Faithful in Shepherding

It was Saturday afternoon after our prayer meeting that the church had arranged for two hours of gospel preaching and shepherding. I had a gap of two weeks in contacting the new ones as I was out of station. That day, I decided to meet the new ones by all means. I could not bear not meeting with these ones for too long.

First, I met a brother who came back from his hometown after the pandemic. I have been in touch for prayer with this brother over the phone. With his new job and in a new place, I went to cherish him. Then I met a brother who runs a small hotel, who has been struggling financially, and for whom I had taken the initiative to help him financially and spiritually. We had a short time of fellowship together at his hotel over a cup of coffee. I was there to cherish him in his present need and also to nourish him with prayer and supply of the word of God. Then, I went to meet a family who is also struggling in their family matter. This being Hindi speaking family I could only converse with them on trivial issues; a day-to-day matter. I am yet to attain the level of Hindi language as to minister to them. I prayed with them and they also prayed. In all these cases, the one thing that drove me to visit them all is, "I must be faithful in shepherding the new ones." 

Besides, I also received a call from a brother concerning his family situation. The Lord graced me the patient to pay heed to all he had to say, and the Lord also graced to shepherd him according to the instant leading the Lord gave me at that moment. 

Then, I came back to have an online monthly Zoom prayer meeting with my Christian classmates during my Master's degree; we fellowshipped and prayed together for about an hour, all online. Then, I had my late dinner and still prayed with my family members as usual.  

Shepherding requires simple care and concern for the ones under shepherding. Faithfulness is required to carry out this consistently. I pray that I may continually find grace in the eyes of God so as to be ever faithful in shepherding.

Jamshedpur: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

Just for a day, we came to this city to meet some seeking believers. Since we did not know who these ones were, nor did we have any base yet to meet people, we ended up in a decent hotel in the city. From there we invited all the ones on our contact list to come and visit us at the hotel. One by one, seekers came and we introduced the ministry literature to them. For the whole day, we spend time in the same hotel, and thankfully the hotel management was kind enough to let us stay the whole day. Of course, we ordered tea and snacks, and lunch to compensate for the usage of the hotel

One other reason for our visit to the city is to shepherd a sister who has been a secret believer for many years due to her family background. She has been shepherded by some sisters over the phone and the ministry books were introduced to her too. She hailed from a  strong religious background and wanted to keep her faith in the Lord just between herself and the Lord and with a few other believers. Professionally, she is a high-ranking officer in the government. As we met her, she was so happy to fellowship with her fellow believers in the Body of Christ.

The first question she asked us was, how to know the will of God? I took that question as an opportunity to minister the word of God to her. So I expounded on the four ways of knowing God's will. The Word of God, the Holy Spirit, the Fellowship of the Body, and the Circumstantial Evidence. I ministered on the line of these four points with my subjective experiences, and also referred her to the ministry book where she can read the message by herself later. I also complimented my sharing with my own testimonies of following the leading of the Lord. Then we fellowship on the practice of calling upon the Lord's name and pray-reading His word. Incidentally, I had two booklets by the same title and presented them to her. Other brothers also followed suit and shared their testimonies as well. It was a sweet coordination in fellowship.

It was indeed a joy to fellowship with seeking believers and minister the word of God. The fellowship was so sweet and we could have gone on and on. But we had to leave for Ranchi as another meeting was already fixed for us to attend. Overall, I believe the Lord will gain this sister and other seeking believers for His testimony in Tatanagar. As a follow-up, on her consent, I have been sending her ministry portion day by day, for daily reading and pursuit, along with few others, with the burden of shepherding.

May the Lord gain her and also gain the local believers who would one day stand for His testimony in Tatanagar!

Ranchi: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

In the capital city of Jharkhand, a brother and his family have been actively propagating the ministry for the Lord's testimony. He has two contacts specially reserved for the Lord's testimony. One of them is his neighbor and the other, his colleague in the office.

We have had two sittings with his house owner's family. This family loves the Lord and is very impressed by the ministry of the word. Though he has been one of the elders of a spiritual-seeking Christian group, the truth he enjoyed of the ministry is far deeper and sweeter than the monotonous ritualistic and religious preaching in the group he has been attending. The Lord had used the pandemic to force him to attend a regular meeting with the brother's family who is also his tenant. Many online meetings were conducted wherein his family even finished going through the life-study of Revelation, attended the video training, and some meetings online with the church in New Delhi. But for the pandemic, he would have never had the opportunity to taste the ministry or enjoy the church life, at least online. 

