VICTIMS OF EARTHQUAKE IN SICHUAN - CHINA
shot on video by Joao Cruzue
Chinese families need your prayers. Do it.
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shot on video by Joao Cruzue
Chinese families need your prayers. Do it.
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Friday, May 23, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
New photos of christian China church
INVITATION
I made the "print screen" of 40 new pics of the China christian church with two simple purposes: to let you know the labor of the Holy Spirit carrying people from every nation to glorify Lord Jesus Christ; and to show you the importance of China for God. Let's keep praying for this wonderful people and its authorities for more blessings and freedom. Below are three samples of all photos you can see at: Blog China 4 Jesus. Joao Cruzue.
persecutions at Cultural Revolution on 1968
O Cominist government of Mao Tsé-tung throwing down churches
Baptisme of a chinese grandma
A tear dropping down in a prayer
Source: shot on video-documentary "Jesus in Chine" at dailymotion.com
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Saturday, May 17, 2008
Hands of Martha and Mary's heart
Mary, Martha and Jesus
Joao Cruzue
Yesterday, when I went down to pray in the living-roon, I asked Lord to speak with me. So, before praying I opened the Bible and I felt God speaking with my heart. As I use to do, I am now here to share what I've heard. By the first time, I could see a beautiful link between the Martha’s house episode and the parable of the good samaritan.
Speaks with me Lord, through your Holy Word – I asked Him for. You well know there are some days we have more needs to pray, and this week has been specially tough for several motives. I needed to knock, to seek and ask for a urgent help.
An old fellow has been doing chemotherapy; a very close friend. He was co-pastor with me for six years in the past. Now he has a cancer. Another case: the wife of a minister, coleague of mine, had two heart stops; in the last one, she remained out for half an hour and her brain had irreversible damages. She lays in a ITU bed, it makes quite three months. And to end that needs, last week I did a visit to one pastor, from the time of my youth, and he is cripple for 12 years in a wheel-chair due to a brain hemorrhage. He never went back to church. He insists to be healed first, to reapear after a great miracle before his church. I asked him what he has been done to use fill his time, and he responded he just close the eyes and pray all the day long.
As I opened the Bible, I was before Luke chapter ten and Jesus was in the Martha and Mary’s house. Aside, in this page, there is the parable of good samaritan. A very known subject, yet he became fresh and new to me, yesterday.
The concerning of Martha was her serving. Cleaning, aranjing, cooking, really worried about the dinner delay. Time was passing by and nor even a little help from her sister. Mary, sat down before the Lord Jesus, she heard and felt his heart warming by that heavenly words, she listened to the Master. I can imagine that, by remembering from some services where the presence of the Lord was strongly felt among us.
Martha was concerned of serving and Mary listened, listened and wished to listen more that words. Then, Martha, apprehensive for do not get his job on time, gave orders to Jesus: “Do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Bid her, therefore, that helps me.”
Communication is a good thing, we do need to to do it. But communion is something better and deeper. Anyone of us can speak to each other and say: good-morning, good-evening, talk about time and politics, and even pray togheter. But not one of these subjects means communion. For instance: my wife and I have two daughters. One is already married and the youngster has a boyfriend that comes to see her in my home. Imagine you, that I go down to the living-roon and take a seat before them, and remain this way for all Sunday afternoon. Both can talk to various subject, but I bet, not any of them is going to say to another words like: “ I love you”.
Now, here we are in 2008, the beginning of the XXI Century. Too busy, concerned, without time to anything, maybe giving orders to Jesus, in a "running-running", "preaching-preaching", "singing-singing", "writing-writing" – al the days in the week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... We are serving? Yes! We are working hard? Yes! We are fatiguing, Yes! But why we are crop so few?
We have no time at all to be in communion with Lord. We are no more as a impassioned couple. Jesus wants to hear and also to speak with us, but we are just mechanicly serving and we lost the perseption of that. We are mistaken on thinking if we multiply our tasks will be effective and our Church, department or choir will be blessed and greater than never. Thus, we are changing six to a half-dozen or to do much noise without results, because we have no more guidance from the Lord.
And, the consequence of that can be understood so: “Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you”
To whom shall I compare that priest and levite? They are likewise as the hands of Martha. Both saw that wounded man, but they felt nothing. They are dried of compassion. An estrange and unexpected attitude. They had theology, maybe the priest, a divinity graduation. They had all spiritual tools to be effectives... But they failed. Some time along the Way they became insensible.
Who was that samaritan? Maybe Jesus was speaking about a man alike himself. Although he is God, for many times in the Bible we can see him putting time apart, primarily at night, to be praying, in communion with Aba Father. From that samaritan, according to jewish culture, everything could be unexpected but compassion longanimity and generosity. He has a heart alike Mary.
And it was so, that I heard God’s Word, before praying, that it doesn’t matter how engaged we be in great visions or projects, before the eyes of our friends or before own ours . If we are not getting see with compassion any needs around us, how can we preach and present Jesus to this World? We must re-priorize our things. Communion is primary, while serving, secondary. We need a Mary’s heart to turn merciful, ours hands of Martha.
Then Jesus said "Go and do likewise."
Author: Joao Cruzue
Brazil 02/10/2008
mailto me: cruzue@gmail.com
I want to know your testimony of faith
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Brazil 02/10/2008
mailto me: cruzue@gmail.com
I want to know your testimony of faith
.
Five minutes to dream
Nuptse mountain, neighbour of Everest"The future belongs to those that believe
in the beauty of their dreams"
Eleanor Roosevelt
by Joao Cruzue
The Eternal God, our LORD, has created us to express the beauty of His love. But now and them we need to bring back this truth to our mind.
We are beautifuller than trees, flowers, the sea and all animals. All things, at the first look, may be amazing, awesome, wonderful, but if realized for so many times, may have their beauty lessened till bring us tediousness. Persons are differents, everyone thinks, feels and acts in an odd form. Six and a half billion of individuals were born to be differents in shape, but equals in the capability to love. It was God, the Creator, that make us so.
The same form you can relearn how to love yourself by taking better cares of your food, appearence and shape, there is something else still better: you can discover the plans of God to your life by start using five minutes to relearn of dreaming . It seems to be a short period of time, but it will be enough to build new plans and see new visions.
What could you think in five minutes? It doesn' matter if you are 12, 30 or 90 years old; dreams cannot be limited neither by time, space, nor by the gravity law. When we dream we are free.
