Child Sexual Abuse.

These are probably the most horrifying three words in recent times. At this very minute, across the world, there must be thousands becoming victim to sexual abuse.

Cindrella Prakash

Today we’re talking with a victim just like one of those many children. Cindrella Prakash loves God with all her heart. She works with the Communications industry and also writes gospel songs in Hindi. She has released two album – Mehfuz and Mehfuz Vani.

She recently was featured on the TV show Satyameva Jayate, a show that targets various social evils rampant in our Indian society.

In Conversation With Cindrella.

When did you come to know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior? Tell us about your journey with the Lord.

When I was between 6 to 10 years of age, I accepted the Lord as my personal Savior. Thank God for Sunday School teachers

If ever another Bible would be written, I would feature as the ‘Prodigal Daughter’. That’s how my journey with the Lord has been. Though I was saved while still young, I didn’t grow up fearing God too much. I kind of forgot that He watches over us all the time. But thankfully, the glories of the world fades away and He still accepts us when we return home.

That big part of my life apart, I grew up with life and death glaring at me in the face as my mom was suffering with renal failure of both her kidneys. She was on regular dialysis (thrice a week). My parents are avid Jesus lovers and I saw their faith and love through those trying times. My mom’s smile never faded. Not even on her last day.

My journey with the Lord has been filled with lessons; lessons on strength, on Biblical womanhood, on faith, on boldness, on uniqueness and many more. But all in all, it’s been a joy ride.

Recently, a rather painful incident of your life was featured on a TV show in relation to Child Sexual Abuse. Could you tell us about that?

In my childhood, I was subject to sexual abuse by two people whom we, as a family, were very close to. The first one used to come over to our place to conduct Bible Study every week. He was an old man, as old as my grandfather. In an orderly and well-planned manner, he came over to our place when I was alone and molested me. I was 12/13 years old back then. It has taken me years to reel out of it.

To add to it, a close relative of ours abused me when I was 16 years old. That came as a blow to me because this person was my blood relative. It was during these times that I started questioning God and then, eventually, started depending on Him more for my safety.

What has helped you overcome something so drastic?

Time doesn’t heal. Jesus does.

Being abused at the tender age of 12 and 16, ordinarily causes a lot of trauma, depression and the desire to seek revenge. But with our God, He extraordinarily caused me to forgive, forget and continue to love those men with a godly kind of love. But obviously, I got to this point of closure with God on these men after months of wailing!

Where do you think God comes in this situation?

Everywhere!

After these incidents took place, I would question God. I’ve known everything has a purpose and I failed to understand God’s purpose behind this horrendous act. I felt dirty and was majorly confused about ‘love’. I started to question relationships and men, in general. I, very strangely felt guilty for a sin that I didn’t even commit. And the worst part was the loneliness. I couldn’t tell anyone at home and so, my only venting time used to be with God. My tears ran dry and I ran out of words to pray but God heard my heart’s cry. Beautifully, the Lord showed me, myself in His sight. He showed me that He loves me, that I am precious in His sight and that after all, He hasn’t forgotten about me. I drew closer to God owing to this situation.

The best of all was that Jesus showed me that He forgives me for every sin that I commit, He showed me grace and then He showed me the cross and His love for me that drew Him there. That day was appalling as I heard the Lord probing me to forgive them, forget what happened and continue loving. And that’s difficult! But Jesus, so beautifully filled my heart with love and Himself that I had no other choice but to do as He did. In fact, it’s this joy, this happiness that completes my story. It’s about what God did inside of me after what those men did on my outside that actually took me to that show. The joy of the Lord is my strength.

What was your thought process like?

I stepped in knowing that love and forgiveness are revolutionary ideas for the world but yet for Jesus lovers, it’s a way of life. That was on my mind. The fact that here on a platter is the opportunity to initiate a revolution was all that I was thinking of. God’s plans are brilliant and He puts us in uncomfortable positions, if I may say so

What was your motivation to come out boldly?

God has blessed me with boldness and it is for Christ alone. The Psalmist says, ‘Help the poor and the needy’ and I understand that if by me just raising my voice and disclosing my testimony would stand a chance of helping even a single person, then, I should do it.

Secondly, even while I was a child, I often tried to seek inspiration from my elders who might have been through this ordeal but I never found any. Now, looking back, I’m sure that it wasn’t like they didn’t face these issues too but just that they never spoke about it. Hence, the desire to be a voice for the voiceless. God gives us the ability to set the trend and so, we should.

You are not yet married. Do you think these incidents will have any negative impact?

Though I’m unmarried, I trust God to be my defender and match maker. I’m sure He will send an awesome man who would love me for my past, present and future.

Also, I don’t think you always need a husband to be bold, you just need Jesus.

How has that experience affected you as the person you are today?

For one, it’s made me a bigger person. I’ve learnt to be vulnerable to others and their needs. I am now far more forgiving than I once was. These experiences have taught me to be accepting of others, however they be.

In short, these experiences have helped me to imitate Christ just a bit more.

Discuss: Have you been a victim like Cindrella? Or do you know of someone who has been a victim? How would you have dealt with this situation if it happened to you or someone close to you? Please do share your thoughts with us.

