Friday, 31 March 2023
Tuesday, 28 March 2023
Give Up and Give In
Following the Lord is exciting and also challenging. Following the Lord requires faithfulness and flexibility. Following the Lord is a matter of the Lord’s mercy and garce. I do not believe anyone can follow the Lord without the Lord gracing him to follow Him. It is simply impossible to follow the Lord faithfully without the Lord's faithfulness upon His followers.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be extended upon the land which Jehovah your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12, RecVer)“Honor your father and your mother, as Jehovah your God has commanded you, that your days may be extended and that it may be well with you upon the land which Jehovah your God is giving you.” (Deuteronomy 5:16, RecVer)““Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise,” (Ephesians 6:2, RecVer)
Vision of Egypt, the Slave House
“And Moses said to the people, Remember this day on which you came out from Egypt, from the slave house, for by strength of hand Jehovah brought you out from this place; and nothing leavened shall be eaten.” (Exodus 13:3, 4; 20:2; Deuteronomy 5:6; 6:12; 7:8, 8:14; 13:5, 10; Joshua 24:17; Judges 6:8; Micah 6:4, RecVer)
“For the kingdom of the heavens is like a man, who is a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire workmen for his vineyard. And having agreed with the workmen for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, And to those he said, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you. And they went.” (Matthew 20:1-4, RecVer)
Monday, 20 March 2023
Eye Care, Health Care, I Care
My father has come to be with us for sometime and also for his medical tests done, especially his eyes. I reckoned the best place for his eye care will be with the best and biggest eye hospital in Gurugram. This hospital was brought to my notice a few years ago but I had never visited. When my dad came, my wife also needed to check her eyes as she felt uncomfortable while reading. Therefore, with daddy and my wife, we all visited the Indira Gandhi Eye Hospital, for the first time and did a thorough check up of all our eyes including mine. We were impressed by the facilities and the different rounds of checking and consultation done. Therefore, my dad's eyes treatment was done, my wife's too was checked and done, and mine too, but no further check or treatment required for me. What we have been waiting for concerning our eyes check up was done for the three of us on the same day.
“The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish son is a grief to his mother.” (Proverbs 10:1, RecVer)“A wise son makes a father glad, / But a foolish man despises his mother.” (Proverbs 15:20, RecVer)“Whoever loves wisdom makes his father glad, But he who keeps company with harlots wastes his substance.” (Proverbs 29:3, RecVer)
Faithful in Service
“Therefore, brothers, be the more diligent to make your calling and selection firm, for doing these things you shall by no means ever stumble.” (2 Peter 1:10, RecVer)
“Or service, let us be faithful in that service; or he who teaches, in that teaching;” (Romans 12:7, RecVer)
Sunday, 19 March 2023
The Church in Mathura
Today, the 19th March 2023, the church in Mathura was formally raised up in fellowship with the Body and the first Lord’s Table Meeting held in fellowship with the nearby churches. The past two days there was a perfecting training for the saints in the church in Mathura, a perfecting training on the fundamental truth concerning Christ and the church, and the practical Christian living. As the church in Gurugram, we all went to participate in this important meeting today by bus. It was a wonderful and glorious church trip to Mathura!
Prayer RequestColossians 4:3-4Praying at the same time for us also, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak.******************************Dear Saints,Pray for the follow-up shepherding visit to a group of seeking believers in Mathura who came to fellowship with us through their reading and enjoyment of the ministry of the word in Hindi.This weekend, 11-13 September, we are visiting and fellowshiping with them.Pray that that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ.Pray that the Lord would shepherd them into the rich enjoyment of Christ as the unsearchable riches and be fully recovered for the Lord’s testimony in Mathura, UP.******************************Facts about MathuraMathura is a sacred city in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. It is believed to be the birthplace of an important deity in the Hindu religious pantheon. It is an important pilgrim place of the Hindus and one of the seven sacred cities in India.It is about 50 kms from Taj Mahal in Agra.