Certain prisoner was on a chair ready to commit suicide. Around his neck was rolled up a sheet. He had awful nightmares and the evil insisted with him to kill himself. And suddenly, a memory brought in his mind and he saw his father holding his hands walking down in a fair till the tent of pastries. As soon as he realized where he was and felt that sheet around his neck, he went down from that chair and he came back to his mind.
When the Prophet Elisha ask to that widow: What shall I do for you? tell me, woman, what do you have in your house? She stopped, thought and responded that she had nothing. With a little bit more efforts, she remembered herself, that she ha nothing in the house but a jarr of olive oil.
Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones. So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not another vessel." So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest."
To remember herself of that jarr, she just took a few seconds. What can be and to mean a jar of oil? Maybe something that was ever with you, and in your haste, you didn't take notice yet. But God knows how to make the multiplication miracle from one thing you have and maybe you judge worthless.
there is an evil that takes away the smile of the persons. They feel as they live in a dark roon, with not one ray of sun. But you have to be sure that the sun is always shining outside. If you begin to think you can start to dream. Five minutes are just you need to exercise your mind, your prayers and your freedom.
by Joao Cruzue
mailto me: cruzue@gmail.com
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How to face depression
a friendly hand When you are in a hard and continued trouble, if you do not take an extreme care, you can go into a "death corridor". In some messages of mine, I always take references from those 11 years, in which I was unemployed. I know many other persons, faced and have faced serious struggles about health, familiar, sentimental, drugs, alcoholism... and maybe you are, at this moment, in the eye of a hurricane. It would be much selfishness of my part, do not let you know which attitudes I took to face those hard years. I tell you:There is a great purpose behind any crise.
During a depression, what you think determines the quality of our day. How, in fact, I do not know, but the devil can fill our mind with bad thoughts. You can think that such thoughts are of yours, but they cannot be. I remember sometimes, when I left home to walk and to pray a little. Two exercises, for body and soul. A immense sadness upon my shoulder, and then, I stopped and looked into my mind. Jesus, I said, I know, any day of these, you are going to give me response to my troubles, and when that day to arrive, I will can count to everyone how you, Lord, gave me the job I have never had before. That sadness and those bad thoughts desappeared and so I won the battle of that day. And day after days I did so. Two attitudes to benefit mind, body and soul.
If you be a watchman at the door of your mind you control bad thogths, you can attack one of the fountains of the problem that can be malignant. I listened this from the Pastor Eurico Bergstein in 1998 when he was 92. And, Bible says, in Proverbs 4:23 " Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the outflowings of life". An analogy in another words: do you know "trojans" and how to clean them? Well, in our lives we do not use anti-virus or ad-wares. We clean all bad "worms", "virus", "trojans horses" etc., by praying, casting and doing something.
A very important thing you shall know: there are thousands of persons facing the same problem and even much bigger than yours; so, it means you are not alone. It is a good idea to compare them. Maybe you do have a big trouble or maybe you are just looking at a "little mount of sand" in the beach, and thinking that it is bigger than it really is.
" Submit, yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." James, 4: 7. One form of subjection to God is to talk to him every day. When you pray you have the opportunity of changing your heart. The sadness will go out, like darkness when dawn comes. For prayer, I mean a sincere talk to Christ, opening your heart and telling Him everything. Do not pray repeating "The Lord's Prayers" 50 times... When you love someone, you do not repeat the same frases hundred times. It doesn't work.
When you pray you have to open you heart and speak about your feelings, hurts, pains, and better: your needs and about all your plans. Jesus is a wonderful person, and He is not a recorder of repeated frases. When you pray, you bring the presence of the Holy Spirit of God for near.
At certain time, I received a letter from a prisioner, and he gave testimony that he had committed an awful crime, and due to that, he was arrested and sent to the worst penitentiary of the State of Sao Paulo. Everyday he woke with a huge headache and a thought like an insistent voice saying in his mind. "You did that, you put shame on your parents, neighbors, no one likes you anymore. Do a favor for all and to yoursef: kill yourself".
The same pressure everyday. From time to time he was standind on a chair with a sheet in his neck. He lost his senses over that chair. But when he turned hinself on, he remembered of times on his childhood, and he could see himself walking along with his father to purchase pastries in a fair. After that thoughts, he went down that chair.
There is a wise proverb what says " Empty mind is workshop of the devil ". Prayers can be a part for the solution. But you have to look after other things to fill your time. God ( Jesus Christ ) can show you new ways while you are praying, to guide you to plan new things, while your victory is coming on.
"And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God". Romans 12:2. It is a sequence of steps up: good, acceptable and perfect will. In the last years of my proof, Lord guided me to a awesome plan: to collect used Sunday Bible lessons, christian books, tracts, and bibles, to send, by postage, to groups of prisioners that had known Jesus behind jails. In two years and a half, with help of churches and some friends of mine, we delivered over 500kg of used literature to groups of christian believers in 28 penitentiaries.
And it all began through a letter in a pink envelope, the postman left at my door. That letter had a special addressee: the words of a stamp I had use on tracts and Gospel of John books. Detail: the last time I had used that stamp: six years! Then, that letter was a response of God from six years ago. And it was due that I heard the Holy Spirit voice deep and clear in my heart "Cast your bread upon the waters, for you, after many days, will find it" Ecclesiastes 11:1. I still remember: I closed the door of the kitchen and I sat down at the table with a pen and a diary. So I prayied first, and after, I started to write a plan to find and reach by letters, 50 groups of christian prisioners within 50 penitentiaries of my State in two years.
My pastor, at the principle, desagreed, my family not agreed, but it was a plan from my Lord. I was really convicted that the Spirit of God had chosen me to do that work. I had no money. But even without money that business grew up. A Social letter cost only one cent, and I always had friends to support the mainly postage cost: the remitance of boxes of 15 - 20 kilos of literature. During three years, I used my own address as sender. Not one prisioner came to bother my family, although there be crime organization among that prisions.
Now, besides to pray I was involved in a plan. One mission. I had no time at all to think how unhappy I was. That job gave importance to my life. I was abandoned by friends, relatives, coleagues of ministry, but not by my Lord Jesus Christ. I got over 500 letters from ex-criminals. All of them asking or thanking for bibles, hymns books, tracts to evangelization.
