I will make you into a great nation
(Genesis 12:2)

         I wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord promises us this year as follows: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you.” He is effective saying that He will make you like a great nation. If you consider a nation, its entire people join together and share the nation’s resources among themselves. In the same manner, the Lord will increase you this year in collective blessing. You will soar to great heights because the blessing of the Lord will be upon your family. In your job or business, God will unite and establish those who work with you and change you into a great nation.

        The term ‘Blessing’ is being understood and interrupted by different people in different manner. It doesn’t solely mean ‘material blessing’.  It is not only the benefit that comes with the status and wealth. Nor is it the confidence that one gets due to the presence of ones friends and relatives. ‘Blessing’, in its true meaning, refers to ‘inner content’ or ‘deep satisfaction’. A person may lack wealth and status in life. However, he can live in this world with the blessing of God which is inner content. Many saints and monks had lived their life with this sense of satisfaction, forgetting the world.

        Jesus said in Mathew 16:24, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Denying self or forsaking the world is something that we cannot attain by ourselves. That is why St. Paul said, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Recognizing his inability, St. Paul says in Romans 7:24, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” When we recognize and accept our disabilities, God will deliver us.

        Jesus Christ says in John 16:33, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Therefore, He gives us a share of His victory. This inner peace is given to us only from God. Those who believe in Him will experience this sense of content. Only this blessing will make a man forget this world and seek Christ. It may seem foolish to others. However, for those who take part in the inner content that Christ gives, other things may seem vanity and earthly. That is why Jesus said to His disciples, “As I do not belong to this world, you do not belong to this world either.” Many will experience this blessing this year. This is the year when multitudes will come into the love of Jesus Christ. On one side, many people who put their trust in the affairs of this world will become confounded. However, since this world will face many struggles and problems, many will come to know that Jesus is the only way. Many will understand that Jesus is the only way for heart’s content and peace. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Many people will receive this fullness of life. Because of this, the word “I will make you into a great nation” will be fulfilled.

        When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mother Mary and said, “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." Mary asked the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God… For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." (Luke 1:31-38) When the Holy Spirit descended upon Mother Mary, Jesus was born. Those who were in darkness became a great nation by coming under the reign (Kingdom of God) of Christ who came as a great light.

        Even today, God will lift and establish those who are faithful and stand firm for Jesus into a great nation. God will lift up His servants who put their complete trust in the Lord and will raise them to great heights. This is the year in which the Lord takes the evangelists of our church who serve the Lord faithfully and use them mightily. In this year, many priests will rise up and reveal the power of God in a mighty manner. Their hearts will be filled with the revelation concerning the last days. God will use them to prepare the church and organize the people for His coming. Because the Holy Spirit will descend upon the church in a mighty manner, all the church leaders will be used as instruments to organize people.

        Pope Pius XII released an article called the Mystical Body of Christ in 1943 in which He says that the Holy Spirit is the source of life of the church and He acts in unity with the head of the mystical body which is Christ. The second Vatican council emphasizes the importance of our deep understanding of the Holy Spirit. Pope Paul VI emphasizes that new study needs be done along the lines of the ancient teachings about Christ and the Church with respect to the Holy Spirit and devotion. The reason why I am mentioning this is that starting this year everyone will seek the power of the Holy Spirit. We will witness the wind of the Holy Spirit lead people from all walks of life. Because of this, everyone will proclaim that the Holy Spirit is the center of Christian faith and source of life for the renewal of the church. There will be a great renewal of Christian faith in India. Glory be to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The calling of the Lord

        We see that God told Abraham, “I will make you into a great nation.” When we look at the verse prior to this promise, God says to Abraham "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you;” (Genesis 12:1,2) God tells Abraham to leave his country, his people and his house and go the land that He shows him. According to what God commanded, Abraham left everything he had and went on his way to where God asked him to go. God did not show the actual place where he should go at that time. On the contrary, God said that He will show Abraham the place where he should go. However, Abraham obeyed God’s calling immediately and started on his way. God knew Abraham’s heart and promised him that He will make him into a great nation and will bless him. In the same manner, Mother Mary also said "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" But when the angel answered, “Nothing is impossible with God", Mary immediately obeyed and said "I am the Lord's servant, May it be to me as you have said." Only then she became pregnant and gave birth to Jesus. God had planned to make a great nation through her. Even today, this tribe of people keeps growing in numbers and filling the whole earth proclaiming “Jesus is Lord”. Halleluiah!!!

