Dear Friends,

I'm writing on behalf of Bright Ministries, a non-profit organization that works for the education, health and betterment of living conditions of homeless people in and around Visakhapatnam. With this letter I hope to convince you to make a donation or sponsor to our organization, and thus join the hundreds who already help us in our work.

But first I would like to introduce our organization to you. We are a mid-sized organization that works at the grass root level to make the basic and necessary is to educate those kids who have never even stepped into the hallways of a school, lacking not just the money to go to an educational institute but also lacking the infrastructure for a school. With the help of donations that we receive from patrons such as you, and other events that we organize like clothes, book collections drives, etc we raise money and collect books to donate to the cause. Medical assistance available to the homeless. We strive to provide them with clothes, food and shelter as and when we can. Generous donations and sponsoring by people and organizations such as you are what help us in our endeavor to give the homeless a chance at a,betterlife.

We hope to raise money to help homeless children to get an education. We would appreciate if you could donate an amount or offer to sponsor the education of children. Any of the two options will be much appreciated and will help the children have a bright future.

You can address checks to the address mentioned below, and contact me on the number given for any more information that you may require. Thank you for taking the time out to read this letter and I hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

MOHAN RAO NALLI. (Director)                                                          DUBAI:  

BRIGHT HOME                                                                                                         Plz Cont: NIRMAL              

#6-13-6, LBS NAGAR                                                                                               050-9824895,

DRIVERS COLONY, GAJUWAKA                                                                          055-9790633.

VISAKHAPATNAM

AP, INDIA-530026

0091-9490132722, 9949047147.

http://brightministries.blogspot.com  email: brightministries@yahoo.com face book: brightministries

"Kindness Can Change Things"

It is native to think there is never a time when force will be required or when legitimate power has to exert itself. Parents sometimes have to use their authority in order to civilize and mentor unruly children. Bosses occasionally have to fire people who are working against the company's policies and best interests.

Generally speaking, however, the power of human kindness is a superior form of power to brute force. An attempt to lead by persuasion should always go before the last-ditch requirement of confrontation and pulling rank.

Gail Halvorsen was taught these ideas about kindness, service to others, and the like back in Sunday School as a boy. Now a retired colonel of the U.S. Air Force, he never tires of telling about a situation where putting his convictions to work helped change the course of history. It helped turn an enemy into an ally.

Halvorsen was a pilot in Europe during and after World War II. In post-war Germany, he was on the ground in Berlin. Some of the many hungry children in the once-prosperous Germany that Adolf Hitler had reduced to penury flocked around him and his buddies to ask for food. They were hungry. They were begging for a scrap of bread or a handout from the soldiers' rations.

Halvorsen didn't have any food for the group of about 30 kids. He had two sticks of gum in his pocket. He handed them to a couple of the children - and had a bright idea. The next time he dropped food into the Soviet-blockaded area of Berlin, he dropped gum and candy out for the children as well. When word got back to his superiors of what he and now other pilots were doing, there was a chewing out for their "unauthorized activities." But one general defended what the pilots were doing. He encouraged them to keep it up. And soon American candy companies were providing chocolate bars and chewing gum by the tons.

As Halvorsen puts it, "It wasn't the chocolate. It was hope!" Little children and their beleaguered parents were encouraged to believe that things would someday be better for them. Historians of the period have credited the candy drops for helping change the attitudes of the German people toward their recent enemies in war. The same non-government program is also credited with altering American attitudes toward the German people.

Maybe there are children for you to help in your neighborhood, through your company's involvement in the larger community, or in some ministry of your church. Maybe the people to think about aren't even children. Maybe there is just someone who needs an act of positive kindness that you can provide. There are certainly no guaranteed outcomes, but it probably won't do harm to be gracious.

Better yet, it could give hope or might even turn an enemy into a friend.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12 NIV).

"Beating the Servant"

Jesus used stories to teach the people. Jesus said, "A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around the field and dug a hole for a wine press. Then the man built a tower. He leased the land to some farmers. Then he left for a trip. Later, it was time for the grapes to be picked. So the man sent a servant to the farmers to get his share of the grapes. But the farmers grabbed the servant and beat him. They sent the servant away with nothing." 

The symbols in this story were familiar for Jesus' audience. The vineyard would instantly be recognized as the nation of Israel, also known as God's chosen people. The tenants would be recognized as the leaders of the Israelites. They were given a beautiful and good vineyard in which to work. But, these leaders began to feel the vineyard was their own. They forgot it belonged to someone else and so they abused the vineyard owner's servants. These servants would be recognized from the Old Testament as God's messengers, the prophets. There were bad times in Israel's past when the prophets came with God's message and they were abused, mistreated, and even killed. Now this message had a clear historical connection, but we can carry away a powerful reminder for ourselves today from the implications of the first part of the story. So often, we begin to view God's Kingdom, God's people, God's gifts, as our own. We forget that all we have is "on loan" from God and to be used! for him and his purposes. It is not ours by right, but by grace. We must never forget it.

O Father, you have blessed me so incredibly. My physical blessings are wonderful. My spiritual blessings in Christ are beyond description. Thank you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

"I Felt so sorry for Them"

I have been visiting the hospital quite a bit lately seeing people from my church. Every time I went,

 I came away depressed. I realized that I was feeling sorry and sad for the people I saw there.

