Experiencing the Man of Sorrows in Tokyo, Japan

I had an opportunity to stay in Japan for six months in a city near Tokyo during Sept.2009 to March 2010 with my sons family. We could experience the helping hand of God in all our events there.Though the people there do not speak English, and we did not know a single word in Japanese, God provided  wonderful people as our interpreters and they went out of their comfort zone to help us in all matters.Our hearts are full of gratitude for those wonderful people and during this time of their calamity, our prayers are with them.

They showed us much concern and love during our time of need in the hospital when my daughter in law gave birth to her first child and when this grand son was hospitalized for about three weeks due to some illness.

They provided us warm clothing for the winter and they honored me  by inviting  me to give a talk about India in their meeting and appreciating my talk. They also invited us to their Year end party. They honored us by attending our Christmas party in our house.The main aim of this party was to impart the Message of Christmas.We pray that the seed sown will bring forth the fruit.

Two of these friends took me to a tourist place to give me a taste of Japan.One lady accompanied me shopping and we had nice times together. The highlight of her help was when she helped us in conveyance  with our packages in getting the early morning train to the Narita Airport  when we left Japan. This help she again repeated when my son , daughter in law and grand son left the country three weeks later.What can we do to pay back all that she had done to us.We will be always  indebted to her .I sincerely pray that she and also the other friends there  find salvation that comes through belief in Jesus Christ.They are really wonderful people and may the Almighty God bless them all.

When we were there , we visited the Tokyo tower. In its third floor there is a wax museum and we visited it.In one room , there is an exhibit of  our Lords  Last Supper.I was thrilled to see this exhibit where Lord Jesus with His disciples  was having His Last Supper and establishing His  New covenant that He is offering His flesh and blood for the salvation of many and whosoever eats of His flesh and drinks His blood-- believes He is our Sacrifice Lamb--- will not perish but will have life eternal.

The thing that struck me most  from the exhibit was the sorrow in the face of Jesus. He looked heavily laden with an unbearable burden. I could feel the  heaviness of  His heart. I had never imagined Him like that and it was  a new insight to me that He bore such a burden. I just blurted out loud why  Jesus should be so sad and why His face should be so full of  such sorrow. My son replied that it was just the previous day to His death on the cross. Even his reply did not answer me. Then slowly all the verses regarding the Man of Sorrows came to me.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him,and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer. LORD makes his life an offering for sin, For he bore the sin of man and made intercession for the transgressors.

After the Last Supper, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples to pray. He knew that He was going to be betrayed, captured , and to be sentenced to death on the Cross.The agony He went through is seen in reading the following verses.

He knelt  down and prayed,  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.  And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. He said to His disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”   Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.” When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy.  So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

On the cross the heaviness of His burden of the sins of mankind becomes so unbearable that He cries out in a loud voice,  “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Surely, the Man of Sorrows is Jesus Christ who was the Lamb of God who bore and took away the the sin of the world. 

The above passages are from Isaiah 53rd chapter and from the four gospels, NIV.
The Word of God says cursed is the man who does not love the Lord Jesus.He became a man of sorrows to fill our hearts with the glory of God and joy unspeakable.

Japan is not a Christian country; but the Gospel is being spread through this wax tableau and the message is continuously being read out in the Japanese language in that room.I praise God for those artists who wanted to introduce the Man of Sorrows to the visitors of this wax museum..