Now, the Lord has done some works in him and he became more seeking and more inquisitive to know more about the ministry; how it functions, locally, nationally, and internationally. He began to enquire on many practical details of the Lord's move. The answer to all these practical questions is simple, "the Lord's leading, the Lord's provision, and the Lord's ministry, for the Lord's testimony."

On our first meeting, the Lord gave me the burden to minister on How to Meet, to help them get out of the concept of the Christian religious way of meeting. 

What then, brothers? Whenever you come together, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 1 Corinthians 14:26

I released my burden on how one has to be in spirit and follow the Lord's leading in singing, praising, speaking, prayer, and any activities in the meeting. The main purpose of the meeting is for the purpose of building up one another that in turn builds up the church, the Body of Christ.  Then, my brothers followed me in strengthening the burden on the meeting, as we have the burden and vision that his family would one day be bearing the Lord's testimony in Ranchi.

The second meeting was when he invited us for a dinner love feast, the night before we left the city. I had the burden to minister on the Lord's salvation, what I freshly enjoyed from the life-study of Philippians. Christ is the salvation of God; salvation is a Person, Christ.

Luke 2:25-29And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the little child Jesus for them to do according to the custom of the law concerning Him, He received Him into his arms and blessed God and said, Now You release Your slave, Master, according to Your word, in peace; For my eyes have seen Your salvation.

Luke 19:9 And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. 

Salvation is a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is now the life-giving Spirit who dwells in our spirit. We were saved from eternal perdition but we still need to work out our salvation day by day. Though being saved eternally, we need to exercise our spirit daily by the operation of the indwelling God to work out our daily salvation. 

Philippians 2:12-13 So then, my beloved, even as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much rather in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.

After releasing my burden, other brothers followed suit, ministering on the same burden. Then we all prayed together. Thus, ending the journey for this time. The following daily early morning I left for home.

The second meeting was with another brother who loves the word of God. To him we ministered on the truth concerning gaining God, especially through hardship and suffering, using the life of Job. His wife has been battling a stroke attack and the family was in a downward trend outwardly. But the Lord used even such to deal with our brother and humbled him to be more open to Him and to the brothers for a dearer fellowship. This brother's family is another potential family for the Lord's testimony in Ranchi.

Besides, we also met with another family whose family has been enjoying the ministry for years now. To them, our focus was on the children, who are growing up, ministering them in a way of testifying on loving the Lord when they were still young.

On the Lord's day, after the Lord's day meeting, the Lord burdened me to minister to the young people on the "Nazarite Vow" from Numbers 6 emphasizing the matter of consecration, especially for the young people. They all enjoyed the truth and the ministry of the word with subjective experiences. There were five young people who received the ministry. I believe they will one day become the pillars for the Lord's testimony in Ranchi. 

May the Lord raise up His testimony in Ranchi soon!

Khunti: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

Raipur: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

The fellowship we had in Raipur was more of a shepherding for the saints who have been meeting as the church there. We only had one night of fellowship as two other brothers were there for two days already. What impressed me most was the seeking heart of the saints, especially the sisters, and their longing to fellowship with the fellow members of the Body of Christ.

It was already late night when we arrived at the meeting hall. The first thing we did was feasting with the saints as it was dinner time. After dinner, the saints did not want to go home, rather they all wanted to stay back and have more fellowship. They all decided to stay in the meeting hall for the night for the sake of fellowship. When the saints gathered after dinner for fellowship, a brother started off with the burden on the church life using a picture of Mary-Martha-Lazarus in the gospel of  John 11. The saints in Raipur are in the ratio of 1:2 of brothers and sisters as in the case with Lazarus: Mary and Martha. This was such an encouragement to them as the sisters have been worrying about the lack of brothers for the church-life.

The spiritual significance of these three persons are noteworthy. Mary, a lover of the Lord who sat at the Lord's feet to listen to the Lord and fellowship with Him on the word; Martha, a lover of the Lord in practical services, and Lazarus, a lover of the Lord who was a testimony of the resurrection. This comprises the church-life in a practical way. All three characteristics are important and all these three components must be in the church-life. Loving the Lord like Mary, serving the Lord like Martha, and be a testimony of the Lord's resurrection like Lazarus.

Then I followed my brother's burden by bringing out Romans 16 on the greetings of Paul to the church in Rome, where he addressed a good number of sisters as they played important role in the ministry. 

I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a deaconess of the church which is in Cenchrea, Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, Greet Mary, one who has labored much for you.  Romans 16:1,3,6

Acts 12:12 mentioned the prayer at the house of sister Mary.