At the right side of the postage agency, where during two years, I went to mail "social letters" of counseling to prisioners, there is a big Hospital. After 11 years posting hundreds of profiles, God sent a person to my home to tell me there was an opportunity to an accountant at that hospital and I should run to type another profile to leave there. And therefore, It makes three years that I am in charge of its accountancy. After eleven years.
I began on sending used literature and writting letters to prisioners; then as hired in a Hospital with many people very interested in computers. So, I find myself creating and writting messages ( like this one) in blogs. Now I am translating that messages from portuguese to english. You and people from 160 countries, around this world, will read then in the next two years. Who, in his perfect judge, would go to suppose that I would start gathering used literature to send to believers behind jails till to spread the word of God by a project to 160 countries?
So, I could see that behind every crise, depression and struggle of a christian there was one purpose. God has something to tell you and before your blessings, He wants that you have changes to be made and missions to be done.
" But thanks to God, that gives us victory, for Our Lord Jesus Christ "
This message needs to be spreaded.
by Joao Cruzue
mailto me: cruzue@gmail.com
During a depression, what you think determines the quality of our day. How, in fact, I do not know, but the devil can fill our mind with bad thoughts. You can think that such thoughts are of yours, but they cannot be. I remember sometimes, when I left home to walk and to pray a little. Two exercises, for body and soul. A immense sadness upon my shoulder, and then, I stopped and looked into my mind. Jesus, I said, I know, any day of these, you are going to give me response to my troubles, and when that day to arrive, I will can count to everyone how you, Lord, gave me the job I have never had before. That sadness and those bad thoughts desappeared and so I won the battle of that day. And day after days I did so. Two attitudes to benefit mind, body and soul.
If you be a watchman at the door of your mind you control bad thogths, you can attack one of the fountains of the problem that can be malignant. I listened this from the Pastor Eurico Bergstein in 1998 when he was 92. And, Bible says, in Proverbs 4:23 " Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the outflowings of life". An analogy in another words: do you know "trojans" and how to clean them? Well, in our lives we do not use anti-virus or ad-wares. We clean all bad "worms", "virus", "trojans horses" etc., by praying, casting and doing something.
A very important thing you shall know: there are thousands of persons facing the same problem and even much bigger than yours; so, it means you are not alone. It is a good idea to compare them. Maybe you do have a big trouble or maybe you are just looking at a "little mount of sand" in the beach, and thinking that it is bigger than it really is.
" Submit, yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." James, 4: 7. One form of subjection to God is to talk to him every day. When you pray you have the opportunity of changing your heart. The sadness will go out, like darkness when dawn comes. For prayer, I mean a sincere talk to Christ, opening your heart and telling Him everything. Do not pray repeating "The Lord's Prayers" 50 times... When you love someone, you do not repeat the same frases hundred times. It doesn't work.
When you pray you have to open you heart and speak about your feelings, hurts, pains, and better: your needs and about all your plans. Jesus is a wonderful person, and He is not a recorder of repeated frases. When you pray, you bring the presence of the Holy Spirit of God for near.
At certain time, I received a letter from a prisioner, and he gave testimony that he had committed an awful crime, and due to that, he was arrested and sent to the worst penitentiary of the State of Sao Paulo. Everyday he woke with a huge headache and a thought like an insistent voice saying in his mind. "You did that, you put shame on your parents, neighbors, no one likes you anymore. Do a favor for all and to yoursef: kill yourself".
The same pressure everyday. From time to time he was standind on a chair with a sheet in his neck. He lost his senses over that chair. But when he turned hinself on, he remembered of times on his childhood, and he could see himself walking along with his father to purchase pastries in a fair. After that thoughts, he went down that chair.
There is a wise proverb what says " Empty mind is workshop of the devil ". Prayers can be a part for the solution. But you have to look after other things to fill your time. God ( Jesus Christ ) can show you new ways while you are praying, to guide you to plan new things, while your victory is coming on.
"And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God". Romans 12:2. It is a sequence of steps up: good, acceptable and perfect will. In the last years of my proof, Lord guided me to a awesome plan: to collect used Sunday Bible lessons, christian books, tracts, and bibles, to send, by postage, to groups of prisioners that had known Jesus behind jails. In two years and a half, with help of churches and some friends of mine, we delivered over 500kg of used literature to groups of christian believers in 28 penitentiaries.
And it all began through a letter in a pink envelope, the postman left at my door. That letter had a special addressee: the words of a stamp I had use on tracts and Gospel of John books. Detail: the last time I had used that stamp: six years! Then, that letter was a response of God from six years ago. And it was due that I heard the Holy Spirit voice deep and clear in my heart "Cast your bread upon the waters, for you, after many days, will find it" Ecclesiastes 11:1. I still remember: I closed the door of the kitchen and I sat down at the table with a pen and a diary. So I prayied first, and after, I started to write a plan to find and reach by letters, 50 groups of christian prisioners within 50 penitentiaries of my State in two years.
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cast your bread
And it was so, that at the end of two years, I had found, by letters, "brothers" from 48 prisions and delivered 29 boxes to 28 of them. Besides that, my mission with used christian literature became known all over the country through one gospel newspaper article that said: "After the Bible, those used Sunday Bible Lessons kept in your drawers or library, is the second best literature to be used in a church behind a jail.
cast your breadMy pastor, at the principle, desagreed, my family not agreed, but it was a plan from my Lord. I was really convicted that the Spirit of God had chosen me to do that work. I had no money. But even without money that business grew up. A Social letter cost only one cent, and I always had friends to support the mainly postage cost: the remitance of boxes of 15 - 20 kilos of literature. During three years, I used my own address as sender. Not one prisioner came to bother my family, although there be crime organization among that prisions.
Now, besides to pray I was involved in a plan. One mission. I had no time at all to think how unhappy I was. That job gave importance to my life. I was abandoned by friends, relatives, coleagues of ministry, but not by my Lord Jesus Christ. I got over 500 letters from ex-criminals. All of them asking or thanking for bibles, hymns books, tracts to evangelization.
At the right side of the postage agency, where during two years, I went to mail "social letters" of counseling to prisioners, there is a big Hospital. After 11 years posting hundreds of profiles, God sent a person to my home to tell me there was an opportunity to an accountant at that hospital and I should run to type another profile to leave there. And therefore, It makes three years that I am in charge of its accountancy. After eleven years.