        If you want God’s promises to be fulfilled in your life, if you want God to create you, you will need to leave from the place where you are right now. When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue, Judah became God's sanctuary, Israel his dominion. The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back; the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. (Psalms 114:1-4) These are the works of the Holy Spirit. When the people of Israel left Egypt, the spirit of God started leading them. Even though they happened to go through neediness the Holy Spirit led them into content (Canaan). He protected them as pillar of fire and cloud. In this year, the Holy Spirit is willing to lead into Canaan those who have decided to leave from their current place of sin, filth and worldly pleasures.  Also, the Holy Spirit says that an association of Christian people will be started in India. Because of this, everyone will stand united for the work of the Holy Spirit. Nations across the seas will come to know the enormity of God’s work of salvation in India. Many political leaders also will start proclaiming openly the work of salvation of Jesus Christ. The words of the Bible will start echoing everywhere. Glory be to God!!!

Blessing of God

The Lord God said to Abraham, “I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:2) Abraham, who obeyed the word of God and started on the journey to where God wanted him to go, became a symbol of blessing. Abraham did not experience the blessing promised to him immediately after he left from among the Chaldeans. Hebrews 11:8,9 says, By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the Promised Land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. Abraham waited patiently for the fulfillment of God’s promise. God lifted his name above the name of kings. Many kings trembled before Abraham. God blessed everything that Abraham did. In Genesis 15:1, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." He promised that He will give him an heir. God said to Abraham, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be." In Genesis 15:6, Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness. The Lord lifted up the name of Abraham and also appeared in visions and told the things that are yet to come. Abraham later came to be known as the friend of God.

        In the year 1994, we had an opportunity to meet the late servant of God Bro. D G S Dhinakaran personally. When we told him that we serve the Lord in the Catholic Church, he was very happy. What he said that day still lingers so fresh in our hearts until this day. He said, “Catholic Church is like a vast ocean. God has chosen you to work in it. Whatever difficulties you may face, patiently wait upon the Lord. God will use you mightily and raise you up in the church. Please pray for everyone. I will also pray for the church and for you.” We could still witness many things that he said coming to pass in these days. On the day when Bro. D G S Dhinakaran died, the arch bishop of Chennai and Mylapore, Dr. Chinnappa narrated his contributions to the Christian world. At that moment, I remembered those words that he spoke to us some years back and thanked the Lord. In the same manner, Abraham saw in the visions and heard the voice of God about the things that are to come and then acted accordingly. As promised, “I will make you into a great nation”, the blessing that started from Abraham was finished in Christ. God lets us share in this fullness. John says, “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.” (John 1:15) Abraham obeyed the word of God. God made Abraham into a great nation and made his name great. God called Abraham His friend. God said, “How can I hide to Abraham what I am going to do?” Abraham was so precious in the eyes of God. Even today, let us also obey completely to the word of God. Let us flee from the place that He doesn’t like us to be. Just like how God made Abraham’s name great, he will also make our name great. According to the promise, “I will make you into a great nation”, we will become a symbol of God’s great blessing. All peoples on earth will be blessed through us. God told Abraham that he will be a blessing. Even today, when we obey the Lord completely like Abraham, God will make us a blessing to many. God’s blessing will give us inner satisfaction. Only those who take part in this satisfaction will unite and give glory to God. This is the experience of the church of the ancient times.

         When Pope John Paul II died, many world leaders and ambassadors from all over the world came for his funeral service. Everyone remembered his life and addressed him with love as ‘our Holy Father’. People from all religions, including Islam, spoke great things about him, considered him a man of peace and expressed their condolences for his demise. Pope John Paul II was the great ambassador of Christ, who was used by God to unite all people. God will use everyone, who surrenders his life completely to Him, in the same manner. The blessings of Abraham will be manifested through them.

        When we wish each other for the New Year, let us wish saying, “May the Lord make you into a great nation. May the Lord bless you and make your name great.” I wish you that you will be a blessing to your nation, your family, your living locality and your church. May the Lord keep you as a symbol of blessing. Let your heart be filled with the love, grace and peace of Christ. Amen!!!     

In the service of Christ,

Bro. G. Lawrence