We wish all of our readers a blessed new year!
One thing we need to pay more attention to is the blessing factor. This is so clear in the Bible.Many things in the Bible does not make sense in the natural- like God loving Jacob more than Esau.
A casual look and you will think Esau was a gentleman whereas Jacob was a scoundrel. How can God reject a gentleman and bless a scoundrel? This concern is behind many of the judgments we pass today. We forget that man looks at the outside and judges while God knows our hearts.
Esau never paid any respect or value to his spiritual heritage. He was never around for evening sacrifices. At that time he was out with his friends hunting. We all know the famous porridge story where he was willing to give up his double portion blessings for a cup of soup. When he became an adult, the Bible tells us that he married two (not one) Hittite women as wives, 'which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah.' (Gen. 26:25).
I personally believe that was one reason Rebekah decided to make sure Jacob got the blessings from his father and thereby continued the lineage of the family till Messiah came.
When we look at the life of Jacob, we see a person who hung around his parents' tent, was there to witness the worship practices of his father, who always listened to his parents etc. He was a person who valued his heritage, wanted his father's blessings etc. Isn't that the pattern God had placed in place to bring up children?
Then is it any wonder that God rejected Esau and loved Jacob?
Something really caught my attention recently while researching the counter cultural roots of Christianity for a forthcoming book. It has tremendously influenced me and has forced me to rethink some of my positions. In Genesis 24, when Abraham was sending his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac, we see this important turn in their conversation.
'And the servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to
follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which
you came?" But Abraham said to him, "Beware that you do not take my son back there. The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the
land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'To your
descendants I give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there."' (Gen. 24:5-8).
In other words, this aging father who desperately wanted to see his son married is telling his servant to make sure that Isaac is never taken back to things he left behind, even if it meant Isaac remained unmarried for the rest of his life! SEPARATION WAS SO IMPORTANT TO ABRAHAM. At that time, Abraham had all of three people worshiping this God who called him out- Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. The future of this new way of true worship depended on Isaac and the wife he chose. That is why Abraham was so adamant.
Jacob was willing to do the same when his turn came. When his mother asked him not to take a wife from surrounding areas and to go back to her people to find a wife, unlike Esau, he agreed. It was on that journey that Jacob had his first encounter with God at Bethel and the rest is history.
Never forget this incredible promise God gave to Jacob that night: " I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."(Gen. 28:15b). In other words, God took the responsibility for Jacob's success in life!
As you enter into this new year you need only one thing: God's blessings. Do not neglect the blessings factor. It will change everything. It will bring His favor on your life. You will be a success in life. You will be the head, not the tail.
P.S. Only six months left for 31st PCNAK in Hartford, CT. Have you registered yet? Go online and register today to take advantage of the pre-registration discounts.
Showing posts with label sunny philip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sunny philip. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Why NY conference is in CT?
When the Keralite believers of the city of NY got together and asked me to lead a conference in NY, right away I had a few places in mind. One of my goals at that time was to do it right here in Long Island. I started negotiating with suitable locations right away.
My dream was to do it at Nassau Colesium. There is a Marriott Hotel at walking distance from it that had 800 rooms. So it looked very feasible - until we got into the details.
I found out to my surprise that the two locations were not enough to do the conference. The Marriott had a 1500 seat banquet hall, which would be great for the youth session. But , where would we do the children's sessions? Where would we do the dining?
And the price tag! The Colesium wanted about $100,000 just for space. Even then, we could only do the adult programs there.
So very reluctantly I started looking elsewhere. So many people had already told me not to do the conference in Rochester ( 7 hours from city) or in Syracuse ( 5 hours from city). Everyone wanted a place close to city.
That is how we ended up in Albany. It was not too far at 2.5 to 3 hrs from city. I knew they had an arena there. I had multiple meetings with the Albany County Convention Bureau. We saw a possibility there. The arena was bigger than what we needed. The floor alone could seat 2500 people with a big stage. The Crown Plaza (became Hilton later) had 400 rooms two blocks away. There were four other hotels around. The Crown Plaza had rooms for youth, children and dining. So it was a workable situation. I had pretty much finalized on Albany and said so in Canada.
But the Canada conference changed everything. It made the challenges of multiple locations very clear. Parents were always concerned about their children. Older believers were struggling with walking in the sun. Even with multiple vans and a very dedicated transportation team, people were complaining. Despite having very good meetings, in the end there were a lot of complaints.