I began on sending used literature and writting letters to prisioners; then as hired in a Hospital with many people very interested in computers. So, I find myself creating and writting messages ( like this one) in blogs. Now I am translating that messages from portuguese to english. You and people from 160 countries, around this world, will read then in the next two years. Who, in his perfect judge, would go to suppose that I would start gathering used literature to send to believers behind jails till to spread the word of God by a project to 160 countries?
So, I could see that behind every crise, depression and struggle of a christian there was one purpose. God has something to tell you and before your blessings, He wants that you have changes to be made and missions to be done.
" But thanks to God, that gives us victory, for Our Lord Jesus Christ "
This message needs to be spreaded.
by Joao Cruzue
mailto me: cruzue@gmail.com
...........
Does God answer prayers?
Sermon preached by
Dwight Lyman Moody(1837-1899)
Does God Answer Prayer?
I suppose there has been no word on Christians' lips so frequently at this time as the word "prayer," and there is not one in this hall who has not thought often, during the last forty-eight hours, of the importance of prayer.
During this week of prayer, they are a great many not only thinking about it, but talking about it. When there is a special interest and awakening in the community on the subject of religion, then it is that a great many skeptics and infidels, and a great many mere nominal professors of Christianity - we will not judge them - begin talking against "prayer."
They say, "The author of the world doesn't change His plans because of these prayers. The world goes right on. You cannot move God to change His mind or His doings." You hear this on every side. These young converts hear it. I have no doubt that many are staggered by it, and when you kneel down you say, `Is it a fact that God answers prayer? Is there anything in it?'
I think it would do us good in the week of prayer to take the word "prayer," and run through the Bible tracing it out. Read about nothing else. I think you would be perfectly amazed if you took up the word "prayer," and counted the cases in the Bible where people are recorded as praying, and God answering their prayers.
A great many think it is only the perfectly righteous and pure that pray. But you remember who it was who prayed in this fashion, "Lord remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom." You remember that Christ answered the dying thief's prayer.
We cannot but notice that every man of God spoken of in the Bible was a man of prayer. You have therefore very good authority and encouragement for asking God to hear your prayers, and for praying on behalf of others, as we are daily requested to do. Many are surprised at these requests. But many mothers and fathers are rejoicing that they sent them in. The prayers offered up here have been answered, and their children have been saved.
Last night I was more confirmed in my views regarding the power of prayer than ever. "This is all excitement," some say; "it is got up by earnest appeals that work on the feelings of people, and move their impulses, making them uneasy and anxious." Now, for example, there was nothing said last night to speak of, and I never was more disgusted with myself than I was on Sunday -night. It seemed as if I could not preach the Gospel, as if my tongue would not speak. But still the number of inquirers was extraordinary.
Last night, when there was no speaking at all, and when I just came in and asked that any inquirers might follow me into the moderator's room, taking a few with me, and expecting to come in and ask out a few more when I had seen these, the number was so great that came out without solicitation that I did not need to return. I saw over a hundred inquirers last night, and there were from fifty to seventy that I had to close the door on, being unable to see them.
A great many who have not been at the meetings at all, have been converted in their own homes. God is working, not we. Oh! that we would keep ourselves down in the dust, and every one of us get out of the way, and let God work. It would be so easy for Him to go into every dwelling in Edinburgh, and convict and convert ten thousand souls.
Look at the 6th verse of the 4th chapter of Philippians. "Be careful for nothing, but in everything" - mark that - "by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." He doesn't say He will answer all, but He says, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ."
He tells us to make our wants known; to make our requests known to Him by prayer and supplication. It is right to come and make our requests known. He has told us to come and pray for the conversion of souls.
It is said by many people that God does not do anything supernatural in answer to prayer; that the God of nature moves right on and never changes His decrees. Read the first six verses of the 20th chapter of 2nd Kings, and see - "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death: and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech Thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears, behold I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord, and I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the King of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake."
Was not that a direct answer to prayer? Hezekiah was only praying for his own life; we are come together to pray for the life of others, and not their temporal but their eternal welfare. He was not praying for Christ's sake as we now do, but we can come to-day and ask God to save the souls of men for Christ's sake, not only for our sake, but for the sake of the beloved Son. He loves to honor that Son, and to see Christ honored. We can come now and ask Him to save souls, that it might bring glory and honor to the Son of His bosom, and glory and honor to the Son He delights to honor. "I will," He says to Hezekiah, "defend the city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake." That is only one instance.
Look also at Daniel praying. It was his prayers that took the Jews back to Jerusalem. It was his prayers that turned Nebuchadnezzar to the God of Israel, and brought Gabriel down from heaven to tell him he was greatly beloved. He had power with God.
See also how God answered Jacob's prayers and Isaac's prayers. All through the Bible we have records of the answers to prayers. It would be terrible to think that God did not delight to answer prayer.
Turn to the 20th chapter of 2nd Chronicles. There we read that the Moabites, the Ammonites, and others coming against Jehoshaphat, he was afraid, "and set himself to seek the Lord," and that afterwards Judah "gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord." That is what we want - to seek the Lord not only here in the public assembly, but alone. If you have got an unconverted friend, and are anxious that he should be saved, go and tell it privately to Jesus, and if a blessing does not come, like Jehoshaphat, spend a few days in fasting, and prayer, and humiliation.
"If when evil comes upon us, as the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in Thy presence (for Thy name is in this house), and cry unto Thee in our affliction, then Thou wilt hear and help."
When I go into the streets, and see the terrible wickedness, and blasphemy, and drunkenness that is in them, it seems dark, but I look up and think that God can repel those dark waves of sin and iniquity. Let us pray that God will bless this land of Scotland, bless and save all the people in it. It would be a great thing for us, but very little for God. May God give us faith!
During this week of prayer, they are a great many not only thinking about it, but talking about it. When there is a special interest and awakening in the community on the subject of religion, then it is that a great many skeptics and infidels, and a great many mere nominal professors of Christianity - we will not judge them - begin talking against "prayer."
They say, "The author of the world doesn't change His plans because of these prayers. The world goes right on. You cannot move God to change His mind or His doings." You hear this on every side. These young converts hear it. I have no doubt that many are staggered by it, and when you kneel down you say, `Is it a fact that God answers prayer? Is there anything in it?'