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To all who are listening.

I understand that it’s sometimes scary to invest and trust in us young leaders.

We can be overtly passionate, pumped up with adrenaline, crazily bold, act often without pondering, occasionally making dramatic mistakes and daringly persistent!

What alternative would you like us to take to failure? Is it better to do nothing?

Failures that don’t kill us make us stronger.

It shows us one more way that we should avoid. Life lessons are learned here. 

And this might be the very reason why the devil hates a young leader. Adding to the fear is the fact that time is on our side (even though temporarily), we seem to comparatively have more time to make mistakes, learn & grow up stronger and greater!

But stronger does not always necessarily mean NOT being bitter – if not for the healing, loving touch of those that have stood with us in our very weak times.

Sometimes it may seem like we are too busy and excited with our own objectives to thank you. But believe me, we are grateful, deep down in our heart.

If you do not feel so please bear with us, for time will teach us to be grateful for every little thing in our life.

Step by step, we are learning. We do not expect you to celebrate us but simply asking for your support.

Thank you to all those believers who have stood with any young leader across the globe.
Thank you especially to the actual spiritual fathers that exist today.

You have ignored those who warned you about us and stood by us anyway.  
We are grateful for every risk you took for us.

May we learn from you to be secure, loving & risk taking spiritual fathers & mothers to our generation.

When all is said & done, let us pray that the name of our Lord Jesus be lifted up in our cities and nations. May one more soul be rescued from hell. And may God be proud of His children and smile from heaven.

Sincerely,
The Young Ministers of the Gospel!

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It is interesting how what may be a big testimony to someone may not be that big a testimony to someone else. For most of us, brushing our teeth may not be such a big thing, but just think of someone who had a stroke. The fact that today, he can brush his teeth by himself will be a great testimony for him.

Here on this blog, I want to give that opportunity to you.

What is the greatest testimony ever in your life? In less than 150 words, can you share what Jesus did for you? I believe that it will bless someone on this blog!

(Please keep it less than 150 words so that people can actually read your testimony.)

Like someone’s testimony? Kindly click LIKE beside it. We may then want to do an extended interview with them later on.

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Its been quite some time we’ve worked on our present logo on www.shyjumathew.com

Could you help us choose one logo of your choice that is most appealing to you?

Thanks a lot,

Shy

1. Green

2. Olive Green

3. Blue

Vote:

Thanks for your vote, this will help the board make a decision.

Also please let us know why you voted for that colour in the comments below.

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Gone are the days when television had a total of 10 channels, out of which just 7 worked. Millions of websites and billions of links created, carved exist today just to entice you. You are the hero, the centre of ATTENTION. From salesmen to sidebar advertisements to research labs, they all are striving to get your attention throughout the day.

All they want is that first glance and then they get your attention. They are like leeches coming at you. They come in different forms and shapes and sizes. They come crawling out of huge billboards and your television screens. Everyday through your computer, mobile phones and video games. They come to you as if you are the only survivor on the island of vanity.

You are what they feed on and with your freewill, you are the spoilt master. Google does not exist without you. Facebook fails without your mercy. Without you, YouTube is like a cracked 50″ LCD TV and Twitter will tweet in the no man’s land.

Yes, most of them are free yet they come with a price – a big one!

The PRICE

In a world fighting for your attention, it gets confusing to determine what really requires your attention. Can it be your spouse, kids, family and church? Oh, did we miss out on God? God could go at the bottom of that list as we hope that He will understand. But understand what?

Here is a verse we cannot miss:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17

1 Hour of TV = -22 Minutes of life

A recent finding says that if you watch television (or anything else for that matter) for an hour you have reduced your life by 22 minutes. Imagine that. 1hour of TV costs you 22 minutes of your life! That’s expensive!

When was the last time you said NO to these life absorbers that crave your attention?

When was the last time you decided not to switch on your computer a whole day?

When was the last time you ignored your ringing phone without running to get it? (Sometimes even when we are praying or eating!)

The Difference

Now the difference is that the Lord does not force, beg or plead for your attention. He waits for you. He waits for you in the exact place where you left Him. And He waits for your return.

God’s patience amazes me. How does He not give up on us? His love is so deep. How can we ever quit on Him? Let us not forget, “Success without Jesus is a failure. Life without Jesus is no life at all.”

Re-prioritize everything else to Jesus first!

Don’t revolve around the world, let the world revolve around your Jesus. He is the centre! See more on “Defending your Time – Power Nuggets” here.

Don’t let the world steal your attention today. The Lord waits for you. There is nothing bigger than Jesus! Don’t let the enemy make you believe that there is something else worth our attention (good or bad) today.

Pursue Jesus like nothing else exists.

We live by Him, from Him and for Him. We live for the pleasure of our King of Kings, JESUS!

Let us pray, “Dearest Jesus, your presence is my oxygen. Your love is my only hope. You are the reason I live!” Amen.

New here? Join the GTH community post discussion in the comment section below.

What do you struggle to quit the most? How have you stopped these attention monsters from robbing your life from you?

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Very often I will have someone telling me not to imitate somebody else. Especially because of my admiration toward certain men of God.