Even before we returned from Canada, phone calls started coming. Every call had the same theme: Please do not put the conference where families are split and people have to walk a long distance from meeting place to dining hall. That is exactly what we were facing in Albany. I did not know a place where everything could be done under one roof at that time. So we decided to face the situation head on and do it in Albany anyway. I went to Albany with my wife to talk in detail about the menu etc. When we were leaving, our contact in the Albany Bureau accidentally told me that Hartford, CT is the only place where we could do everything under one roof. Since it was in CT, I did pay much attention to that remark.
The following week I was in Guyana for some meetings and I got an email from a believer in CT asking me about the conference and encouraging me. That is when I remembered the comment made by someone in Albany. When I googled Connecticut Convention Center, I was surprised by what I saw. A beautiful gorgeous facility with a hotel attached to it. When I looked at the details, I was more impressed. I realized that it was a facility where we can do all the sessions and dining in the same facility. When I reached home, I went and looked at it in person with a couple of other people. But it was in CT and the conference was supposed to be in NY.
So I decided to ask around. I asked many senior pastors in NY and around the nation for their feedback. Their reply was, the conference is given to NY and they have a right to select the best venue for the conference. We made a conference call with all the members of the National Committee and their opinion also was unanimous. Thus, we went back to look at details and start negotiations. Once we were sure of our selection, we decided to let the public know by posting it on the Facebook etc.
When we had the get together of national and local teams at the facility on September 9, every one of them were equally impressed. I am sure all of you will be too, when we get together for the 31st PCNAK on July 4, 2013.
BTW, the online registration is open now. Help us by doing early registration. We appreciate your cooperation. Together we will have a wonderful conference.
My dream was to do it at Nassau Colesium. There is a Marriott Hotel at walking distance from it that had 800 rooms. So it looked very feasible - until we got into the details.
I found out to my surprise that the two locations were not enough to do the conference. The Marriott had a 1500 seat banquet hall, which would be great for the youth session. But , where would we do the children's sessions? Where would we do the dining?
And the price tag! The Colesium wanted about $100,000 just for space. Even then, we could only do the adult programs there.
So very reluctantly I started looking elsewhere. So many people had already told me not to do the conference in Rochester ( 7 hours from city) or in Syracuse ( 5 hours from city). Everyone wanted a place close to city.
That is how we ended up in Albany. It was not too far at 2.5 to 3 hrs from city. I knew they had an arena there. I had multiple meetings with the Albany County Convention Bureau. We saw a possibility there. The arena was bigger than what we needed. The floor alone could seat 2500 people with a big stage. The Crown Plaza (became Hilton later) had 400 rooms two blocks away. There were four other hotels around. The Crown Plaza had rooms for youth, children and dining. So it was a workable situation. I had pretty much finalized on Albany and said so in Canada.
But the Canada conference changed everything. It made the challenges of multiple locations very clear. Parents were always concerned about their children. Older believers were struggling with walking in the sun. Even with multiple vans and a very dedicated transportation team, people were complaining. Despite having very good meetings, in the end there were a lot of complaints.
Even before we returned from Canada, phone calls started coming. Every call had the same theme: Please do not put the conference where families are split and people have to walk a long distance from meeting place to dining hall. That is exactly what we were facing in Albany. I did not know a place where everything could be done under one roof at that time. So we decided to face the situation head on and do it in Albany anyway. I went to Albany with my wife to talk in detail about the menu etc. When we were leaving, our contact in the Albany Bureau accidentally told me that Hartford, CT is the only place where we could do everything under one roof. Since it was in CT, I did pay much attention to that remark.
The following week I was in Guyana for some meetings and I got an email from a believer in CT asking me about the conference and encouraging me. That is when I remembered the comment made by someone in Albany. When I googled Connecticut Convention Center, I was surprised by what I saw. A beautiful gorgeous facility with a hotel attached to it. When I looked at the details, I was more impressed. I realized that it was a facility where we can do all the sessions and dining in the same facility. When I reached home, I went and looked at it in person with a couple of other people. But it was in CT and the conference was supposed to be in NY.
So I decided to ask around. I asked many senior pastors in NY and around the nation for their feedback. Their reply was, the conference is given to NY and they have a right to select the best venue for the conference. We made a conference call with all the members of the National Committee and their opinion also was unanimous. Thus, we went back to look at details and start negotiations. Once we were sure of our selection, we decided to let the public know by posting it on the Facebook etc.When we had the get together of national and local teams at the facility on September 9, every one of them were equally impressed. I am sure all of you will be too, when we get together for the 31st PCNAK on July 4, 2013.
BTW, the online registration is open now. Help us by doing early registration. We appreciate your cooperation. Together we will have a wonderful conference.
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