4/12/13
from: / Suramahat Samal<>to: / Suresh Manoharan <>
Dear Bro. Suresh,
Christian Greetings!
I am sorry that I could not open theattachment but I could only view it. However, I am trying to resend the attachment and hope that you will be able to open it and read the word from Bro.Dan.
Thanks,
Sura,
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Sura Mahat Samal,
"LOVE AND SERVE INDIA" (LASI)
(A Registered Society )
Plot # 211/7, Unit - 9, (Flat)
Bayababa Matha Road,
Bhubaneswar - 751 022. Odisha, India.
Mobile: 91-9437186824.
Phone: 91-674-2543344.
Email:
Skype:sura.mahat.samal1
------Forwarded message ------
From:Amos Tyrannus
Date: Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 6:45 PM
Subject: Re: Letter from Bro.Dan
To: Suramahat Samal <
Dear Bro. Sura,
Please forward the message below to Bro. Suresh.
Thank you for your very kind assistance.
Dan
********************************************************************************************************************
DearBrotherSuresh,
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who was, is and is to come!
I pray that this letter finds you well and that you are being used mightily for the advancement of the Kingdom according to His Divine plan and purpose. I know you have received the Word I have passed along to you throughbrotherSura and am certain you are giving it your most prayerful attention and consideration.
After reading and praying over your latest request for a Word from the Lord, I have been strongly impressed to share the following counsel with you. I pray you will receive this not as a “prophetic” word from God, but rather from my own heart, as God has given me direction. I also pray I am not being presumptuous about this in any way as my only desire is to be a humble and helpful servant.
I know you have many important questions that you would like God to answer: Will you and your wife become parents? How will your church be used? How should you best use your home for Kingdom purposes? All of these are very good questions and God will give you the answers, but He will do so in His time. And He will speak directly toyouabout them. Bro. Suresh, the LORD wants you to trust Him with every detail of your life. Nothing is random in His Kingdom and everything fits into a pattern for good for those of us who love Him. Do not try to analyze this pattern and understand it, simply continue to trust in the Lord and thank Him for all the things you have in your life. Embrace each day as God has designed it for you and receive it all in faith, not worrying about anything, since He is the author of all your circumstances.
Understand that when God gives us no special guidance, we must stay where we are. We must concentrate on doing our everyday tasks with the constant awareness of His presence. In this way, we invite the Lord to participate in every aspect of our life. This is the secret to victorious living. We have been designed to depend completely upon the Lord, moment by moment. Let us be thankful for the day we are in, without concern for the future, because it is in His hands.
Many times, circumstances in our life will feel out of control, especially when things are not running smoothly. We tend to feel more secure when life is predictable. Yet, this is not how God has designed us or wants us to live. If the future were always known, we would no longer feel the need to trust and lean upon the Lord. However, when we are shaken out of our routines or feel uncertainty about what lies ahead, we grip God’s hand much more tightly and look for ways to continue to trust and grow through Him. Through these challenges He leads us from glory to glory, making us fit for the Kingdom. So let us always say yes to the ways He works in our lives, trusting Him and not being afraid or doubtful.
Bro. Suresh, all your questions and concerns will be answered in His time. And His timing is always perfect. It is important to remember that although the Lord, through someone else, may give us “prophetic word,” His preferred way of speaking to us is directly through His Word and His still small voice, not through another person. It is not a coincidence that the very center verse of all Scripture is found in Psalm 118, verse 8, which reads,“It is better to trust the LORD than to put confidence in people.”
I want to encourage you to seek the Lord’s answers by exercising your faith andpatiencein Him, seeking His perfect will. He will guide you and lead you into all Truth and understanding one day at a time.
Begin praying in the spirit. This gift has been given to you. Now, you must exercise it. It is a very powerful tool and a weapon to use against the enemy. Bro. Sura will be able to help guide and assist you to better understand how to strengthen and apply this gift.
I hope these words are a blessing and encouragement. I will continue to keep you in my prayers. In the meantime, May God continue to bless you and keep you and shine His face upon you and fill you with His grace and peace.