And when he became aware of this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, who was surnamed Mark, where there was a considerable number assembled together and praying.

This signifies the sister's function in taking the lead in the practical church-life, not taking the lead in the church's administration which is ordained by God for the brothers. The sisters have to function in all practical matters, else the church-life will be poor and unhealthy. One of the key points is the sisters' gathering together to pray for the saints, the brothers, and many other practical matters, and avoid any busy-bodies or gossips. 

In all these practical fellowships, the sisters in Raipur were very encouraged as they all testified of the new light they received through the fellowship. May the Lord continue to grace them to go on in the church-life. And may the Lord also gain more brothers for the church-life in Raipur!

Korba: Brotherly Visit

Shepherding is the key to recover a backslidden brother. The Lord Jesus recovered Peter by simply shepehrding him. And His charge to Peter was to simply shepherd the flock of God if he indeed loved Him. The same is true with every believer today. The soltuion to some backslidden, dishearted, and discouraged brothers is to simply shepherd them with the love of Christ.  

As the Lord has been shepherding me, He also burdened me to shepherd some brothers who I have been shepherding within my capacity.  This time, as we were on a trip to Chattisgarh, I deemed it fit to visit a brother and his family in Korba. We have been in fellowship and prayer over the phone, therefore, visiting them would further strengthen our fellowship and relationship in Christ. 

Our fellowship began as we were picked up from the railway station. We fellowshipped as we drove to the brother's home who came to pick us up. Then, the moment we reach his home, his father engaged us in clarifying some of his doubts he had been harboring since the time his son shifted to Raipur leaving his government job for the sake of the Lord's testimony. Many doubts he had were poured out one by one. 

We looked to the Lord deep within to address his questions. The Lord indeed graced us to answer, question by question, on truth, life, practice, church, and other spiritual and human matters. The fellowship went all the way till midnight when we felt to take a break, prayed, and took rest for the day. The next day, our fellowship began at the breakfast table which went on till lunch and further continued till the father and son dropped us and saw us off at the railway station.

Besides the sweet fellowship, we also enjoyed the sweet hospitality the brother's family gave us. I believe, the Lord's testimony began from one's family life at home and then further spreads to other areas; from the center to the circumference. Without a proper family life, I am very doubtful of one being useful in the Lord's hand. "Charity begins from home," is the world-famous dictum; and I modify this as, "Sanctify, testimony, and ministry begins from home!"

After the fellowship, the brother confirmed to me the positive feeling from his parent after our visit and fellowship. My only fellowship to him is, to simply live out Christ and that his life would be a living testimony, and warned him never to preach nor try to convince his parent in any way other than his own living testimony. The word of St. Augustine rang forth, "Preach the gospel always, if necessary, use words."

I believe the Lord would fully shepherd my dear brother, recover his full enjoyment of Christ, and restore his earthly profession, and also restore his function in the Body to be a pillar for the Lord's testimony one day. 

May the Lord recover and restore my brother and his family even to the raising up of His testimony in Korba!

Khariar Road: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

This border town, Khariar Road, Odisha, has three families whom the Lord has gradually gained in the past few years. This time, we visited them to strengthen them in their going on to bear the Lord's testimony. The brothers have prepared everything ready for the Lord's testimony. Though they still have been eagerly waiting for the official establishment of the Lord's table meeting, they faithfully have been pursuing the ministry and have been joining many online meetings with the church in Gurugram and New Delhi. Meanwhile, they were also very much burdened for some of the Christian leaders they know of in their previous denomination.

This time during our visit, they have invited Christian leaders from Bhilai, Naugaon, Cuttack, and other places to listen to the ministry of the word. Since the brothers came out of the denomination, they wanted their acquaintances to see and know and experience the truths they themselves have been enjoying. In sweet coordination, we exercised our spirit and ministered the word as the Lord led us.

During the two days meeting the brothers have arranged, besides the Spirit's leading, we had no idea what to minister. The leaders were much elder to us in terms of physical age, and we had no idea about what's boiling within them. Since the meeting was arranged, we prayed, exercised our spirit, and followed the leading of the Lord within to minister the timely word. 

On the first day, before the meeting began I was introduced to one of the leaders who shared his testimony to me. Based on what he shared, I got the burden to minister on the matter of the oneness. We delved deeply into the matter of division caused by Jeroboam in 1 Kings 12 and connected with the division caused during apostle Paul's time in 1 Corinthians. We then ministered the truth concerning the need for oneness among God's children for God to have His dwelling place using relevant verses in the New Testament.