I think it would do us good in the week of prayer to take the word "prayer," and run through the Bible tracing it out. Read about nothing else. I think you would be perfectly amazed if you took up the word "prayer," and counted the cases in the Bible where people are recorded as praying, and God answering their prayers.
A great many think it is only the perfectly righteous and pure that pray. But you remember who it was who prayed in this fashion, "Lord remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom." You remember that Christ answered the dying thief's prayer.
We cannot but notice that every man of God spoken of in the Bible was a man of prayer. You have therefore very good authority and encouragement for asking God to hear your prayers, and for praying on behalf of others, as we are daily requested to do. Many are surprised at these requests. But many mothers and fathers are rejoicing that they sent them in. The prayers offered up here have been answered, and their children have been saved.
Last night I was more confirmed in my views regarding the power of prayer than ever. "This is all excitement," some say; "it is got up by earnest appeals that work on the feelings of people, and move their impulses, making them uneasy and anxious." Now, for example, there was nothing said last night to speak of, and I never was more disgusted with myself than I was on Sunday -night. It seemed as if I could not preach the Gospel, as if my tongue would not speak. But still the number of inquirers was extraordinary.
Last night, when there was no speaking at all, and when I just came in and asked that any inquirers might follow me into the moderator's room, taking a few with me, and expecting to come in and ask out a few more when I had seen these, the number was so great that came out without solicitation that I did not need to return. I saw over a hundred inquirers last night, and there were from fifty to seventy that I had to close the door on, being unable to see them.
A great many who have not been at the meetings at all, have been converted in their own homes. God is working, not we. Oh! that we would keep ourselves down in the dust, and every one of us get out of the way, and let God work. It would be so easy for Him to go into every dwelling in Edinburgh, and convict and convert ten thousand souls.
Look at the 6th verse of the 4th chapter of Philippians. "Be careful for nothing, but in everything" - mark that - "by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." He doesn't say He will answer all, but He says, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ."
He tells us to make our wants known; to make our requests known to Him by prayer and supplication. It is right to come and make our requests known. He has told us to come and pray for the conversion of souls.
It is said by many people that God does not do anything supernatural in answer to prayer; that the God of nature moves right on and never changes His decrees. Read the first six verses of the 20th chapter of 2nd Kings, and see - "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death: and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech Thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before Thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears, behold I will heal thee; on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord, and I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the King of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake."
Was not that a direct answer to prayer? Hezekiah was only praying for his own life; we are come together to pray for the life of others, and not their temporal but their eternal welfare. He was not praying for Christ's sake as we now do, but we can come to-day and ask God to save the souls of men for Christ's sake, not only for our sake, but for the sake of the beloved Son. He loves to honor that Son, and to see Christ honored. We can come now and ask Him to save souls, that it might bring glory and honor to the Son of His bosom, and glory and honor to the Son He delights to honor. "I will," He says to Hezekiah, "defend the city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake." That is only one instance.
Look also at Daniel praying. It was his prayers that took the Jews back to Jerusalem. It was his prayers that turned Nebuchadnezzar to the God of Israel, and brought Gabriel down from heaven to tell him he was greatly beloved. He had power with God.
See also how God answered Jacob's prayers and Isaac's prayers. All through the Bible we have records of the answers to prayers. It would be terrible to think that God did not delight to answer prayer.
Turn to the 20th chapter of 2nd Chronicles. There we read that the Moabites, the Ammonites, and others coming against Jehoshaphat, he was afraid, "and set himself to seek the Lord," and that afterwards Judah "gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord." That is what we want - to seek the Lord not only here in the public assembly, but alone. If you have got an unconverted friend, and are anxious that he should be saved, go and tell it privately to Jesus, and if a blessing does not come, like Jehoshaphat, spend a few days in fasting, and prayer, and humiliation.
"If when evil comes upon us, as the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in Thy presence (for Thy name is in this house), and cry unto Thee in our affliction, then Thou wilt hear and help."
When I go into the streets, and see the terrible wickedness, and blasphemy, and drunkenness that is in them, it seems dark, but I look up and think that God can repel those dark waves of sin and iniquity. Let us pray that God will bless this land of Scotland, bless and save all the people in it. It would be a great thing for us, but very little for God. May God give us faith!
Message delivered by Dwight L. Moody at the noon prayer-meeting,
Edinburgh, Scotland, Jan. 6, 1874.
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How to reconcile with God
by Joao Cruzue
Ten steps
The first step to be close to God is Faith. We live in a World that rationalizes things, “veerything you see or feel is real”. Faith is not so, it is an exception: Faith comes by hearing the God’s word. For example: a person with an advanced cancer, reason says: he/she is going to die. Then, someome comes, prays, and he/she becomes healled. There is no explanation, so is faith. We could not explain, see, touch, feel, but faith exists and works.
The Gospel of Christ is accepted by faith.
Impossible things can be possible. Closed doors can be openned. Pain can be changed for days of joy, by mean of faith. The Bible also says that faith is not for all. Faith is like a seed dropped in your heart. While you expect what you need for, it may grow up. But if you have all things under control, may be you guess faith is an idiot thing. On the other side, if you are feeling empty, sad, worthless, sick, please continue to read and go ahead.
Impossible things can be possible. Closed doors can be openned. Pain can be changed for days of joy, by mean of faith. The Bible also says that faith is not for all. Faith is like a seed dropped in your heart. While you expect what you need for, it may grow up. But if you have all things under control, may be you guess faith is an idiot thing. On the other side, if you are feeling empty, sad, worthless, sick, please continue to read and go ahead.
If you are thirsty, this message was written to you. Remember: by faith in Christ you can win the war, even though you can loss some batles. As Martin Luther King said: Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.
The second step is to reconcile with God. It seems to be quite simple but it is not so. There are some details you need to understand. To reconcile with God means: to accept Christ in your heart.
How could it be?
Find a place to be alone, and speak to Christ as if He be aside you. Speak to Him. Say, something like that: "Jesus Christ, if you do exist, please come and dwell in my heart, from today on". Talk to him, invite Him. He is very polite, He will only come to you, if you ask Him for. Jesus Christ is a spirit but be sure, he is also a real person like you. The way He will speak to you is a little bit differente that you are accostumed to comprehend. He speak to our own spirit. It seems a voice that talk to your mind or to your heart, like a thought.