YourBrotherin Christ,
Dan
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from: / suresh manoharan<>to: / Suramahat Samal <>
Dear Bro. Sura,
Thanks for co-ordinating and getting a wise counsel from a Christian as mature asBrotherDan. I agree that in the circumstances', I am in when the Enemy of our souls is always trying to plant seeds of doubt in our minds, it is imperative we trust the Lord implicitly for our guidance andsuccorday by day.
If it is ok by you, this response of mine may be forwarded toBrotherDan.
Blessings,
Suresh Manoharan
5/5/13
from: / Suramahat Samal<>to: / Suresh Manoharan <>
Dear Bro. Suresh,
I thank God for the heart He has given you to seek the things from His perspective and totally sold out Him to live for His Kingdom purpose.
Certainly, I will pass on your response to Bro.Dan.
We just remembered you in our family prayer as we do regularly.
Blessings,
Sura,
to: / Suramahat Samal <
DearBrotherDan,
Greetings! I have always enjoyed a child-like joyous relationship with the Lord in the last 30 years of my life.
I would have to confess that in my Christian life (from Nov 2012) there has been excessive self-love. Even 2 prayers on
a) On 17th Feb
b) on March 14th
though apparently good on the surface (seeking more gifts of the Holy Spirit) , were not with good motives (seeking popularity). The Lord convicted me on the same and I confessed.
The good Lord revealed where I would have to correct myself and this "weak" Christian has been on a serious course-correction program since March 15th, 2013. I was on fast till 31st March. Even on April 2nd the good Lord weeded out a secret sin.
From April 3rd onwards, my situation I am sure the good Lord would reveal to you...
1. Guided by the still small voice, I stopped taking sleeping tabs, which I had been taking for say some 10 days. By His Grace alone, I am having good night sleep on and off. After this, I started looking suspiciously at other medicines but I can say with conviction that the good Lord revealed I Tim 5:23 to me stating I can use medicines for sinus problem. However once when I used medicine, which I have been using since many years, the spiritual results were not very good...weakening of the spirit, bad dreams etc. Only today, my wife comforted me saying medicines if taken with thanksgiving are sanctified.
2. By His Grace alone, though not very spiritually strong, I am being used by Him.
3. There has also been demonic forces attacking me bringing about insecurity and depression. Though By His grace alone, I get relief for some time daily. Yesterday, a very gifted Servant of the Lord bound them and there has been some relief. I am a novice in rebuking and binding forces of darkness unlike some gifted Christians. Last 30 years, I have walked with the Lord, there has been no such problem. All this began from April 3rd onwards.
My wife, parents, in laws, Church members, Christian friends have all been praying. My situation can be best described by Psalm 42. Constant tear-filled prayers are being made by me and my wife seeking the Lord to reveal, if there is any unconfessed sin in our lives. To avoid indulgence in any kind of pleasure, I sold off the TV and stopped reading even Newspapers (not even the Sports section).
BrotherDan, uphold us in your prayers (Suresh and my wife Sheba) and if there is a inspired Prophetic Word (how for instance the Lord would speak to say David through Gad or Nathan) please share with us.
Blessings,
Suresh Manoharan
from: / suresh manoharan<>to: / Suramahat Samal <>
date: / Thu, May 9, 2013 at 9:41 PM
DearBrotherSura,
Greetings! Ignore my previous mail. You may kindly forward this mail tobrotherDan.
Blessings,
Suresh Manoharan
Dear Brother Dan,
Greetings! I hope this mail finds you in the best of your physical and spiritual health (3 John 1:2). It has been an encouraging experience to correspond with you through my reliable friend namely Sura of Bhuvaneshwar, Orissa. From the correspondence so far, you would have discerned that my experience is akin to the Psalmist in 42 Psalm. Can we call it a “Spiritual wilderness” experience also (Hosea 2:14)? From April 3rd onwards, I am not experiencing the joy of my Lord’s presence like I did before…
Brother Dan, I believe I can learn lessons from the experience of fellow sojourners, hence I feel inspired to pose a few questions
- Did you go through an experience like this (Psalm 42/Hosea 2:14) in your life. If so, how did you cope up with it?