In the afternoon meeting, I started off with God's heart's desire to have a dwelling place among men on earth, starting with Genesis 1:26, then traced the history of man. Then, I picked up from Jacob's dream in Genesis 28:12, traced the line of thought to Moses in building the tabernacle, to Solomon in building the temple, the Lord Jesus as the temple, and finally, the church as the temple of God today in the New Testament.  

In the meeting on the second day, we began with testimonies of few brothers and expounded the truth concerning the reality of the good land in Deuteronomy 8:7-10. I released my burden on the experience of the crucifixion of Christ typified by the valleys and the experience of resurrection typified by the mountains. My brothers followed the burdened and continued with the experience of wheat, barley, vines, fig-trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey, stones, iron, and copper.

Later in the afternoon, we touched the matter of calling upon the Lord's name and pray-reading His word, with testimonies from local brothers who really enjoyed the matter of calling upon the Lord's name. Finally, we sang hymns and prayed for the believers, for the Lord's testimony to be raised up in many parts of Odisha, and also for the onward ministry journey to Korba, Raipur, Ranchi, and Tatanagar. 

This was what the Lord has done in Khariar Road for the Lord's move in Odisha. One thing was sure, the Lord has been hiddenly moving in the hearts of the people there. Many villages have been prepared for the Lord's testimony. 

O how we look forward to the day the Lord will raise up many bright shining golden lampstands all over Odisha!

Bilaspur: Ministry of the Word Literature Journey

"The church in Chattisgarh" was discovered through the Christian book fair which we attended a few years ago. This time too, as we were invited, we spoke in their Friday night online meeting, on Saturday night fellowship, and also on the Lord's day Lord's table meeting and the fellowship thereafter. 

The Lord's move in this city has been very evident with the believers, especially, the leading brothers' openness to the ministry of the word. Without any reservation, they received all our fellowship. We basically echoed the recent speaking of the Lord in the winter training on the book of  Job. In sweet coordination we all ministered on one thing, the eternal economy of God, leading the saint to the timely speaking and to the one speaking of the Lord.

On the Lord's day, the brothers handed over the entire process of the bread breaking meeting to us, and we all partook of the same bread. Since they already took the stand as the Lord's testimony, we simply joined with them. We ministered to their need for the Lord to make His home in their hearts and showed them the practice of pray-reading for their truth constitution. The saints received the ministry well. 

After the meeting, as I saw a good number of young people, I had the burden to minister to them the need for the consecration of their lives to the Lord.  I have such freedom in my spirit that I could freely release my burden on the need for training young people. I invited all the young people to consecrate two years of their lives for the full-time training. I did so with many burdens and care for the future of the Lord's move in Chattisgarh. I also released my burden on helping the college-going students in the matter of their studies, character, and love for the Lord with a pursuit of the word of God. 

The leading brother were all there listening to all the burdens I released and they all amened to the burden. The brothers who were with me also echoed the same burden as well.  I believe, the Lord has His heart's desire on all these saints and wanted to fully recover the church into the fellowship and oneness of the Body of Christ.

Lord, gain the church in Bilaspur, and the churches in the vicinity of the city too. 

Chattisgarh Christian Book Fair 2021

This was my second time attending the Chattisgarh Christian Book Fair. contrary to what was generally perceived, the book fair drew a lot of crowds despite the pandemic still around the corner. On the first day of the exhibition, my experience was something of joy.

The moment we set up our bookstall, two brothers came and purchased all the ministry books in Hindi that were newly released. I was surprised initially at why these brothers were so hungry for the ministry of the word. This thought caught my attention. When I talked to the brother I discovered that he has been reading the ministry books and was, in fact, taking the stand as the local church in his locality, Champa. He further told me that there were a good number of believers who took the stand as the local church in the nearby villages, about five of them. 

Once the fellowship was done, they left. Then, another group came to our bookstall, the brothers from the city itself, Bilaspur. We also enjoyed a good time of fellowship with them. With this group we had sweeter fellowship; they invited us to their online meeting, and for the Saturday night meeting, and also for the Lord's day meeting. In fact, we attended all of the meetings they invited us to and ministered the word of God.

After, this group, another couple came and collected all the books we displayed, the new title books in Hindi. These brothers also stood as the local church in his village and there were few others who took the same stand, all based on what they have learned and understood from the ministry books concerning the church.

