Saturday 13 March 2010

Arise and shine

1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.( Isaiah 60)

This was then theme of today 's half day women 's retreat at the Seminary in which I participated. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera along, so no photos.

The retreat was arranged for women whom the students have been working with in several outlying villages. They meet in makeshift worship centers and sometimes even under trees.About 100 women, young girls and children came for the retreat, some of them entered a regular church building for the first time in their lives. Besides them the women students ,invited guests and church leaders and elders were present.

It was amazing to see their simple faith powered by enthusiasm and joy.We had a beautiful
time of worship followed by prayer.As the senior Pastor prayed many women prayed along loudly as they have been taught to do. One woman I suspect of being under spiritual oppression started crying and weeping in a strange sort of way. She was led out by two sisters but was calm when she returned some time later.
During testimony time we heard stories of how the Lord Jesus had mended broken lives and bodies and set people free from evil possession.One teenage girl told us how she was unshackled, and now she cycles several miles to attend worship which takes place half an hour away from her home. Her name is Kiran which means a ray of light.

We heard a message about the Samaritan woman from John 4 followed by a short tea break. In the second half groups came forward to sing praise songs, some in their own dialect. There was a worship dance and puppet show.The retreat ended with a simple vegetarian lunch.
It was thrilling to see how God is moving among people.Persons from all walks of life, religious,social and educational backgrounds coming together to celebrate the love of Christ. We have to take note the boldness and courage of these women as not all of them are supported by their families and villages. They may be facing social ostracizing. But they are letting their light shine. When the speaker asked people who would be sharing the good news about Jesus in their localities to stand up for prayer, almost everyone stood up.How we rejoiced with the new creation. My prayer is that may each of these sisters grow in faith daily.
After having such a good day I felt rather down and tired as I feel a cold coming on too.Descending into the valley from the mountaintop,
I was made aware of my own brokenness - how easily I am upset by the irritations of life, and that nothing good dwells in me Romans 7.

May God keep me humble and broken always is my bedtime prayer.

It is good to remember this morning 's theme. Arise and Shine.

A beautiful thought from Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Our Creator would have never made such lovely days

and have given us such deep hearts to enjoy them,

above all and beyond all thought

unless we were meant to be immortal."

14 Fertilize my soul:

N Abram said...

Hi Amrita, thanks for sharing. What an amazing fellowship! Our God is awesome! Look after yourself. Blessings and hug.

David C Brown said...

The Lord bless you all and lead you into increasing light and truth!

Grayquill said...

Staying humble is certainly a task I have to work on.
May you be well quickly.
Thanks for sharing!
The brokeness thing - I guess it's good but it is a bit more painful than I like:)

Felisol said...

Dear Amrita,
By sharing your experiences of the retreat you are sharing joy, peace and strengthening all the way to Norway.
I so enjoy being amongst you brave women.
May God bless you richly, all of you.
From Felisol

Crown of Beauty said...

This passage from Isaiah 60 has always been one of my favorites.

I love the insights you shared.

Thank you for this post and the one before it.

Worship, and prayer, and intercession... as well as deliverance from demonic spirits...it surely must have been a powerful half day.

And I was touched by the desire of almost everyone in attendance to spread the light to their families and communities.

Thank you for visiting my blog. It is a delight to my heart when I see a comment from you.

My friend's dog is a French dog, called a keeshand, I don't know if the spelling is right.

Blessings on your week.

Love
Lidj

Holly, the Old Western Gal said...

Amrita you are a humble gal, and sweet, too!

As to the crying/strange lady, a lot of time people with mental troubles seek help in religious circles. We always had a lot of really lost souls come to the Buddhist meetings. But you do what you can for them, and I think Jesus put it well, "These the least of our brethren" I think he said.

madison said...

Seems like youhad a great time. I'm going to my first retreat,in years, in May. I'm really looking forward to that weekend!

Buttercup said...

Sounds like a wonderful and very rich -- in the best sense of the word --day. Wishing you many more days of faith and fellowship. So glad you stopped by to visit.

Pat said...

How lovely and nourishing is the word of God! I love those verses..arise and shine!
We must always decrease so that He may increase..this is my prayer too.

Saija said...

i liked the thought from the previous post "a rich person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least". never thought of it that way either ... uplifted my heart ...

and blessings on your week ... as you continue to serve Him Who redeemed us!

Kate said...

I'm sorry that you seem a bit blue. I was concerend when you came to my blog and couldn't think of even one fine thing. That is so unlike you. I hope you feel physically better and spiritually renewed when tomorrow comes.

Amrita said...

Hi Kate thanks for stopping by.
Yeah, I was feeling down....just the stresses of life...or being human.
My blog friend Donetta wrote this on her blog and its so ttrue
. "It is hard sometimes to hold onto our own contentment when we are making great efforts to bring contentment to others. Soon a loss of contentment causes you just want to have your own or let go of for the fight is too long and too much effort."

But one bounces back when the moments are over.

Sita said...

Hi Amrita,
Retreats always get you to refocus and refuel. I'm with you, as I grow in intimacy with my Lord, I become even more aware of my own brokenness and realize my dependence on Him for all. Bless you, sister.
Love, Sita

Abigail Jasmine said...

You are a blessed Sister of God.
Thank you for your Blog :)
I am grateful for it :)