- The enemy would try to convince you that you are “finished” considering lack of warm love in your heart (Romans 5:5). In these circumstances’, the good Lord is graciously giving me a few periods of spiritual refreshening. In these circumstances’, I would yearn like anyone in my place, to know when it would all end. But I am trusting the Lord, virtually hanging unto the Scriptural promises of 1 Cor 10:13/I Peter 5:7-10. Sleeplessness problem is compounding the situation, though on some days, by His grace I have had nice, fitful, refreshing sleep. The forces’ of darkness are trying to suppress me on all sides.
- In these periods of spiritual barreness, should a Pastor/teacher like me continue with normal schedule? When the anointing seems minimal, is it proper to go ahead with the normal Ministry assignments?
- I trust that the Lord would also reveal to you many things about me , especially on matters such as
a)Have I been fully grateful to the Lord for the blessings, He has so graciously showered upon me in the last 30 years and more so in the last 8 years I have been in full-time Pastoral Ministry?
b)Have been a responsible and a grateful husband in the last 20 years of my married life?
c)Have I given my “ALL” to my Church, which has loved me so much? I owe a lot of my growth in Spiritual life/Scriptural knowledge to my Church.
You may feel free to share this with me, without any embarrassment.
There are thoughts floating in my mind on whether I should look for a fresh/new course of Ministry? Is it time to come out of my comfort zone …my present Church, Pastoral Ministry ? Though I started with bare minimum salary 8 years ago (the Lord provided graciously for my needs), presently I have nothing to complain, with enhanced financial inflows. I thank the good Lord for generously providing for my needs. Dear Brother , please pray that I should take a proper step in accordance with the perfect will of the Lord as regards continuation of my present Pastoral Ministry? My main Pastor wants me to pray and wait for a month and then take a step. If the good Lord prompts you to share something with me on this regard, please share.
May the good Lord bless you for all the love and patience, you are showing to fellow sojourners in the Christian journey.
Yours in Christ,
Suresh Manoharan
From:
Date: Sun, May 12, 2013 at 1:48 AM
Subject: Confidential Response-From Bro.DanVannelli
To: Suresh Manoharan <
DearBrotherSuresh,
Greetings in the precious name of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.
I pray this letter finds you and your family well. Please forgive the
delay in my response. My schedule and also the need to pray about your
concerns have affected my ability to respond sooner. I also hope you do
not mind my writing you directly, rather than through our dear friend,
Sura. Since you sent me a “confidential” letter, I felt it might be best
to respond to you in this manner. Bro. Sura was kind enough to provide me
with your email ID.
Before I begin, I want to re-emphasize that you and I have the same Spirit
within us and so we are equally able to hear directly from the Lord, who
is always speaking to us and guiding us. Sometimes we can get so absorbed
in the thoughts of our mind that we are unable to hear what He is saying
to us. This is when we must be still and know that He is God, quiet
ourselves, and listen for His still, small voice.
As I prayed about your concerns I had the impression that I should share
with you a story that may relate to your current spiritual circumstances.
Before I begin, I also want to tell you that, presently, I am taking time
away from the ministry to spend more time with the Lord, reading, praying
and seeking His direction for the next steps in my life. So, in many
respects we are going through a similar experience. I began praying about
taking this sabbatical about a year and a half ago. Finally, as I waited
upon the Lord, the time was right for me to do so. It is possible that God
may want you to consider a brief period away from your responsibilities
also. Please keep this in prayer as a possibility.
As a very young man, in a time before I knew the Lord, a friend of mine
and I decided to ride our bicycles from New Jersey on the East Coast of
the United States to California on the West Coast. We planned and prepared
for about 1 year prior to our departure. It would be a great adventure and
we were both very excited about it. Our goal was simply to arrive safely
in California and to enjoy the journey.
As we rode day-by-day, we often faced many challenges with foul weather,
excessive heat, challenging climbs up steep mountains, strong head winds
and long days on the bicycle. But we never tried to anticipate what each
day would bring. We rode one day at a time, always hoping and believing
for the best. In a sense, it was a ride of faith, since we never really
knew what each day would have in store for us. Some days were very
difficult; others were fabulous, riding in the warm sunshine, with clear
blue skies and the wind at our backs. Like life itself, each day was is
its own unique adventure, connecting to the next and the next, eventually
weaving this tapestry of days – good days and difficult ones - into one
long journey. We eventually arrived safely in California with wonderful
memories and the sense of a journey well traveled.