Besides, there were few other Christian leaders and pastors who came to visit us, fellowshipped with us, and received the ministry books. Overall, the book exhibition was worth the price we paid for it.  The Lord brought many of His chosen ones to taste and enjoy the ministry of the age!

Overall, I could perceive that the Lord has been moving in the state of Chattisgarh. This Chattisgarh Christian Book Fair has become a pivotal point to display and spread the ministry of the word! Many seeking believers who have received the ministry books are now ready to take the stand for the Lord's testimony. I believe, in fact, I see in my eyes of faith, many many golden lampstands shining brightly all over Chattisgarh, brightening up the dark northern part of India.

Gain North India Lord!

Second Salvation

Praise the Lord I was saved more than two decades ago in 1997! Yet as I listened to the radio program of the life-study of Job, I was so much impressed by the "second salvation" brothers fellowshipped about concerning the need to be saved not merely from eternal perdition, but to be saved from being in myself or in anything other than being in the Lord. Yes, all the believers were already saved eternally; yet there is a need for another salvation, by being delivered from the self into Christ.

But I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth; Job 19:25

In the Old Testament, the Redeemer, God lives! Job saw this revelation. But a higher revelation revealed in the New Testament is the location where the Redeemer lives. Yes, He sure is in the heavens. If that is all then, it is too objective. Nothing much to experience of the Redeemer living in the heavens only. How about men on the earth? How could man experience Him? The answer is in the New Testament.

The book of Ephesians, Philippians, and Galatians reveals to us the Redeemer living in us! 

And raised us up together with Him and seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus, That He might display in the ages to come the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have become near in the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:6,7 13

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philipians 1:21

I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:2o

This revelation is a sure second-salvation to me and to all who will receive this revelation. The Redeemer lives in me! Christ lives in me! I am in Christ! This revelation and experience is salvation from many besetting and frustrating sins in a daily practical human life. No wonder, the Bible says, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;" in Philippians 2:12, pointing to the practical Christian living in Christ, a daily-salvation.

Christ lives in me! O what a salvation this, that Christ lives in me! 

I was saved! I am being saved! And I will also be saved!

Seeing God

We were on a book distribution at the book fair in Chattisgarh when a group of brothers came and met us and invited us to join their online meeting via Zoom in the night. This group of believers has taken the stand as the church in Bilaspur based on the ministry books they have been reading and enjoying. Though it was a very busy day at the book fair, we winded up our exhibition earlier and headed back to our lodge, about an hour's drive to be in time to join the online meeting. 

As I was considering what to minister to all the saints who joined the online meeting, about 200 of them, the instant leading of the Lord was to minister on "Seeing God" which was also very fresh to me from the recent training on the book of Job. In coordination with a brother who did the Hindi translation, the word of God ministered. 

I had heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye has seen You; Therefore I abhor myself, and I repent in dust and ashes. Job 42:5-6

I presented the background of the book of Job and explained why God allowed Satan to deal with Job. The intrinsic essence of the book of Job was presented, which is the eternal economy of God to dispense Himself into His chosen people to make them God-man and not merely good man so that this man could be a vessel to contain God and express God to fulfill God's eternal purpose. I also presented the practical way to see God by being pure in heart.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

When I spoke I followed the inner anointing and ministered the word as it came verse by verse, point by point. Later, when I reconsidered whatever I ministered, I realized that the same points were written down in the outline of the training.  I was surprised at the correlation between what the brothers have written and what the Holy Spirit led me to ministry. This, indeed, was a proof that in the Body of Christ we are all in one Spirit with one vision, one teaching, and one goal. The message and the outline are in line with one another. Here I quote the outline which sovereignly is also the points I ministered. 

In order to see God, we must deal with our heart—2 Cor. 3:16, 18; Matt. 5:8; 13:18-23:

We must be renewed in the spirit of our mind by being re constituted with the holy word of God to be instructed, governed, ruled, and controlled by God’s word—Eph. 4:23; Deut.17:18-20; Phil. 2:2, 5.

We must be on fire with the Lord’s love, having an emotion filled with Him as our zeal for His house—1:8; 2 Cor. 5:14; 2 Tim. 1:6-7; John 2:17; Mark 12:30. 

We must have our will subdued by Christ and transformed with Christ through sufferings so that it is submitted to the headship of Christ (Phil. 2:13; cf. S. S. 4:1, 4; 7:4a, 5), and we must maintain a good and pure conscience by the priceless, cleansing, and purifying blood of Christ (Acts 24:16; 1 Tim. 3:9; Heb. 9:14; 10:22).

To this, I also added the need for beholding and reflecting God daily and showed the saints the practical way to do so. 

