Towards the end of last year and the beginning of this year, we have been bombarded by the media with so much happening in our country.  Rallies, rumors, rash words, and results.  Parades, policies, political appointments, and power.  Immunity, immigration, immaturity, and importance.  Masses, mudslinging, marches and madness. I found this bit of news very heartwarming and thought I will share it with those who care to read my blog. 
 
In the recent catastrophic forest fires of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, a man who worked there found a page from the Bible that was almost burned and the part that was readable said,  “O Lord, to thee will I cry:  for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hat burned all the trees of the field.”  What was more astonishing is that they found a house that was completely burned down with only a statue standing covered with ashes.  It was a statue of Jesus, the only thing left in that house. 
 
Turmoil, terror, transitions and tragedies are bound to happen.  May God help us to hang on to our faith, believing in the promises of his Word with the sure and certain hope in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who stands with us at all times. 
 
Shalom, Shalom! 

Pastor Franklin David

Martin Luther, the great reformer once said: “I pray you leave my name alone. Do not call yourselves Lutherans, but Christians.” John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church once said, “I wish the name Methodist might never be mentioned again but lost in eternal oblivion.” Charles Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher once said: “I say of the Baptist name, let it perish, but let Christ’s own name last forever. I look forward with pleasure to the day when there will not be a Baptist living.” As Christians, we are all aware that all praise, honor and glory is due to God alone. So the question: “Is it okay to clap after a special song is sung or a piece of music rendered in worship? Or for that matter when a sermon is preached? What do you think? Respond with your thought or theology if you can. The common saying is, “The man who sings his own praises always gets the wrong pitch.” And the word of God says: “Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.”

On this special day, I take the opportunity to wish all of you: “A Happy Indian Republic Day,” and remember with gratitude the great sacrifices of the freedom fighters.

Shalom, Shalom!

Pastor Franklin David

It sure was a hectic trip!  Bengaluru, Kochi, Kolkata, Aizawl, New Delhi, Jalandhar, and Hapur in about a week’s time. Tiring but it was a blessing. The highlight of the trip was reuniting with my high school buddy after nearly half a century.  A few weeks ago in one of my sermons, I mentioned that Jesus is our friend and friends don’t let friends down.  I told about my high school friend and my many failed attempts to find him.  One of my dear members listening to the sermon noted the name, knew his brother, contacted him and surprised me by giving me my old friend’s contact information.  Many years ago,
I remember mentioning in my sermon that I was not able to find the old Jim Reeves songs which I wanted to give as a gift for my wife as she loves them.  That evening, one of my dear members dropped two Jim Reeves CDs in my mail box.  My daughter looking at it said: “Dad, why don’t you tell in your sermon that you need a convertible Mercedez
Benz and one of your members will get it for you immediately?” So here I go with my Christmas list:  “All I want for Christmas is my Lord.”

Preaching they say is the art of talking in someone else’s sleep. But I am thrilled when some listen and respond.  My friend was a good student. After finishing high school, he was applying for college admission.  However, his father told him that he had six  younger siblings to support and he needed to go to work and found him a job in ITI factory.  He shared with me how bitterly he wept at the thought of not being able to continue his studies and starting work to support his family.  As we reminisced about old times he told me of an incident in 9th grade when he scored the highest in Bible class
— one hundred percent and the teacher shouted at the rest of the class, “All of you should be ashamed of yourselves.  This Hindu boy gets the highest marks in Bible class and what are you Adventists doing?”  And then he shared with me as to how even though he had just a high school education God had destined him to study in a Christian
school.  He shared with me that he practices yoga, two hours every morning and two hours every evening.  And during these hours he meditates on the Bible passages he memorized in high school.  He is still a Hindu but he testified that the Bible is true, and that the words are life indeed.  He started repeating text after text and sharing with me as to how they have helped him in his journey called life.  In some ways it put me to shame, for I must confess that I don’t spend that much time meditating on God’s word.  I long to spend such time alone with God, meditating on His word and the Word that
became flesh, whose birth we celebrate this season.  Have a very blessed Christmas!

Shalom! Shalom!  Franklin David

PASTOR’S BLOG
As I was getting ready for this trip to India, I didn’t feel as excited as I had before. I couldn’t figure out why because I always
enjoyed going on such trips. In fact, my dream job was always to be a department or associate director for the General Conference. In that capacity, I could travel the world, plus get a lot of mileage on my sermons, for all I would need is just one or two sermons in five years and I could preach them all over the world. But God has a way of speaking to us in our low moments. On that very day in our staff worship, the thought of the day was that if you want life to be better, enjoy the journey now. We just started off with our annual caroling, though it is cold and the nights are long, there is a lot of laughter, fun, and fellowship. I have seen it on the faces of all those who have been a part of this journey. Members in this community often commend us by saying, “Thank you for bringing in the Christmas spirit in our home and we long for your visits.” So, if you have not received an invitation of our visit, call the office and schedule one. If you are planning on canceling, why not give it a second thought and bring some joy into your home. Life is what we make of it. Enjoy the journey!