Then recently I heard someone tell another young man the same thing.

And I pondered on that quite a bit.

How about Paul urging us to imitate him? 1 Corinthians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 11:1, Philippians 3:17

Could that be only his faith or would it include his passion, prayer, writing and preaching? Or for that matter, would Jesus have said, go find your own styles and don’t mimic Me?

If only Jesus was to be imitated, we haven’t literally seen Him pray or modulate His voice when He preached, have we?

Truth is that everyone imitates someone; with or without their consent or knowledge.

Prayer styles, preaching styles, and even the accent change from church to church. #fact

Anyone know what I am talking about?

Ever noticed how a set of people pray, act and even talk with the same accent and style of their pastor? Interestingly, that is overlooked.

I know for a fact that my manner of preaching has changed a lot from when I started preaching. And is changing still. Sometimes it differs from congregation to congregation.

I like adapting to the congregation. (I started as a Malayalee (from South India) preacher. Till around 16 years of age, I could not preach in English)

As we mature, we all change. Styles get mimicked.

However, the fact remains that we cannot imitate the anointing. We may try to mimic a T.  D. Jakes but for the “content”, we still have to go to God.

We may be able to dress like someone but for the “anointing”, we still need to humble ourselves before God. 

Like something? Go try it when you can. Chances are that you will soon find something better or with His grace, in the process, you may even find YOUrself.

As long as we don’t forget our identity in the process of bringing Jesus, it’s ok to test the waters.

What do you think of imitating your favourite worship leader, author’s writing or a preacher’s style?

Your turn now.

Peace out!

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The Lord recently strengthened a young leader to plant a focused Church. It’s been a pleasure to see many young leaders rise and take over what was before restricted to the seminary graduates and the elderly experienced folks.

My desire for all those leaders that are called to plant a Church is to have an ‘Acts of the Apostles-based Church’. Surely that is the real model for all our churches.

Interestingly the ‘Acts Church’ was born amidst the outpour of the Holy Spirit and underlined by mockery of those that didn’t understand the move of God. Any growing church will be the top target of the Satan and his kingdom. However as history teaches us, the church has always multiplied with persecution.

For the benefit of the larger section of the body of Christ, here are ten keys from Acts 2:40-47, every Church must seek, believe and purpose together for:

1. And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”

- A real church leader is never afraid to exposé sin & lead people into repentance to receive the forgiveness which is available in Christ.

2. So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

- A Church must emphasis the importance of being baptized to join Christ. A public confession of the inward faith in Christ only sets a precedent to living a consecrated life – to be in the world and yet not of the world. Start believing the God of the Acts to give you weekly baptisms if not for everyday!

3. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching

- A church that does not take to teaching the concrete Word of God is building its foundation on sand. Start by teaching your members the importance of consuming God’s Word. Develop the character of submitting to Holy Spirit-led teachers.

4. and the fellowship,

- Church without fellowship is only a theatre of its own kind. Irrespective of church size develop strategies to increase fellowship with one another.

5. to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

- Daily revelation of Jesus will lead to daily breaking of bread. Celebrate breaking of bread. Don’t let it be another ritual.

And should I have to say, “A praying church is a growing church.” Churches built on management principles, entertainments and mere charismas are towers of Babel that do not glorify Jesus.” Depend totally on Jesus – for a church that will be taken up in rapture.

6. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.

- all of the five points above will then lead us to this point – awe on every soul in your city, miracles, signs and wonders. For millions to see Jesus, they must see that the God we preach is alive. Believe and ask God for it.

7. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

- Every church must teach their believers to give. In Acts the believers sold their wealth and brought it to the Apostles. The Apostles didn’t use that to enrich themselves but for the enlargement of God’s Kingdom. Before you look to fulfill the needs of the world, meet with the needs within the family of God.

8. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes,

- Teach the necessity of loving, serving and seeking God as a priority. Jobs, career, etc cannot take the place of fellowship and Church. Total devotion to God is total power.

9. they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

- I still remember back in the old times, we shared a simple meal once a month and as the church grew we had to phase it out. I still cannot forget how much those days of cooking together and the idea of having a meal together brought much unity and joy in the fellowship.

Whether this verse means we have to cook and eat together after every service, I do not know. However do whatever is possible in your own way to be able to celebrate together as a Church with glad and generous hearts.

10. praising God and having favor with all the people.

- Every church must be a church that is alive with the voices that praise God. It really brings me to tears each time I go to Africa to see how people shamelessly dance before God. And it is amazing to notice that their dance is now inappropriate but when accompanied with the fear of the Lord, every move seems to glorify God.

What happens inside every church should certainly be a small glimpse into how heaven will actually be.

And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:40-47 ESV)

- What a brilliant conclusion. When all of the above is followed, certainly we cannot miss but see daily numbers of souls being added to the Church!

I hope you will begin to pray these 10 points into your church. I pray that the Lord of the Acts of the Apostles Churches will manifest Himself strong in your Church bringing the masses to the foot of the cross!

Discuss: Which of these above 10 points have been a challenge to attain in your church? What do you think can be the solution?

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