My Twentieth Year

This day, twenty years ago, the Lord graced me to experience His saving grace. I never thought I was a sinner until the Holy Spirit convicted me deeply of how sinful I was, which brought me to repentance. Then I believed into the Lord Jesus Christ and experienced the forgiveness of sins. Which further led me experience the filling of the Holy Spirit, leading me to experience the joy of salvation that I never experienced before. Oh, the grace of God! Oh, the love of God! 

December 31,1997 was my spiritual birthday! Twenty years have elapsed since then, and I praise the Lord for all His blessings! Hallelujah! 

Since then the Lord has been working on me; sometimes painful, sometimes joyful. But the Lord is very good at what He is; He knows exactly what to do with me and how to deal with me. To my understanding, He has done some solid and specific works every five years of my spiritual life. Beginning with the fundamental truths and experiences of Christ personally in the first five years. Then to a further revelation on the corporate experience of Christ, as and, in the church the following five years. Then further on to a life service: Learning deeper lessons of life in serving the Lord, and experiencing a higher level of human life in marriage and parenthood. And further, deeper and higher in learning to see the Body, know the Body, the church and serve in the Body for the Body. Having testified this, never do I mean to say that I have learned enough. On the contrary, I feel I still need to learn a lot more. In fact, all my Christian life would be a life of learning until perfection at the end. 

Having been graced thus far, I testified to the saints in the church today in brief the following:

Personally, this year the Lord graced me to enjoy Him in the word that He enabled me to finished the thirtieth time of my Bible reading. And further graced me to enjoy Him in my personal prayer life. As a family, He graced us to spend at least an hour a day together in prayer during our morning hours and night prayer. Officially, the Lord has also graced me to enjoyed His instant and continuous leading in spreading the ministry of the word in different parts of North India; a confirmation and experience of the book of Acts. 

Besides all these, three very important lessons I learned are: 

The Sovereignty of the Lord in every matter of my life, my family, the church, and in my official service. Every thing that happened in my life were all allowed by the Lord. Though at times, I opined that things should have been a little different, but the Lord is the Lord, and He is exceptionally good at being the Lord. Now looking back, I simple amened whole heartedly with thanks and praises. 

I am in the Body. This precious lesson, though it should have been so plain and simple, but I learned it in a very specific way. Many times, I tried to bear the burden on my own, even the church or the official responsibilities. I had no problem bearing burdens all alone and took it as an opportunity to experience Christ in a deeper way. But the Lord has been teaching me that I need not be needlessly overburdened, because I am in the Body. The burden is of the Body and must be borne in the Body. What a comfort! My burdens are not mine alone, but the Body's too. I must bear the burden together with the Body. What a release! What peace and what joy! 

I am for the Body. Whatever the Lord burdened me to pray or accomplish are not for my self. They are all for the Body. Burdens may come to me personally, but when carried out, it must be in the Body and for the Body. This too is a great release from being selfish and individualistic. For, I am for the Body. All that I am, all that I do, are all for the building up of the Body of Christ. 

Praise the Lord for these twenty years! May the Lord grace me on for the years He has reserve for me. All for Christ and the Church! Amen and amen.