St. Thomas, the Apostle to India

God so loved India that He sent here one of the Twelve chosen apostles of His son, just within twenty years after the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. In obedience to the Great Commission of the Lord, Thomas traveled thousands of miles and arrived in India around 52 A.D. What is recorded in the Scriptures about Thomas is very much thought provoking. .
When Jesus wanted to go to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead, His disciples dissuaded Him from going there since the Jews at Judea were planning to kill Him. Jesus was determined to go and Thomas made the prophetic statement, “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (John11:16). This prophecy was fulfilled a few decades later in his own life and in the lives of most of the disciples.
 While Jesus was promising His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for them, He told them that they knew where He is going and the way there. Thomas blurted out “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered to the whole mankind “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”(John 14:5, 6)
 Jesus never rebuked Thomas for doubting His resurrection. His special love is manifested by His appearance to the disciples when Thomas was also present and showing him His wounds. This great love makes Thomas to cry out “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus made the universal statement “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”(John 20:28, 29)
Thomas, doing his missionary work in India along the western coastal regions, arrived at the Malabar Coast (Kerala). He was able to convert many high caste Hindu families. He established many churches and trained the local converts to be church leaders. Many miracles were done through him and tradition says that he raised a few dead people to life. Traveling along the south coastal regions, he came up to Meilapore (Madras). His fame had already reached there and he was supported by the royal family. He also went to China for a few months and came back to Meilapore. Wherever he went he was able to convert many people to Christ. He went back to the Malabar Coast accepting the invitation of a local king. He founded many more new churches there. He came back to Meilapore where the Hindu leaders pierced him to death while praying in a mountain near Meilapore since he converted many people.
Traditional folk lore of the Thomas Christians expresses the strong belief that Apostle Thomas came to India with the gospel. Even while the events recorded in the Acts of the Apostles were taking place in and around Palestine and along the Mediterranean Sea coast, the acts of Thomas were taking place thousands of miles away along the coastal regions of  south India.     
 It is said that Apostle Thomas ministered in India for a total of 17 years. The Government of India has recognized his apostolic work and has brought forth two stamps one in 1964 and another in 1975 in his memory.
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit……..John12:24…..Jesus.

Jesus, my Lord and my God!

Jesus, my Lord and my God!

He is Alpha and He is Omega; He is the Beginning and He is the Ending;
He is the First and He is the Last; He is who was and He is who will be;
He died and He lives for evermore; He died and He is the Resurrection and Life;
He is the Son of Abraham and He was before Abraham;
He is the Lion of Judah and He is the Lamb of God;
He is the root of David and He is the branch which spreads;
He is the bright morning star and He is the sun of righteousness;
He is God and He became man; He is the Son of God and He is the Son of man;
He is the Child given to us and He is the everlasting Father;
His birth was foretold by the prophets and His birth was heralded by the angels;
He had no place to be born and He was given gold when born;
He had no place to lay His head and He has many hearts to reside and rule;
He is the king of kings and He was a man of sorrows;
He is Lord of lords and He came to minister unto men;
He is Teacher and Lord and He washed the feet of His disciples;
He was blameless and He died as a criminal; He was wounded and He heals our wounds;
He is altogether lovely and He had no beauty that we should desire Him;
His cross was a symbol of curse and His cross is a symbol of blessing;
His death seemed to be a defeat and His death is a glorious victory;
He is the altar and He is the sacrifice;
He died on a common cross and He was buried in a special grave;
He is God in the highest heaven and He went down to the lowest depths of the earth;
He was taken up in clouds and He is coming down on clouds;
He lives in heaven with His Father and He lives in earth with His children;
He is the author of our faith and He is the finisher of it;
He is our advocate and He is our judge;
He is the pillar of fire and He is the pillar of cloud;
He is filled with compassion and He is a consuming fire;
He leads in the front and He protects from behind;
He helps the weak and He helps the strong;
He was the stone rejected by the builders and He became the corner stone of the building;
He is a God nearby and He is a God far off; He opens doors and He closes doors
He is the keeper of the garden and He is the vine tree in it;
His kingdom is sown as a small seed and His kingdom grows into a mighty tree;
He came to save the sinners and He comes to judge the sinners;
He is the Rose of Sharon and He is the Lilly of the valley;
His name is Wonderful and He is worthy of this name;
Jesus, you are my Lord and you are my God.

“How great are God’s riches! How deep are His wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain His decisions? Who can understand His ways?......................
To God be the glory for ever! Amen.” Romans 11:33, 36 (Today’s English version)