How could it be?
Find a place to be alone, and speak to Christ as if He be aside you. Speak to Him. Say, something like that: "Jesus Christ, if you do exist, please come and dwell in my heart, from today on". Talk to him, invite Him. He is very polite, He will only come to you, if you ask Him for. Jesus Christ is a spirit but be sure, he is also a real person like you. The way He will speak to you is a little bit differente that you are accostumed to comprehend. He speak to our own spirit. It seems a voice that talk to your mind or to your heart, like a thought.
The third step is repentance. Look for a quiet place and talk to Him again. This time, you have to confess to Jesus Christ your sims, all bad things you have done during all you life. See this case. Certain woman go down to the river to wash dirty clothes wrapped in a sheet. For her clothes were very dirty, she became ashamed and did not unwrap that sheet. She, simply, went to the middle of the river, sank the sheet of clothes and went away home. She only wet her clothes. Therefore they were still dirty.
To wash your sims and clean your heart you have to wash every piece of clothe. One by one. To do it correctly, make a list of all and confess them to Jesus. All of them at once. Confess and stop to do them. When you get out of that place be sure: all things you spoke to Jesus, He , in fact, already forgave you. The Forgiving brings peace in your soul and joy to your heart.
The fourth step: abandon your "old" friends, because they should make all things for you give up. I mean: change your friends for new friends. Cut old and bad friendship. I don't mean a absolute abandon, for sure. But that friends you are acostume to do bad and awful things together. Let them behind, and when God have made a miracle in your live, you may go back to offer your hands to help them. But only after Jesus had made a change in your own life.
The fifth step. - Ask Jesus (The Lord ) things what you need for, and by faith, believe and await. All basic things you will receive. Healing, emploiement, peace, safeness. “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him” Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
The sixth step - forgive bad things people did against you. You must forgive to be forgiven. Forgive yourself, pray to Lord Jesus to help you to forget the past. In Bible there are these words: "...But one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus". Let all your failures for behind. Dream about the future.
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The seventh step is : read the Bible everyday and join to a good protestant church, where people live what they preach, without hypocrisy. Learn as much as you can about the God's Word. My suggestion for books: All from Watchman Nee.
The eight step is: be saint. Leave sins away from your life. God has a compromisse with holiness. If you do so, the Lord will be your close friend.
The nineth step - whenever you go to a service at your Church, dond't forget to offer part of your income. And be carefull to those pastors that care not about you, but about your money.
The tenth step - Find the will of God for your life and work to please Him. Don't be a useless and a lazy person. Work to Lord Jesus.
The nineth step - whenever you go to a service at your Church, dond't forget to offer part of your income. And be carefull to those pastors that care not about you, but about your money.
The tenth step - Find the will of God for your life and work to please Him. Don't be a useless and a lazy person. Work to Lord Jesus.
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus,
My name is John Cruzue, 58, and I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
I am a believer for almost 40 years and great things I have got from my LordEnglish is not my native language, that is why you have found some mistakes in this text, but I am sure you have understood what I meant.
Mailto me if you want: cruzue@gmail.com. I will appreciate to hear your progress.
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Mission is
A Short Answer
Rick Meigs"Jesus told us to go into all the world and be his ambassadors, but many churches today have inadvertently changed the "go and be" command to a "come and see" appeal. We have grown attached to buildings, programs, staff and a wide variety of goods and services designed to attract and entertain people.
"Missional is a helpful term used to describe what happens when you and I replace the "come to us" invitations with a "go to them" life. A life where "the way of Jesus" informs and radically transforms our existence to one wholly focused on sacrificially living for him and others and where we adopt a missionary stance in relation to our culture. It speaks of the very nature of the Jesus follower."
Rick Meigs
Source: Friends of Missions
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
What God has done for me
by Bruce
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
In moments of exasperation, people will often make the comment, "What has God done for me?" There is the insinuation that God has done nothing for them. That God merely resides in Heaven, unwilling to come to those who call upon Him.
Without God, I am a rushing river without water. Without God, I am a bright ray of sunshine without the sun. Without God, I am a book without words. Without God, I am a son without a father. Without God, I am a student without a teacher. Without God, I am a cloud without a sky. Without God, I am a path without direction. Without God, I am nothing.
What has God done for me? My grandmother was the wife of a farmer, who would have most likely been considered poor by the standards of the world. My grandmother endured a life of physical pain and illness. If enduring countless episodes of illness was not enough for one person to bear, towards the end of her life, my grandmother was stricken with a disease that caused her to become confined to bed, with the disease also causing her to lose the ability to speak. While I remember many things about my grandmother, like the way she would make chicken and noodles for lunch, the single thing I remember the most is that she was a Christian.
Towards the end of my grandmother's life, when I would enter my grandmother's bedroom and see her lying in bed, unable to speak and obviously in a great deal of pain, I would never see a frown on her face; I would see a glow upon her face, the glow of her love for God. In order to communicate, my grandmother would be required to write on a piece of paper. She never wrote the words, "What has God done for me?" She never wrote, "Why has God done this to me?"
Even in the throes of pain and pending death, my grandmother bore the
countenance of a true Christian; her love and faith in God were undaunted. My grandmother knew that without God, without Him, she was nothing. With God, she was something; she was a child of the King, who had received the promise of eternal life. By enduring the pain with an unerring faith in God, my grandmother's life served as testimony to her love of God, a love that was witnessed by those who saw the glow of my grandmother's countenance. By never leaving my grandmother's side, God showed the glory of His love for a faithful child; my grandmother. Even in unrelenting pain, there was the testimony of God's love and goodness.
Sometimes, it is through the sufferings of a Christian, not the miraculous healing, that brings glory to God. When my grandmother died, she did not leave me with earthly riches; she set for me the example of Christian living and dying. For my grandmother in both life and death, God's love was enough.
While the journey to Heaven for my grandmother was long and painful, there is no doubt that the glory of Heaven was worth the trip. Remembering the love that my grandmother showed for God, there is also no doubt that He was with her during the entirety of her trip, as He is with her now. My grandmother's undying faith in God saw her to the end of her journey and the beginning of an eternity without pain, without tears, and an eternity with a loving God.
What has God done for me? People will often testify to the goodness of God by proclaiming that God has healed their illness, God has provided their material needs, God has healed their broken relationships, God has eased their financial burdens, and in essence, God has done something good for them. God is indeed good to His children. Yet, there are also those occasions when pain and sorrow comes into the lives of God's children.
While God did not heal my grandmother's illness, His goodness, His greatness, His faithfulness, His love, and His comfort were enough for my grandmother. Without Him, my grandmother would not have been able to smile in the face of physical pain, and ultimately, the death of her physical body.
Without Him, how could anyone face the uncertainty of this life? Without Him, how could anyone face the certainty of physical death?
What has God done for me? When I begin to ponder what God has done for me, I consider the example of my grandmother. God did not heal her illness. God did not make her rich. God did not ease her pain. God did not her give fame. Why should my grandmother have given such glory to God? Love. As great as my grandmother's love for God, God's love for her was greater.
While faith may be the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1), love is most certainly the spark that causes faith to burn brightly. My grandmother's love for God gave her the unfaltering faith that God would be faithful to her and that His love would be sufficient for all things.
Faith. Faith that God's perfect will is always fulfilled, whatever the struggle. Faith that God's love will never falter, whatever the struggle. Faith that God will never leave our side, whatever the size of the opponent. Faith that God is omnipotent, whatever the strength of the opponent. Faith in the love of God for us, whatever befalls us. With God in our lives, faith is undying. Without Him, faith dies.
What has God done for me? God has loved me and, like my grandmother, it is enough.
By Bruce - http://blessingsforlife.com/blessings/doneforme.htm
In moments of exasperation, people will often make the comment, "What has God done for me?" There is the insinuation that God has done nothing for them. That God merely resides in Heaven, unwilling to come to those who call upon Him.
Without God, I am a rushing river without water. Without God, I am a bright ray of sunshine without the sun. Without God, I am a book without words. Without God, I am a son without a father. Without God, I am a student without a teacher. Without God, I am a cloud without a sky. Without God, I am a path without direction. Without God, I am nothing.
What has God done for me? My grandmother was the wife of a farmer, who would have most likely been considered poor by the standards of the world. My grandmother endured a life of physical pain and illness. If enduring countless episodes of illness was not enough for one person to bear, towards the end of her life, my grandmother was stricken with a disease that caused her to become confined to bed, with the disease also causing her to lose the ability to speak. While I remember many things about my grandmother, like the way she would make chicken and noodles for lunch, the single thing I remember the most is that she was a Christian.
Towards the end of my grandmother's life, when I would enter my grandmother's bedroom and see her lying in bed, unable to speak and obviously in a great deal of pain, I would never see a frown on her face; I would see a glow upon her face, the glow of her love for God. In order to communicate, my grandmother would be required to write on a piece of paper. She never wrote the words, "What has God done for me?" She never wrote, "Why has God done this to me?"
Even in the throes of pain and pending death, my grandmother bore the
countenance of a true Christian; her love and faith in God were undaunted. My grandmother knew that without God, without Him, she was nothing. With God, she was something; she was a child of the King, who had received the promise of eternal life. By enduring the pain with an unerring faith in God, my grandmother's life served as testimony to her love of God, a love that was witnessed by those who saw the glow of my grandmother's countenance. By never leaving my grandmother's side, God showed the glory of His love for a faithful child; my grandmother. Even in unrelenting pain, there was the testimony of God's love and goodness.
Sometimes, it is through the sufferings of a Christian, not the miraculous healing, that brings glory to God. When my grandmother died, she did not leave me with earthly riches; she set for me the example of Christian living and dying. For my grandmother in both life and death, God's love was enough.
While the journey to Heaven for my grandmother was long and painful, there is no doubt that the glory of Heaven was worth the trip. Remembering the love that my grandmother showed for God, there is also no doubt that He was with her during the entirety of her trip, as He is with her now. My grandmother's undying faith in God saw her to the end of her journey and the beginning of an eternity without pain, without tears, and an eternity with a loving God.
What has God done for me? People will often testify to the goodness of God by proclaiming that God has healed their illness, God has provided their material needs, God has healed their broken relationships, God has eased their financial burdens, and in essence, God has done something good for them. God is indeed good to His children. Yet, there are also those occasions when pain and sorrow comes into the lives of God's children.
While God did not heal my grandmother's illness, His goodness, His greatness, His faithfulness, His love, and His comfort were enough for my grandmother. Without Him, my grandmother would not have been able to smile in the face of physical pain, and ultimately, the death of her physical body.
Without Him, how could anyone face the uncertainty of this life? Without Him, how could anyone face the certainty of physical death?
What has God done for me? When I begin to ponder what God has done for me, I consider the example of my grandmother. God did not heal her illness. God did not make her rich. God did not ease her pain. God did not her give fame. Why should my grandmother have given such glory to God? Love. As great as my grandmother's love for God, God's love for her was greater.
While faith may be the substance of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1), love is most certainly the spark that causes faith to burn brightly. My grandmother's love for God gave her the unfaltering faith that God would be faithful to her and that His love would be sufficient for all things.
Faith. Faith that God's perfect will is always fulfilled, whatever the struggle. Faith that God's love will never falter, whatever the struggle. Faith that God will never leave our side, whatever the size of the opponent. Faith that God is omnipotent, whatever the strength of the opponent. Faith in the love of God for us, whatever befalls us. With God in our lives, faith is undying. Without Him, faith dies.
What has God done for me? God has loved me and, like my grandmother, it is enough.
By Bruce - http://blessingsforlife.com/blessings/doneforme.htm
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16)
.
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
(John 3:16)
.
Friday, May 02, 2008
University of Kerala - India
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY
The University of Travancore which eventually became the University of Kerala was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharaja of Travancore, Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma who was also the first Chancellor of the University. Sir C. P Ramaswamy Ayyar, the then Diwan of the State, was the first Vice-Chancellor. It was the sixteenth University to be set up in India and ten Colleges within the State of Travancore which were affiliated to the Madras University became the affiliated colleges of the University of Travancore.
In 1957, the Kerala University Act, Act 14 of 1957, was brought into force and the University of Travancore was renamed University of Kerala. The University had three campuses located in three different parts of the State viz. Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. In 1968, the University Centre at Kozhikode became a full -fledged University covering the Colleges and Departments located in Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode and Kannur Districts of Kerala. The Cochin University of Science and Technology and the Kerala Agricultural University were set up in 1971 and in 1983, the Mahatma Gandhi University was established. With the establishment of these Universities, the area of the jurisdiction of the University of Kerala has been limited to Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha Districts and some parts of Pathanamthitta District.