But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit. 2 Cor. 3:18

This meeting had set the stage for further fellowship with the saints in Bilaspur. Therefore, the following day, we were invited again to meet with the saints on their Saturday night meeting physically, where we continued to share the burden on the book of Job and strengthened the point on God's economy. This was the timely speaking of the Lord for the saints there, and the Lord was bringing the saints into the up-to-date speaking for the recovery of His remnant.

Lord, grace the saints in Bilaspur for Your testimony.

Subtle Resistance

After the global pandemic, there was an opening for us to travel for the ministry of the word literature journey. It was the first trip after almost a year's gap. Many uncertainties loomed largely, but trusting in the Lord's grace, I called up few key brothers and prepared an itinerary for the journey. All travel tickets were booked, fellowship was done, and prayer burden was released. The stage was set for the first ministry literature journey to three states (Chattisgarh, Odisha, and Jharkhand) and seven localities (Bilaspur, Khariar Road, Korba, Raipur, Ranchi, Khunti, and Tatanagar).

Two days before my travel date, I was unwell for no particular reason. But I knew why it happened. It was the subtle attack of the enemy. With such a sick body it definitely was not advisable to travel as there are checkpoints for passengers on wheels to contain the spread of any virus. But mine was not that of the ongoing pandemic, but a mild cold and fever. I simply took rest and ate a healthy diet to strengthen my immune system to fight against any virus. Above all, I prayed for the Lord's healing as the journey was important; my whole family prayed for my health too and for the journey. The Lord headed up my physical body and I got healed! Therefore, I could travel as per schedule.

Then, the journey was so blessed as I could witness and testify what the marvelous Lord has been doing all over the place wherever I went along with the brothers. In all the localities we visited, there has been no formal local church raised up, yet the believers have been taking the stand as local churches based on the truth they have learned from the ministry literature.

In fact, the subtle attacks of the enemy just before I went for the journey became a testimony to the genuineness of the Lord's ministry being carried out. In fact, in one of the meetings I testified of the subtle attack of the enemy I faced and how the Lord came to heal me, to prove that the journey was indeed in the Lord's heart for the sake of the many seeking believers the Lord has reserved as His remnant to bear His testimony. The enemy attacked in all possible ways, but the Lord always turned his subtle attacks to display His multifarious wisdom and proved time and again that He is the Victor, and He will ever be.

Jesus is Lord! Chris is Victor!

Pursuit in Pandemic

The pandemic in many ways has been a blessing in disguise for many. Not overlooking the havoc it caused to the global population, I believe firmly that the Lord sovereignly allowed it for the good of mankind. There are countless instances of believers being revived and the gospel of grace being preached in a much higher intensity, and there are many testimonies of believers being recovered and revived in their love towards the Lord and the church. But here, I am presenting a special benefit the pandemic did to me and two dear brothers in the Lord.

A brother that I have been shepherding lost his job and was in financial turmoil. This forced him to leave Gurugram and he went back to his hometown. During that time we had been praying regularly almost every day.  After we went through a series of morning revival readings, we picked up the Shepherding Material, six volumes, and we read lesson by lesson. There are altogether ninety-six lessons in all. It was amazing, we could go through the series, lesson by lesson. And when we covered the entire series of ninety-six lessons, the pandemic calmed down and he came back to Gurugram to continue his profession.

A similar case happened with another brother who is one of our translators and I have been graced to shepherd him all these many years. During the pandemic, we also read through the entire Shepherding Material, lesson by lesson.

I have the benefit of reading through these lessons myself with two brothers in addition to reading through the same in my family pursuit and also with some families in the group meetings.  The level of truth, for sure, must have increased in my two brothers and me as well. Time will testify to this fact. Praise the Lord for the pursuit of the truth!

This is my story of pursuit in the pandemic. I definitely call this, a blessing in disguise.

The Joy of Solving Problems

Taking care of domestic affairs is a duty I am bound to as a family man. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful family. In addition to the three children, I have my cousins and niece staying with me. In a sense, we have a big family according to today's family size. The bigger the family, the bigger the family responsibility too. The Lord has been faithful in meeting all our needs day by day. There never has been any lack financially so far. Yet I have never taken the way of living luxuriously. As much as possible, I and my wife have been doing our best to be as economic as possible. We spend only for the real need of the family; for healthy food, healthy living, for a good children's education besides the offering as a thanksgiving to the Lord. Therefore, we control our monthly spending strictly.