As I mentioned, it was truly a ride of faith. We trusted each day would be
a good one and that we would eventually accomplish our goal. Likewise, our
daily walk with the Lord is very similar. We are not meant to know what
lies ahead, only to trust in his Divine provision and Providence. God is
good all the time and always works in us for our very best purposes.
On the bicycle ride, we often rode through dry, dusty, hot valleys
wondering if we would ever arrive somewhere safely at the end of that day.
On many days, we often hoped to find a shady place to rest for a while and
take a cool drink of water. On other days, we found ourselves climbing
high up into the mountains, working hard to get there, but knowing once we
reached the summit, it would be well worth it.
In our spiritual pilgrimage through life, we will always encounter a mix
of hot, barren valleys and beautiful, lush green mountains. They are both
necessary and are all designed by God to cause our greatest growth and
maturity. I also know, in my personal experience, that as wonderful as the
mountain top experiences are, my greatest spiritual growth always occurs
as I walk though the hot, dry deserts. In this life there will always be
tribulation, struggle, obstacles. Each must be given over to God with
complete trust and faith. For, as you know, our ultimate reward comes, not
in this life, but in the next.
We are meant to face these battles throughout our lifetimes. God is
preparing us to be warriors. Warriors, by their very nature, must engage
the enemy on the battlefield. Each day we awaken from our beds and put our
feet on the floor, we step onto a raging battlefield against an enemy
whose hatred is so great that his only desire is to steal, kill and
destroy us. Nothing less will satisfy him.
I sincerely believe with all my heart, that we (the Church) are about to
face the fiercest battles we have ever faced in history. I believe the
enemy is gathering his forces together for an unprecedented assault
against us and I believe the world is about to experience horrors unlike
it has ever seen before (Matt. 24).
God is preparing His universal church to rise up, in the full authority
that God has given us in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by His
victory on the cross, to storm the very Gates of Hell and they will not
prevail against us. Will you be ready, Bro. Suresh? This is a call to
arms.
You have been a good and faithful servant to God and to your church and a
loving, caring husband to your precious wife, my friend. Your deep desire
to please God confirms this. God has recognized your struggles and will
give you exactly the amount of strength and support you require each and
every day. But like the manna, your supply will be provided one day at a
time. Likewise, your anointings will come right on time, never early,
never late.
You have absolutely no reason to feel condemned, Bro. Suresh. This is not
of God! Sleeplessness comes when we lose our peace. Spending some time in
the Word, prayer and by practicing the Presence of the Lord before bed
will bring this to an end. The forces of darkness you mention have
absolutely no power or authority over you, unless you give them a
foothold. Instead, believe that the Holy Spirit of God has sealed you,
that God, Himself, has formed a hedge around you and that His mightiest
angelic warriors have been given charge over you. If God before us, who
can dare to be against us?
The enemy wants desperately to convince you that you are weak, unworthy,
sinful and no longer of much use to God. This is a lie. Only Satan
condemns. God does not. If Satan can convince you of his lies, he can
remove you from the battlefield. Although, as a born again believer, he
can no longer steal your soul, his next best tactic is to render you
useless as a warrior, causing you to become an observer on the sidelines
instead of a soldier in the war.
Bro. Suresh, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Draw
close to the Lord and He WILL draw close to you. Each and every day, put
on the full armor of God. The Helmet of Salvation was designed to protect
your mind and the Breastplate of Righteousness to protect your heart from
the attacks of the evil one. Like Gideon, God sees you as a “Mighty man of
God.”
In closing, I have been asking the Lord Jesus to open the doors that He
wants me to move through and close those He does not. Any door God opens
no one can close, and any He closes no one can open. Let us pray for one
another as God gives each of us a fresh vision and understanding, trusting
Him to guide us one day at a time with His peace, as we continue to travel
down this amazing road He has placed us upon. Remember that the journey is
just as important as the destination.
Travel well, my friend.
BrotherDan