Vol.

XXIV/05 Grace Bible Church, C 930, Sector B Mahanagar, Lucknow, India - January 2022

FROM THE PASTORS

Dear All,

As we step into this new year as a church, let’s

begin by re-visiting three of the key phases to a
Christian life. They can be categorized as knowing
Christ, knowing ourselves in Christ, and living out
our lives for Him, and they can be followed in no oth-
er sequence.
In our world where the search for self, pleasures
and inner peace, or the desire to serve God through
various deeds and actions takes precedence over
knowing God, it leaves us in the wake of spiritual
death. Our souls need nourishment just as much as
our physical bodies, and if we hope to serve our-
selves or others without spending time in feeding
our souls with the knowledge of God, we run the
risk of starving and killing our souls.
The Bible repeatedly gives us examples of people
who have lived on either side of this spectrum, the
spiritually nourished and the spiritually dying/dead.
One of the best examples of a man who lived in the
true knowledge of God was Daniel.
The Bible records the fact that Daniel, one of the
King’s wisest counselors, his trusted administra-
tor, amidst his busy schedule, spent three times a
day praying on his knees (Daniel 6:10). When was
the last time we were too busy to pray? Daniel
would go on to live one of the most powerful lives
recorded in the Bible, not just because He did
great things, but because God also revealed to him
great things. In a foreign land, among foreign peo-
ple, with every temptation at hand, with every ex-
cuse we could come up for him to neglect God
(Daniel 1:8), Daniel stands as an exemplar of a man
who found his identity in Christ.

On the other hand we find a young man by the

name Samson: powerful, mighty, one of the strong-
est men to ever have lived (Judges 15:14-15). Sam-
son’s life demonstrates a man in search of himself,
in search of his pleasures, and achievements. He
did serve God by fighting the philistines, but never
once did he search for the heart of God. When fi-
nally defeated, brought down to his knees, and
placed between the two pillars of the Philistine
temple, he utters four of the most powerful words
ever recorded, “Sovereign Lord remember
me…” (Judges 16:28). It was in his last breath that
he realized the need to know the heart of God.
When his life was at its end, and he felt his starv-
ing soul looking for something beyond himself and
his strength did he find the overwhelming yearning
for God.
As we step into a new year, in search for newness
let us not forget our identity in Christ. Let our pas-
sion for the knowledge of God surpass our tem-
poral enticements as we live each day by these
words “But seek first his kingdom and his right-
eousness, and all these things will be given to you
as well” (Mathew 6:33). The new year may bring us
a world of experiences, sorrows, and joys, but let
our identities be christened in Christ, by our desire
to know Him and to make Him known.

Love,

Raja

“To have God speak to the heart is a

majestic experience, an experience that
people may miss if they monopolize the
conversation and never pause to hear
God's responses. ”
Charles Stanley
 PULPIT CALENDAR– January 2022

01 New year service Pastor Ashish Khan

02 Pastor J T Raja
09 Bro. Ignatius Shimi Preetham
16 Pastor Ashish H Khan
23 Pastor J T Raja
30 Pastor Ashish H Khan

Kindly follow the Covid

protocol strictly.
Check-in at 10.15 am

THURSDAY
Bible Study
1st Samuel
13 online on Zoom
27 online on Zoom
Thursday PRAYER at 6.30 p.m.
06 online on Zoom
20 online on Zoom
Ladies - PRAYER
Online on Zoom
Saturday, 23rd
at 5.00 p.m.

Joys and Concerns

Pratibha Sharma Delivered a baby girl
Mrs. Pushpa Singh had knee surgery
Anita Singh had a major surgery
Manji Phillps is suffering from acute bronchitis
Manohar Antin’s sister went to be with the Lord
Poonam Modwell has severe backache
Sana Singh, Pooja Modwell, Fizza Phillips, Supriya
Lall, Harshita and Udayan visited their family for
Christmas.
January B’days
02 Supriya Lal
14 Vidhini Verma
19 Tanner Van
Oss
22 Vaibav Verma
29 Benaiah Lal
 CONTACT
FOR PASTORAL CARE
Rev. J T Raja 9956399835
Rev. Ashish H. Khan 9648431177

gracebiblechurch.lucknowindia@gmail.com
www.gracebiblechurchlucknow.org

GRACE BIBLE CHURCH, LUCNOW