At present, the University has sixteen faculties and 41 departments of teaching and research. There are 157 affiliated colleges. Of these, 46 are aided Arts and Science colleges and 14 are unaided . There are two Law colleges, 17 Engineering colleges (of which 14 are unaided), four Medical Colleges (two are self financing) seven aided Teachers’ Training colleges, 30 unaided Teacher Training Colleges, four Ayurveda colleges, two Homeopathy colleges, one Sidha Medical College, two Fine Arts Colleges, one Music College, three Dental colleges (of which two are unaided), four unaided Pharmacy colleges and one college of Physical Education. Besides these, there are four affiliated institutions conducting two year full time MBA course, five colleges offering MCA and ten Nursing colleges, all in the unaided sector. The University’s Engineering College in Kariavattom campus offers courses like Information Technology, Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication etc...
The University Departments offer a wide range of teaching and research at post-graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. levels. The courses in the Departments are conducted in the Credit and Semester System . The University has also extended the Semester System to all the Post Graduate courses from 2001. At present, about 32 colleges offer post graduate teaching programmes. Some of the affiliated colleges offer
M. Phil. courses and some colleges have been recognised as research centres. The University has also recognised a number of other institutions as research centres. All these institutions conform to the aims and objectives of the University and its programme of teaching and research.
The University’s colleges of Teacher Education (launched in 1990-91), offer B.Ed. with an intake of 180 students in each of the ten centres. The eight University Institutes of Technology offer courses like Computer Science, Electronics, Business Administration etc., Two centres conduct M. Sc. Computer Science and one UIT offers MBA.
The Institute of Distance Education caters to the needs of thousands who wish to enroll for different courses. In addition to the traditional degree and post - graduate courses, the Institute now runs degree courses like Computer Science and Computer Application. With the abolition of Private Registration in the post-graduate level, the Institute of Distance Education now offers all the PG courses which were once offered privately. As a result, the enrolment in the institute has grown threefold.
In addition to the Departments of teaching, the University also has several centres for studies and research in special areas. The International Centre for Kerala Studies, the Centre for Canadian Studies, the Centre for Australian Studies, the Centre for Comparative Literature, Sree Narayana Study Centre, Centre for English Language Teaching, Centre for Vedanta Studies, V.K. Krishna Menon Study Centre, Christian Study Centre for Cultural and Social Change and Centre for Gandhian Studies are functioning under the University. It has also been decided to start an Ambedkar Study Centre.
The Academic Staff College set up with UGC aid, offers orientation and refresher courses to the teachers in affiliated colleges. It has been rated as the best in the country.
The Oriental Research Institute and Manuscripts Library, which has an invaluable collection of rare and precious manuscripts, has been made the State Nodal Agency for the preservation and documentation of manuscripts. A Digital Heritage Archiving Centre also functions in the Library.
The Department of Publications, one of the oldest Departments of the University, has brought out a series of glossaries in science subjects, popular science books and translations of classics. The five volume Kerala Sahitya Charithram written by Mahakavi Ulloor S. Parameswara Ayyar and the series Sahithya Nayakanmar (Men of Letters) are some of the most prestigious publications of the Department. The Chitra Ramayana, based on palm - leaf manuscripts, is another notable publication. The University has also published the first ever complete English translation of Hortus Malabaricus, the classical treatise on the plant wealth of Asia and the tropics, in 2003.
The seven volumes of the proposed eleven-volume Malayalam Lexicon have been released so far. The University has been publishing since 1946 the Journal of Indian History, a significant publication on historical studies and research. A quarterly newsletter entitled The University Herald is also published.
The Observatory, founded by Maharaja Swathi Thirunal in 1837, opens a world of celestial wonders to the students, through the computer-aided lectures and the facilities for star-gazing.
The University of Kerala has the honour of being the first University in India to ensure participation of students in the University Syndicate. The Academic Council and the Senate also have student members.
University Study Centres have been set up with UGC assistance, at Kollam, Alappuzha and Pandalam. These Centres cater to the needs of the students outside Thiruvananthapuram. Besides these, there are 13 Taluk Information Centres. The University also supplies information to students through the Helpdesks in affiliated colleges.
The Co-ordinator of the N.S.S programme and the Director of the Student Services organize youth welfare activities at the University level with the active co-operation of the University Students’ Union. The University Students’ Union has been very active since 1939 and has taken the initiative to offer to the students many community based and popular co-curricular activities. The University bagged the Indira Gandhi National Award for the best NSS activities in 2005
Department of Physical Education has gifted to the country outstanding sportsmen and women. The University is now planning to renovate the synthetic track of the University Stadium with Governmental assistance. The establishment of the Lakshmibai National College of Physical Education at Kariavattom, managed by the Government of India, is another land mark in the history of the University. Another significant development is the starting of several short term courses like TV News reading, Functional English, etc... in the Centre for Adult Continuing Education and Extension. This has enabled the University to realise the dream of ‘further education of the educated’. The CACEE received the UNESCO- NLM award for literacy in 2005.
During 1997, the University celebrated its Diamond Jubilee. The celebration involved the starting of new teaching Departments and setting up of new buildings like the International Youth Hostel at Thiruvananthapuram.
On 28th December 2000, the University conferred the Honorary Degree of D. Litt. on Nobel Laureate Prof. Amartya Sen. The other scholars honoured recently through the conferment of D. Litt. are Dr. K. J. Yesudas and Dr. Laurie Baker (2003).
The University’s Web site www.keralauniveristy.edu launched in January 2000, offers several services like downloadable application forms, question papers of past examinations, free resource links, subject gateway, etc,... The daily press releases and results of examinations are published on the site. The University also issues Degree Certificates with Hologram and over 112 security features. The Interactive Voice Response System helps students to get information over telephone.
The University of Kerala has widened its horizons by entering into academic cooperation with some foreign Universities like Valladolid of Spain and Claremont of the United States of America. The UGC has identified the University as one of the 26 institutions selected for promotion of India Studies by foreign students. The National Assessment and Accreditation Committee has placed the University at the B++ grade
Note: this post is a tribute to Aby Mammen, a friend and great brother in Christ from the State of Kerala, India.
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