Follow-up Shepherding Visit to Mathura, UPDear Saints,Thank you for your prayers!The Lord has richly blessed the visit to Mathura in answer to the prayers of the Body. Since the time we arrived there, we enjoyed fellowshipping with the saints, sessions by sessions until midnight. Their hunger for the word of God had literally drawn out from our being the living waters. We simply followed the Spirit's flow and flowed along with it by ministering the word.On the Lord's Day, about 70 saints gathered together for the meeting. As the Lord led, we ministered the word of God on God's plan, the redemption accomplished by Christ, the salvation we can enjoy by believing into His Name, the need for household salvation, and the need to grow in life through the word.After the meeting, we fellowshipped with the leading brothers on some practical ways to enjoy the the Lord by calling upon the Lord’s name, pray-reading the word of God, and prophesying for the building up of the Body of Christ. We also introduced a practical way to be revived through the morning revival and also taught them some hymns in Hindi for their spiritual enjoyment.Having thus released the burden for this time, we commit them to the word of God's grace that can build them up and left to be visited again soon.Acts 20:32And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified.Prayer BurdenPlease continue to pray for the brothers and sisters in Mathura for their daily enjoyment of the Lord and growth in life unto the full recovery of the Lord's testimony. Amen.
PRAYER BURDENS: The Ministry of the Word Literature Distribution-----------------------------------------------“And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must lead them also, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one flock, one Shepherd.” (John 10:16, RecVer)_-----------------------------------------------Dear Saints,Brothers are coordinating this distribution and shepherding trip to the seekers in Uttar Pradesh.-----------------------------------------------May 9-12: Mathura and Gatholi in Uttar PradeshMay 10: Bharatpur in Rajasthan-----------------------------------------------Prayer BurdensPray for the distribution and shepherding in Mathura, Bharatpur, and Gatholi, especially for the meeting with Christian seekers, and reaching the seeking ones with the ministry and be gained to bear the Lord’s testimony.Pray that the Lord would supply many of His lovers and seekers with His rich speaking and life supply through the ministry books.Pray for the coordination among the serving ones.
Thank you for your prayers!In answer to the prayers of the Body, the Lord has blessed the distribution and shepherding visit where the ministry literature were introduced and distributed to the seeking Christians besides ministering the timely words.Yesterday, we enjoyed a wonderful fellowship and meeting in Mathura; singing hymns in Hindi, calling upon the Lord’s name, pray-reading the word, and ministering the word. As a result, 10 new ones took baptism after the meeting. All the saints and new ones were filled with joy!Continue to pray for the follow-up shepherding unto the raising up of the Lord’s testimony in Mathura, Gatholi, and Bharatpur.Praise the Lord!
Saturday, 18 March 2023
Prayer for Teenage Son
- the Lord's grace may be upon him
- the Lord's love may fill his heart
- the Lord's covering and protection be upon him from all the attacks of the enemy
- the fear of God would keep him from all evils
- he experiences and enjoys the Lord as His wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and intelligence
- he be a vessel sanctified, separated, useful to the Lord
- he be a vessel filled with the God of honor and glory
- he be a pillar of the church and for the church, and serves the Lord all the days of his life in whatever way the Lord would lead him
I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; And I will glorify Your name forever. Psalms 86:12
Monday, 13 March 2023
Life Lesson: Brothers' Fellowship
The Lord speaks in and through the Body. There are times the Lord speaks personally to me in a very personal way for some personal matters, but when he wanted the church to get involved, He revealed His will in His sovereign way. He does this to manifest certain situations so that in fellowship He can move through the Body. When the Lord speaks and moves in such a way, my simple responsibility is to cooperate with His move and amen whatever He wanted to do. Herein lies the need for self-denial. Once a matter is revealed through the Body which He wanted to deal with in the Body, I only have one choice; to cooperate with the lord in the Body irrespective of my feelings or thoughts or will.