In this line of family economy, I would not waste anything as much as possible. If broken things could be repaired I would do my best to repair them. First, by myself, if not, get a repairman. It was a good experience the past few weeks repairing things. 

The first thing I repaired was a clothes dryer which broke to the extent that it was just good to dispose of it. I was about to buy a new one but found it too expensive for just a dryer. Then I realized that I could as well repair it. I took time to study the problem and fixed it with the help of my son and daughter. The repairing work was further improved as it broke down multiple times. Every time it broke, I came up with a new idea and still make it work. And now it has been working and is being in use. 

The other work was the toilet flush which was a very old model, the flush handle broke. It was not possible to find a replacement for the broken handle. I had only two options, repair it or buy the entire flush kit. I decided to repair it. I used a little scientific idea and fixed it, somehow. 

Then I found another clothes dryer lying totally broken and unused. I looked at it and found ways to repair it. A smart idea was all that it took me. I studied the points where it broke and figured out how to fix it, and then fixed it. Now, it is a good as the new one, even stronger, as I used some extra reinforcement on the broken parts.

One big challenge was when my washing machine broke down. I need to first find the problem and then the solution. I searched a random YouTube video and came up with ideas. One by one, I tried the ideas I got. I had to open up the back and bottom parts of the machine. After a careful look into the mechanism, I found that the drain outlet was blocked by multiple coins which must have fallen from the pockets of clothes washed, I removed them all. Then I found the cleaning filter fully choked with mud, perhaps, the dirt from clothes gathered and accumulated into thick mud. I cleaned them all. Then I applied mechanical force to the drum that did not spin as it was choked at the joint, due to dirty clogging. And finally, I did a descaling of the entire machine with a chemical powder. After all these tedious steps, the washing machine worked again to the joy of my wife. 

All these repairing works, if given to repairman would cost a few thousands of rupees. Or, if we were to purchase new gadgets for all these, it would cost some fifteen to twenty thousand rupees. Now, the works were done and money saved. On the one hand, it was for economy sake, yet on the other hand, it was for saving from wastage, that I took the pain to repair myself. But most importantly was for me to learn to solve problems with scientific ideas and learn to fulfill my domestic duty. After all, the joy of solving problems economically was a reward I love to enjoy. 

This reminds me of solving spiritual problems through prayer and careful study of the fact and applying the word of God as life and life supply. Physical repairs point to spiritual lessons of great value! The result is, joy!

Bible Translation Checking

Since the Lord led us to work on the Recovery Version New Testament translation in Indian languages, we have been graced by the Lord in all the aspects of the project. Be it keeping the schedule, the health of the serving ones, the prayer and support of the Body, the financial offering and supply for the translation work, all have been sovereignly and wonderfully taken care of by the Lord. Besides, serving together with the brothers overseeing this project and the coordination among all those who are involved in this project has been so smooth and has been in oneness. What was initially looked upon as a herculean task of doing six languages simultaneously by a single country has now become an accomplished task in the Body. I have been especially graced to keep my eyes on the flow of offering and financial supply for this project. At times, I wondered how this project could be carried out with such a great financial burden for five years, to support every serving ones on time, but the Lord has proved Himself faithful in His work, time and again. The very fact of being an eyewitness to this is itself a great blessing. It does strengthen my faith to a great extend. What a grace, what a blessing!

After the completion of the New Testament text translation in six languages, we did the hotspot checking from the week of 6th Jan to 10th Feb 2021. Hotspots are verses, phrases, or words in the New Testament that are crucial to determine its accuracy according to the original Greek and a properly interpreted texts in line with God's eternal plan revealed in the Bible. Each week we started at 7:30 PM and went through 10:30 PM from Wednesday to Friday. The reason for this odd timing was due to the present pandemic that prohibited our coming together. We had to do it online at the best time suitable for USA and India time. It began with Mizo, followed by Malayalam, Telugu,  Tamil, Kannada, and finished off with Mizo what was left behind. In this way, we finished all the hotspot checking. Now,  what is left is the typesetting and proofreading, which we trust the Lord will lead us through. Then we can print and distribute them to all God’s children.

In all these processes I learned some crucial new life lessons and a much deeper insight into the depth of the word of God. Now the underlying burden is, to print and distribute widely all over India and abroad to the Christians speaking the six languages. I am not a marketing genius but I trust the Lord will lead me and give me His wisdom in spreading the properly translated and interpreted word of God. In prayer and in fellowship in the Body, the Lord will lead us through and through again.