Shalom, Shalom!
Pastor Franklin David

“See the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, and
think the unthinkable.”

TO KNOW HIM AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN

About a month ago, I mentioned that October 31 marks the 499th anniversary of the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the door of the Wittenberg Chapel that sparked the reformation, gave birth to Protestantism and the breaking away from the Roman Catholic Church on theological issues, interpretation of the scriptures and teaching of false doctrines.  I also mentioned that in 2017 – the 500th year, it will be a great experience to visit these places where the reformation took place and learn more of the early Protestant movement.  It came as a surprise to me in my reading to note that the Lutherans and Catholics have now signed a historic document stating 32 points of agreement between Lutherans and Catholics and are working towards the celebration of their unity on October 31, 2017, the 500th anniversary of what sparked the reformation.  These are interesting times.  It is also interesting to note that a Christian nation built on the principles of the Holy Bible is also moving toward the amalgamation of all religions by issuing Hindu postage stamps during the last Diwali.  And Georgetown University, a Catholic institution, has appointed a Hindu chaplain.  In times like these, may God enable us to ‘redeem the time’ and be true to His word, for
there is no other name under heaven whereby we can be saved and at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow.

Shalom, Shalom!
Pastor Franklin David

“See the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, and

think the unthinkable.”

A company had invited a motivational speaker to address its employees at their annual banquet.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of unrest and challenges in the city that this company was located and even the employees were not happy about what was going on around them.  During his presentation, the speaker took a large piece of white paper and made a black dot in the center of it with his black maker.  He then held the paper up and asked the audience: “What do you see?” One person was brave enough to reply, “I see a black dot.”  The speaker said, “that is right, what else do you see?” Others also answered and said, “We see a black dot.”  The speaker continued, “Don’t you see anything besides the dot?”  The audience responded with a resounding “No!”  It was then that the motivational speaker told them, you have overlooked seeing the most important thing, you missed seeing the large white sheet of paper and focused only seeing the black dot. And then he went on to explain how even in life, we get so distracted
by the small dot-like events or failures that happen in our lives or around us.  We often forget to focus on the blessings, failures, success and joys that we enjoy and surround us.  Unfortunately, our disappointments monopolize our energy and attention.  Even this morning as I was driving to my office, I witnessed a group of High School students marching in protest in front of their school.  I did not stop by to find out the reason of their protest.  Maybe it was the presidential election results.  How  true it is that we often only concentrate on the negatives and forget the positives.  As we approach Thanksgiving season, so unique in this country, may we remember that life comes with its good and bad.  May we always be thankful for what we have.

Shalom, Shalom!
Pastor Franklin David

“Men who see the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, and think the unthinkable.”

Last year about this time, I was in India to perform my nephew’s wedding. Many of my family and friends asked me about Mr. Donald Trump becoming the president of our country.  I just laughed and brushed it off saying: “that is a big joke.”  But over the last year I watched with great fascination as he dismissed each one of the GOP candidates and emerged as the nominee for the republican ticket against all odds, even the opposition of his own party. But the stunning defeat of his opponent last night is certainly remarkable. I hardly slept last night for I have been getting texts that this is the will of God.  Is it really? I feel challenged to accept that everything that happens in worldly politics and even church politics is the will of God. You don’t have to agree with me but I tend to look at it this way:  “God allows what we allow.” For there is a lot of man-made maneuvering in both national and unfortunately, even in church politics. When I say, God allows what we allow, what I mean is God permits what we do but He has the power to bring about His
purposes and that is why we need to pray earnestly for our leaders, that God would bless them and use them for the growth of His kingdom, the Glory of His name, and above all the soon coming of His eternal kingdom. So please join me in prayer for President-Elect Donald Trump and his family but also remember to pray for Mrs. Hillary Clinton. For defeat is difficult to digest.  I know what I am talking about for I have experienced both as a leader during my college days. I must confess that victory is easily palatable as it is very sweet. But if victory does not enable us to be humble then it may get to our head and lead to our own ruin. So, let us pray that our President-Elect Trump will be humble and serve this great nation throughout his term.

Shalom, Shalom!
Pastor Franklin David

TO KNOW HIM AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN