A Divine "No"

By my "good" nature it is very hard for me to say "No" to the help some brothers or sisters or even family members are asking. Especially in the matter of money. It is very hard for me to turn blind eyes, and whenever anyone comes for help, my first reaction always is, "How may I help you please!" Even if I know for sure it is going to cost me dear, I rather would bear the pain and let me help those in genuine need. Whether for good or for bad, I am just that way. I can't help myself otherwise.

In fact for this "good" nature of mine, some friends and brothers have borrowed from me and never thought of returning back. Neither do I run after them. Nor do I suffer because of bad debts. I always trusts the source from which I receive all blessings, both spiritual and physical, that is God Himself. Yes, for this reason, I don't hesitate to lend and lend, or help and help. And I am very happy if the Lord bless me to be able to help others in need. Yet not analysing if others are taking advantage of me. I leave the matter to the Lord. 

But recently, a new experience concerning this helps me a lot. A brother fellowshipped with me of his urgent need for money as he has to pay somebody on time. He promised to pay me back in a couple of months time. But the reason for his need is not at all justifiable to me. For the need he put himself in, is not for righteous reason, but of his folly. To this, my strong feeling was an emphatic "No!" And I conveyed a "No No" to him and warned him that I cannot be a rescuer of his folly, he must learn his lesson, and that too, thoroughly well with the pain and price of misdeed. But I offered a solemn fellowship and prayed with him that he would be covered, forgiven and learn the lessons due. 

Later, I learned from him that he could not pay his due and yet he has no problem dealing with the "bad" snaring him into such a situation. He has learned his lesson and I also learned my lesson of saying a divine "No," that helps both of us.

Similarly with two saints. Though they did not asked me, I simple could offer a helping hand. But the Lord within me restrained me to do so. For He is in control and is perfecting them for a better future. Now and then, they would come to fellowship with me, to pray concerning the matter and also to help them find ways to meet their urgent need. My only fellowship was to knock all possible doors to find a solution, which they willingly did, not leaving any stone unturned. And finally, they could just manage to meet the dead-end dateline. I was so relieved at hearing from them. Had I helped them, they would not have learned all the lessons that they have learned by me not helping them. It was a divine "No" to them so that they learn the lessons they need to learn.

This divine "No" is a big lesson to me too, as I have to go against my nature of always trying to help. I need more discernment to help when I really should help, and retrain myself from "strange hand" helping without the Lord's will.

May the Lord grace me more of divine "No" to all that should be a "No" indeed.

A Release

If therefore the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8:36

There are things in life which are mysterious until the Lord shines upon and one receives a great light. And there are experiences too that one cannot apprehend and is often as inexplicable as the whole universe is. Yet there are wonderful experiences too that unveils all these mysteries when the Lord shines upon and reveals the secret(s) hidden within. This is just one experience I have been experiencing these days.

Just as the apostle Paul experienced "a thorn in the flesh" - 2 Cor. 12:7, there are some "thorns in the flesh" the Lord sovereignly allows. Only He knows why, and it's always for the good purpose of Him gaining us. I believe this is what I have been experiencing in my life too. Something that sticks to me whether I like it or not. And mostly this humbles me to the core, of simply acknowledging that I am indeed human, not negating the divine works within me.

Often times, this "thorn" troubles me as I long for a perfectly whole life; nevertheless the Lord still allows it for good. What more can I say except humbly submitting myself to the divine arrangement. This "thorn" helps me walk the narrow, humble and simple way and negate any thought of pride or prejudice. Yet though it helps, I deeply desire a complete release. Still and yet, the matter is at the Lord's hand. Come what may, what he says will always be yea."

Few days ago, the verse, "If therefore the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed" -John 8:36, shone upon me. A release that I am longing for, only the Lord can accomplish. And truly indeed, I am experiencing this freedom from the bondage of a "thorn." It was amazing. This little experience is so encouraging. What I cannot, He can. This is a simple lesson I am learning through this "thorn!" But this "thorn" did not deter me from going on in my Christian life nor church life, it helps me to be more desperate and pursue the Lord even much more. Even with this revelation subjectively, I felt I am gaining a giant leap in my Christian life.

Only the Lord is the Releaser (if there is such a word), and praise the Lord that He releases me! And I need more such releases as I am yet to unfold many releases that I may need. 

A, B, C s of Literature Service

Two weeks ago as I was praying and considering what to minister for the literature fellowship, the Lord strongly burdened me to share on the A,B,Cs of literature service. Though there are materials that I can refer to, this time the burden is to receive the Lord's burden and impart the Lord's burden to all the serving ones so as to be useful to His move on this earth.

The A, B, Cs are as follows:

A: Availability and Ability - The first and foremost qualification to be a part of the literature service is to be available for that service. Besides being available, one must be able; possessing the basic skill of translation in being well versed with, if not proficient, the source and target language.

B: Burden and Blessing - A genuine burden from the Lord is a basic element for any one to be engaged in the literature service; without which it has the danger of monotonous and mundane degradation in service. Besides, a blessing from the Lord to break through in all encumbrances so as to be able to go on, is a must.

C: Character and Coordination - A proper character is a must to do anything, especially to serve in the literature service. Untrained character has always been a stumbling block to carry out any burden even if one is fully available and fully able. The character of a person determines what a person is and what will come out of him. The better the character, the better his service will be. Moreover, in any service, coordination with fellow workers/teammates is of utmost importance. Service such as this is not an individual matter, it is a corporate matter which involves the pooling together of different talents/functions/services to meet the goal.

