of God but he was also an example of how man should live in this kingdom.
Paul tells us in Romans that the kingdom of God is not in food and drink, but it is in righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Today more than ever there is so much to be excited about and learn from the life and teachings of Christ in the Gospels. These life lessons are further illustrated throughout the New Testament scriptures.
So let us pray and continue to encourage one another to love and good works. Even the more so as we see the day of the Lord coming.
We are the Children of Light!
We are the Son’s of the Kingdom!

Kingdom Call to Prayer and Fasting

We have received a request from Fr Simon Khurshid from Toba Tek Pakistan for a day of prayer and fasting this Friday May 8, 2020.

Let us be a representation of the One Body of Christ in petitioning the Lord for His solution to the Covid 19 Pandemic as we join together in unity of prayer and fasting.

May God continue to bless you and protect you and give you peace.

Psalm 91

In Christ

Brother Frank

Dear Frank,

Greetings in Christ. I hope this email finds you well.

As we are all well aware of the situation and condition of the World caused by the Pandemic Covid-19. It has indeed affected the entire planet with it’s lethal effects. As a result of this hundred of thousands of people have been affected by this contagious disease. Similarly there is a large number of people who have fallen prey to this Pandemic, while there are still Those who are struggling in the hospitals and quarantines to overcome this corona virus.

Dear brother, we Christians are Easter people, our faith is Easter faith. Being the followers of one who defeated death and brought us life, is what gives us courage and keeps our hope alive in the almighty, even in this difficult time.

We have decided to observe a day of fasting and prayer tomorrow Friday 8th May 2020. I hope you all can join us in this day of prayer for the entire world taken up by covid 19.

May God bless you

In communion of prayers

Fr. Simon Khurshid

Kingdom Business

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Abundant Blessings of Joy from our heavenly Father.

Kingdom business is serious and takes a sober attitude in order to be able to live as God planned life.

This is where the beatitudes reveal the “how” of receiving the power to overcome the distracting illusions of the world around us.

The first of these kingdom attitudes is to be poor in spirit. 

This denial of self is the first steps in beginning to live self-less God’s Way and not selfish or the World’s Way.

Second is blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted.

Why is this attitude of mourning? And what are we to mourn for?

Once we become humble, we then may begin to receive our Lord’s instructions on how He desires for us to live.

When I am humble my motivation begins to change away from selfishness to selflessness.

Now I am not self-centered but Christ-centered as I begin to reflect the image of God and His Son to the world.

I am now totally out of the picture and I begin to be moved by compassion for the people of this world who are deeply hurting.

An example of this type of mourning is when Jesus was moved with compassion when He saw all Israel scattered like sheep without a shepherd.

His deep pity and compassion moved Him into action.

James tells us faith without works is dead, so faith without action is unfruitful.

Mother Theresa displayed this Compassion To those she touched when she said that she saw Christ saying “I Thirst” in the faces of the poorest or the poor.

The next beatitude of Blessed are the Meek is the fruit or the result of the first two Beatitudes which is Meekness.

This Meekness is a coachable spirit or attitude that obediently responds to godly and righteous instructions.

To be continued. .

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These days in which we are now living seem to be the Times of God Shaking Heaven and earth.

Times of upheaval and change.

Times of a coming reckoning of those who have not made Jesus their Lord.

Times where those who have made Christ their Lord shall receive their reward.

Times where people are scared and unsure of what tomorrow may bring.

Times of faith unfeigned.

Times of unbridled speculation of the future destiny of the world.

Times of the certainty of the kingdom of God coming on earth.

Times of great prayer, intercession and fasting by the the remnant of the faithful.

Times of the preaching of the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Times of humility and repentance and change.

Times of the fields white with harvest.

Times of the spirit of Elijah rising up and shouting “Prepare Ye the way of the Lord.”

Times of judgement and fear, and the gnashing of teeth.

Times of the day of salvation drawing near.

Times of Mercy, Grace and forgiveness with God’s arms open wide to receive those who run to him .

Times of Resurrection and New Life.

In light of all this I found the following to be both profound and appropriate for the times we are living:

My spirit groans within me as I am moved with deep compassion as I look around and see and feel the concerns of people filled with distrust, uncertainty, fear and a loss of control over their own lives:

H G Wells in his “outline of history,” in surveying human history as a whole ends up his statement about Christ in these words:

“The Galilean has been too great for our small hearts.”

. . . He gave us a Kingdom which was the new and final order breaking into and changing this whole present world-order, and we have made it into a fold into which we run and are safe until Jesus takes us home to heaven. . .

Jesus gave us a Kingdom which is entered by the narrow gate of self-loosing for the sake of him and his brothers and we have made that narrow gate into a narrow message, a narrow outlook, a narrow program and narrow-souledness.

Unless we enlarge our hearts to this Galilean and his program he will have to pass through the midst of us who are called by his name to go his way to found his Kingdom.

This is our chance to rethink our whole position, to right our attitudes, to turn with dedicated wills to him and to his Kingdom and to start afresh. What a world renewal would happen if we did!