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah as water covers the sea. Habakkuk 2:14

Pray, Pray, and Pray

Pray, pray, and pray... This has been my Christian life these days. The Lord burdened me for many people and places for His testimony. But what I can do best as of now is pray, pray and pray. The burdens are heavy and there seems to be no way for me to carry out the burdens the Lord blessed me with. I cannot shy away from the burdens, nor can I run away from executing it. But I have no idea how the burdens can be carried out. When I considered all the burdens and how they should be carried out, I was just helpless. Nothing seems to work out. So the only thing I can do now, and, in fact, have been doing and also am very good at doing it is, pray, pray, and pray. Therefore, I resort to prayer as much as I can. And I love praying for the burdens and I enjoy praying for these burdens.

The burden for my official service, in serving the people of India with the timely and healthy ministry of the word as a healthy spiritual food supply, is being prayed for regularly. The burden to gain local families for the Lord's testimony, the burden for shepherding the saints and perfecting them in their functions, the burden for gospel preaching and gaining increase for the church, the burden for my ex-classmates for whom I initiated a monthly online meeting, the burden for North India for the spread of the ministry of the word in Hindi and the raising up of many golden lampstands all over India, especially North India among the Hindi speaking populace, the burden for my hometown-the salvation of my village people and tribesmen, the burden for my relatives in the flesh to be saved and recovered for the Lord's testimony, the burden for the Lord's testimony in the Nort East, and on and one. These burdens have been driving me to pray and pray. 

I am now just doing what I can do, and what I can do best, pray, pray, and pray. Praise the Lord for these burdens of prayer! May the spirit of prayer fill me and grace me to pray, pray, and pray.

Shillong: Brothers Fellowship and Prayer

But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word.  Acts 6:4 

On the 3rd of Oct 2020, I updated the brothers serving the work in India about the situation in Shillong. The Lord has been moving in the church in Shillong despite the outbreak of pandemic everywhere. Though they could not meet regularly, the number of new believers increased and the saints' fellowship grew stronger and stronger. The total number of saints the brother gave me on that day was 498 in 16 localities. Since then the saint's number also increased.

As far as the shepherding is concerned, I have been sending messages almost on a daily basis, an excerpt from a selected ministry book, topic by topic, sequentially and regularly. We have covered The Basic Revelation in the Holy Scriptures, and now we have almost covered The Tree of Life. Little by little the saints have been fed with the word of God. The Lord burdened me to do the best that I could do, that is pray for them and feed them with the word faithfully.

Sometimes, in the WhatsApp group, I was tempted to respond to certain posts, but the Lord reminded me not to meddle with any unrelated matter from the burden He bestowed me with. So I realized I should and must only post messages, excerpts from the ministry books, faithfully as a spiritual food supply to the saints.

As the shepherding in this way has been going on, there is also a burden for more fellowship and blending among the saints there and also with saints from other parts of the country. The Lord led me further to propose an online meeting for all the leading brothers with the brothers who oversee the Lord's move in the entire country. After much prayer, I proposed such a meeting, and also called up two of the main functioning brothers for the same. For a couple of weeks, I did not receive any reply. But still kept praying for them.

Finally, last week I receive a reply saying that the brothers were willing to meet online once every month, to start with, i.e., on the first of every month. This was a piece of rejoicing news to me. While I was waiting for the reply the enemy also tried to tempt me to think and speculate negatively why the brothers had not replied. But I kept committing the matter to the Lord and finally I was so glad to learn that the brother agreed to meet.

Besides, I was also informed that the sisters also decided to meet weekly.  Last Lord's day the sisters met in one of the sisters' home and it was a new beginning. The serving sisters came together to learn to pray and fellowship with one another. And the next day, the 1st of February, Monday, the brothers' meeting followed suit. 

I have been in fellowship with the brothers serving in the work and in fellowship, brothers from the church in New Delhi and Gurugram also joined the fellowship. Though we did not plan how we should meet as it was the first time, the Lord led us in His sovereignty. We all introduced ourselves one by one and shared our enjoyment of Christ. All the brothers' sharing became an all-inclusive message covering the matter of truth, the experience of life, the vision of the Body, and God's economy. Then we prayed together for the Lord's move in Shillong and Meghalaya.

The following day, a brother from Shillong called me to express His thankfulness to the Lord and how good he felt about the meeting online. He even proposed that we could have such a meeting twice a month, instead of just once. He felt very good about the Lord opening up the church in Shillong to the entire Body for more fellowship, blending, and building.

May the Lord continue to bless His move in Shillong and strengthen all the saints in their Christian life for the church life for His testimony!