One of the people I was visiting was a charter member of our church who had open heart surgery and then went to ICU for a couple of days. But I did not feel sorry for her. Her grown children were with her, and on the day of the surgery her friends from church filled one whole area of the waiting room. The night before her surgery, around thirty friends from church prayed with her. She knew she was loved. She turned her surgery over to God with confidence that whatever happened would be fine. It made me happy to see that kind of community.

Another one I visited was in ICU. He has been there over a week after a heart attack. But I was not sad when I saw him. He too was the recipient of groups that prayed for him. His wife of many years faithfully sat by his bed often with her best friend of over thirty years. He reminded his wife and children that whatever happens, he will be okay. It is inspiring to see faith that does not fear death. His family and friends are all praying for his recovery, but we all too believe that whatever happens, it will be okay.

It was the people I did not know that made me depressed and that I felt sorry for. Seeing rooms with patients in them and nobody sitting with them. Seeing one family member all by themself waiting on the outcome of surgery. They must feel alone. Sometimes I can see in their eyes that they envy what my friends have. When I talk to them, they will even say how lucky my friends must be to have that many people that love them and care about them. And that is where I get to tell them they can be part of our family too.

If you are part of a community -- a family — of faith, be thankful. You are blessed. Not lucky, but blessed. They will be there for you. They will pray for you. They will bring you food. They will show up. If you do not have that kind of family… you can. I would enjoy sharing how that happens.

“Commitment without reflection is fanaticism in action, though reflection without commitment is the paralysis of all action.”

He's Calling You!

Jesus stopped and said, "Tell the man to come here." So they called the blind man. They said, "Be happy! Stand up! Jesus is calling you." The blind man stood quickly. He left his coat there and went to Jesus

Today's Verses in Context

Then they came to the town of Jericho. Jesus was leaving that town with his followers and many other people. A blind man named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting by the road. This man was always begging for money. The blind man heard that Jesus from Nazareth was walking by. The blind man shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, please help me!" Many people criticized the blind man. They told him not to speak. But the blind man shouted more and more, "Son of David, please help me!" Jesus stopped and said, "Tell the man to come here." So they called the blind man. They said, "Be happy! Stand up! Jesus is calling you." The blind man stood quickly. He left his coat there and went to Jesus. Jesus asked the man, "What do you want me to do for you?" The blind man answered, "Teacher, I want to see again." Jesus said, "Go. You are healed because you believed." Then the man was able to see again. He followed Jesus on the road.

Key Thought

Jesus still calls to us! He wants us to hear the message of his life -- you can come to me and receive life, he speaks to us. He wants us to hear the message of his teaching -- you who are heavy burdened come to me and learn from me and find rest with me, he tells us. He wants us to hear the message of his resurrection -- you can come to me and find rest, safety, and joy in my presence, he wants us to know. Jesus is calling to you. Will you follow him?

Today's Prayer

O Father in heaven, help me hear the voice of Jesus calling to me to follow, to find rest, and to focus on the glorious future that I have in him. Give me courage to keep hearing his voice and following him faithfully. In Jesus' name. Amen

For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

God gives us two gifts that fulfill the Law's righteous demands, but which the Law itself could never give us. First, he gives us the perfect sin offering -- his Son Jesus -- to forgive, cleanse, and redeem us from our sin. Second, he gives us his Spirit to empower us to be what he wants us to be. God gives us in the New Covenant what the Law and the Prophets promised was coming. Praise God for his plan, his promises, and his gifts!

Prayer...

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your incomparable kindness and grace in giving me your great and perfect gifts of your precious and perfect Son and the blessed Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name, and by the intercession of the Holy Spirit, I praise and thank you dear Father. Amen.

I Came to Serve and to Give - Mark 10:45

"In the same way, the Son of Man did not come for other people to serve him. But the Son of Man came to serve other people. The Son of Man came to give his life to save many people."

Here is the heart of our Hero given in one simple statement. We are to serve and sacrifice for others. It is our legacy. It is our life. It is our Lord's example. We were bought and brought to freedom by the ransom price he paid. We are now called to follow his example and live his life in our world.

Today's Verses in Context

Then James and John, sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus. They said, "Teacher, we want to ask you to do something for us." Jesus asked, "What do you want me to do for you?" The sons answered, "You will have glory {in your kingdom}. Let one of us sit at your right, and let one of us sit at your left." Jesus said, "You don't understand what you are asking. Can you accept the kind of suffering that I must have ? Can you be baptized with the same kind of baptism that I must have?" The sons answered, "Yes, we can!" Jesus said to the sons, "You will suffer the same things that I will suffer. And you will be baptized with the same baptism that I must have. But I cannot choose the person that will sit at my right or my left. There are some people that will have those places. Those places are prepared for them." The other ten followers heard this. They became angry with James and John. Jesus called all the followers together. Jesus said, "The non-Jewish people have men they call rulers. You know that those rulers love to show their power over the people. And their important leaders love to use all their authority over the people. But it should not be that way with you. If one of you wants to become great, then he must serve you like a servant. If one of you wants to become the most important, then he must serve all of you like a slave. In the same way, the Son of Man did not come for other people to serve him. But the Son of Man came to serve other people. The Son of Man came to give his life to save many people."

Today's Prayer

O Father in heaven, use my life to your glory and to the blessing of others. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.