Two weeks ago, a situation transpired in which the situational manifestation succinctly indicated the need to take an action in two specific matters. Firstly, to deal with a brother who needs proper shepherding in his mental health. In fact, he needs to be restricted from attending any meeting until he is mentally normalized. This is for his own good and the good of the Body. Not that he has been cut off or excommunicated, but only temporarily quarantining him so as not to affect other innocent saints who may not be aware of his mental state. The matter was followed up in a timely manner with a brother taking the responsibility to shepherd him.
Another matter is concerning a brother whom we called for fellowshipped and let him know clearly what the feeling of the Lord expressed through the Body in fellowship in one accord. Though he naturally tried his best to justify his deeds and decided to personally break off an engagement the church had helped him with, we expressed a strong contrary feeling, with a stern warning in love that he may not continue in his own way. Whether he agreed to it or not, the feeling of the Body has been conveyed with a strong emphasis on the need to honor the vow he had made before God and men. Whatever reasons he gave to justify his deeds, we stood firm and warned him, and expressed our strong feeling to him. The rest is up to him, whether to obey or go his way. We have no intention to direct or control anybody as such, but we want to be faithful to God and His word as revealed in the Bible and long only to stand on the ground of maintaining the sanctity of the engagement made. What will transpire of the matter is up to the Lord. Having thus expressed our feelings, we told him to stop all improper, immoral, and sinful affairs other than the person he was already engaged to. And then, we all prayed together for the Lord's mercy and grace that He may shine on each one so that we all see the light of God and obey the fellowship through the supply of life the Lord so graciously supplies.
After this fellowship, I felt so peaceful. The burden that I had been bearing alone for months has been released. In fact, I had been waiting for the perfect time when the matter of concern could be opened up. I did not want to initiate anything on my own but kept the matter to the Lord in prayers until He takes the necessary step. I felt the time had come and that in time, the matters had been fellowshipped with the concerned person. What a relief! What peace!
Now I am peaceful in the Lord concerning the two matters. I trust the Lord in His sovereign way will settle the issues. The common enemy we were fighting is Satan. He is the master of confusion. Now that we have identified the mastermind behind all these ugly episodes, the next step is to stand in the Body in prayer and fellowship and release all the saints from the enemy's further attack.
May the Lord preserve the humanity of all the saints; to be vessels holy, pure, sanctified, and filled with His honor and glory!
Sunday, 12 March 2023
My Father, My Son, Blessed Generation!
Jehovah has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron; He will bless those who fear Jehovah, Both small and great. May Jehovah give you increase, Both you and your children.(Psalms 115:12-14, RecVer)
Tuesday, 7 March 2023
Need for Next Generation
As I visited the churches in Kerala the past few days, one thing that bothered me is the lack of the young generation in the church life and in the service of the Lord. And one big burden borne out of this visit and observation is the need for our next generation to be preserved in the church life and also be brought into the service of the Lord.
“And if it seems wrong in your sight to serve Jehovah, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve, either the gods from across the River, whom your fathers served, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.”(Joshua 24:15, RecVer)
A Visit to Marthandam
A couple who has been serving full-time in the literature service resides in Marthandam, a border town of Tamilnadu and Kerala. Since the Lord brought this couple into full-time service, the distribution of the ministry books in Kerala and Tamilnadu intensified. The Lord has been blessing their service and the supply of the ministry of the word has now been regular and timely to all Malayalam speaking saints in the churches in Kerala.
Malayalam New Testament Recovery Version
Last weekend, we were in Kerala for the formal launch and introduction of the New Testament Recovery Version in Malayalam. Though the translation of the New Testament directly from Greek to Malayalam was completed, proofread, printed and distributed in 2022, there were some reservation among some Malayalam speaking brothers and sisters. Therefore, the need to formally introduce this new translation arose. In fellowship, the Lord has led us through and blessed the introduction and formal launching of it in different occasions.