Prayer Letter - June 2008

Romans 11:33-36

GOD – the origin of all knowledge and wisdom

What’s the difference between wisdom and knowledge? Generally knowledge is the awareness of facts and wisdom is awareness of how to use those facts for good.

Paul says that God’s knowledge and wisdom are unfathomably deep. He knows all recorded facts and events at the macro and micro levels. He knows all events that happen in human minds and wills. And because of God’s infinite wisdom,  he is always  able to conceive and carry out plans that are for good.  All this leads to the display of the fullness of His glory magnified in the passionate worship of a blood-bought people.

Further, all the treasures of this wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ Jesus (Colossians 2:3). Christ is the Creator of all created reality (John 1:3). And Christ is the sustainer of all created reality. In Him all things hold together exclaims the Apostle Paul (Col 1: 17).  Consider for a moment this vital scientific fact:

GOD – The giver of knowledge and wisdom

Most of us are familiar with the listing of spiritual gifts given by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11.  Two of the Spiritual gifts are Wisdom and Knowledge

True wisdom results in knowing how to lead a life pleasing to God. Some wisdom may from time to time be given to us as a spontaneous revelation from the Holy Spirit but, more often, the wisdom God wants us to have will come as the Holy Spirit teaches us through many years of meditation on scripture and through our life experiences. Paul’s term “knowledge” in 1 Corinthians 12:8 translates the Greek word gnosis, which is similar in meaning to the English word “knowledge.”  Paul speaks of “the knowledge of God” (2 Cor. 10:5), and Peter encourages Christians to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).  Like wisdom, knowledge in the bible may be of many kinds and may be gained in many different ways including the fact that it may come from a spontaneous revelation from the Holy Spirit. 

We need to place a higher value on the gaining of wisdom and knowledge in the church.  Our culture is increasingly confused, cut off from God and ignorant of His ways.  God’s people desperately need His wisdom and knowledge to minister in such a culture. 

GOD calls us to exercise this wisdom and knowledge for His glory

Why does God give us knowledge and wisdom? Certainly not to waste it on ourselves, but to use it for His glory. I want to illustrate this with 3 Biblical models:

JOSEPH: It was God who gave him the wisdom and influence with a pagan king (Acts 7: 10), to create an economic miracle and the saving of many people. In between, Joseph had to undergo a period of learning under very adverse conditions. Eventually God was glorified!

DANIEL: Right from the beginning, Daniel and his friends refused to compromise on any values at the pagan King’s court. The Bible records that God gave those 4  young men knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. We are informed that “Daniel so distinguished himself among the other administrators by his exceptional qualities that the King planned to set him over the whole kingdom” ( Dan 6:3 ).  Daniel glorified God through those gifts

PETER: Finally, the Apostle Peter. A fisherman by trade, we can suppose that he knew a lot about fishing, but perhaps not much else. But at Pentecost, he stood with the disciples and gave his first memorable sermon quoting OT scripture to make his points. And when Peter and John were being interrogated by the highly learned “rulers and elders of the people” they observed that “that they were unschooled, ordinary men….(and) took note that these men had been with Jesus. ( Acts 4: 13 )

Proverbs 2: 3-6 sums it up well:
If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
and if  you look for it as for silver  and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then  you will understand the fear of the LORD  and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask of God who gives generously to all!! (Jam 1:5)

• For the healing He has given Roma, daughter of Mrs. Kusamavati Rajhuns, senior H.I. faculty, Society member and active alumna with the H.I. Mumbai Alumni Association.  Roma sustained a brain injury and slipped into coma following a road accident some months ago. Praise God for answered prayers. Roma is out of coma and is now recovering.  Please continue to pray for full recovery as she undergoes physiotherapy.
• Ministry openings in Gurgaon, Dwarka & New Delhi.
• The fruitful visit of Mr. Rajesh Malaki, Area Manager-North to Patiala, Ludhiana & Jagadhri.
• Successful Southern Regional Alumni Get-together & Spiritual Retreat held 7th & 8th Jun’08 with the theme of “Ownership – Serving the Lord selflessly & joyfully” at CEO Centre, SAIACS, Bangalore.
• The newly elected Executive Committee headed by Adv. Y. L. Pawar of Pune Alumni Association.
• Mr. Alan Goodwin, Executive Committee Member who donated a LCD projector to the Central Region.
• The seminars conducted in the month of May: Northern Region: Ghaziabad, New Delhi; Southern Region: Chennai, Kottayam, Coonoor, Coonoor NS; Western Region: Panchgani SS,  Ahmednagar SS, Kolhapur; Central Region: Faizabad, Korba, Shahdol, Bhatapara, Aligarh; NE Region: Karbi Anglong, Nagaland SLS; AP Region: Chodavaram, Warangal, Chittoor

Please Pray For:

• Forthcoming North India Regional Council Meet scheduled 31st Aug’08 at New Delhi.
• Alumni Get-together & Elections of New Delhi Alumni Association scheduled          14th Jun’08.
• Forthcoming Anchor Person Traning, Faculty Initiation Seminar to be held in New Delhi in the coming months.
• New Coordinators to be appointed for Rajasthan, Punjab & Uttaranchal in Northern Region.
• The forthcoming Ludhiana AA meet scheduled on 2nd Sep’08.
• Ministry Openings in Jammu & Kashmir.
• The ministry visit by Executive Director, Mr. Paul Balasundaram, to Tamilnadu dated 16th to 22nd June along with Area Manager, Mr. J. S. Anbu to meet key Alumni & potential participants for National & Special Leadership Seminars.
• Haggai Institute National Executive Committee Meeting scheduled 2nd Aug’08 at Chennai.
• Alumni Get-together scheduled for Chennai Alumni on 2nd evening of Aug’08.
• The bereaved family of Alumnus Mr. Uday Bijapurkar who lost 5 of their family members in an accident recently.
• Mr. Donald Pant’s meeting with Mr. Thomas Zechariah of TLM for planning a State Level Seminar for the staff of TLM.
• Ministry openings in IIT, Kanpur.
• The members of the Regional Councils – North, South, East & NE Regions.
• Suitable candidate for the post of Regional Director for Western Region.
• The upcoming State Level Seminars in 2008: Ahmednagar 10 – 14 Jun, Lonavala 22 – 26 Jul, Hubli 9 – 13 Aug, Belgaum 3 – 7 Sep, Coimbatore 7 – 11 Oct.

NS – National Seminar, SLS – Special Leadership Seminar, SLSD– SLS for Doctors, In-house - seminar fee is not disclosed as it is a sponsored seminar.

Please Note: We seek your prayer support for all these National Level seminars coming up. We also solicit your assistance in the recruitment of suitable candidates for these seminars. For more information regarding these seminars please feel free to call us at 040 27131209, 27141221 & 32928823 or email at hiindia@haggai-india.com also browse our website: www.haggai-india.com

May God continue to bless you and use you as a channel of blessing to others around you.

Note: Please be informed that you can now deposit your donation Cheques directly with our account # 1262560000416 with HDFC Bank, Sainikpuri Branch, Hyderabad 500 062. Please do intimate our office the deposit details indicating your name, the amount and the date of deposit.

Yours in Him,
Paul Balasundaram