D : Diligence and Discipline - Another prerequisite for a successful serving ones is diligence. Every diligent person is hardworking and any hardworking person will be righteously rewarded by the righteous Lord. Besides, one must be disciplined in his work, maintaining a schedule time table and even managing his time properly to get the best output. A case study: what qualifies to be an army is "discipline" that can safeguard a nation.

E: Efficiency and Encouragement - In any service, efficiency is a big issue. Any body may be able to do any work at any amount of time, but that may be a big failure in terms of time spent, energy exerted and money invested. Efficiency is needed for any successful work; quality must be a key concern in one's work. However, in service such as this, to achieve this target may be a far cry initially. Nevertheless, one should not quit and give up, rather be positive, pray more, labor more, make progress and be encouraged. Encouraging one another for this service is important. Always aim for efficiency, and be encouraged until the ultimate goal is achieved.

F: Faithfulness and Fruitfulness - Faithfulness in one's work is a key to the master's appraisal. Especially in this service in translation, one must be strictly faithful to the author, apart from being faithful to the work itself. In addition, one must be fruitfull as well. Though one may faithfully serve but if his service is not fruitful to the very entity he is serving, it almost amounts to nothing. Here is the need for wisdom from God in one's service; to be fruitful in the way a task is carried for every task assigned.

G: Goals, God-man living and Glory to God! - Ultimately, a target must be set for any work done. For efficiency, setting goals daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually and laboring towards meeting the goals must be heeded to. With this there must be the corresponding assessment, analysis, and corrective measures carried out, if necessary, right away.

If one possesses all the attributes aforementioned, such living may adhere to a "god-man living"  and that would be a service bringing glory to God! For all the targets achieved in this service is for the feeding of the saints with the healthy spiritual food, for their growth in life and the building up of the Body of Christ, which definitely is a glory to God!  

As far as I am aware of, the direct feedback I received from this fellowship were all very positive. This burden also ensued in a strong prayer of consecration to the Lord afresh for the literature service and praying for all these "qualities of the ABCs of literature service" to be useful vessels to the Lord. 

May the Lord bless all the serving ones and the literature service in India! And may these banner over us be fulfilled in reality, "High Quality Christian Literature, The Ministry of the Word for all!" 

Offering : By Faith and Love

In my fellowship with many seeking Christians who are still held up in the human system of organised denominations, one of the most challenging questions asked to me was the matter of offering. For in Christianity as a religion, "tithing" is one of the shameful and ugly way of spiritualising with biblical quotes mostly from Malachi 3 to get the "church income?" And today's degraded Christian workers have shamelessly exploited the word of God and many innocent believers, in the name of Christ, for money. Lord, deliver us from this evil one!

2 Corinthians 9:6,7

But take note of this: He who sows sparingly shall also sparingly reap; and he who sows with blessings shall also with reap; Each one as he has purposed in his heart, not out of sorrow or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Our offering to the Lord must be with a cheerful heart. In fact, every believers must acknowledge -

God as the source of all blessings : All that we are and have and will be having are all from God. So factually, nothing belongs to us, but all belongs to God. So our offering is not to God from us, but from God to God. With this simple revelation, one will always give cheerfully.

As much as the Lord prospers : Indeed, all blessings are from God. As much as the Lord blesses, we must offer. The more the blessings, the more the offerings should be; even otherwise, still we must offer as we purposed in our hearts. And in such offering will be joy.

Faith : However, all these must be done according to the faith within us. One should not go beyond the measure of faith in him. His offering must joyfully be in proportion to his faith. "...for all that is not out of faith is sin." Romans 14:23b

Love : Another divine principle in offering is "love." What one loves, he will pay any price for it. The higher the price, the deeper the love is proved. So much the more, our love for the Lord is directly proportional to the amount of offering we offer to God. For it will be paradoxical to claim to love someone and yet is not willing to pay any price for it. A true love will even pay the highest price of "death" for the sake of love. Therefore, when one loves the Lord, he will be offering out of love as much as He is blessed with by the Lord. It is not out of necessity nor any coercion involved, but out of a pure heart of love.

In summary, my fellowship to the brothers and sisters who asked me to fellowship on offering is "offering by faith and love." The more faith you have in God, the more you offer; and the more love you have for God, the more you offer. The divine principle to gauge a yardstick of offering is "faith and love;" faith in the Lord and love for the Lord. So, the conclusion is an offering formula: 

"Offering  (directly proportional to) Faith and Love"

Besides, with the above revelation and realization, we must be governed by the divine principle of a joyful giving law of life. And since we have faith in God and loves God, offering should be an innate reaction to what the Lord blesses us with. So once one receives a blessing, this law of life of offering must apply without further consideration. As you eat when your are hungry, or drink when thirsty, so offer in blessing!

This fellowship definitely helped all those with whom I fellowship with in regard to offering. Lord, increase my faith and love, and also my offering! As much as I grow in the divine life, so much the more may my offering increase.

Not I But Christ

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the  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.

The famous quotes "Not I But Christ" has been in my head for all these days of my Christian life. I have not deeply experienced its depth, severity and subjectivity until lately. Thank God, at least I am beginning to unveil this mystery in real life.

Experiences these days have been proving to me that many things in my Christian life are "Not I" any longer. Prior to these experiences, though outwardly I have attributed many incidents to Christ, but deep within was the hidden and proud "I" that stole the glory with "Christ" as a mere outer layer covering. But no longer these days. Its the dawning of "Not I" now.

Spiritual or physical blessings and successes the Lord has graciously bestowed upon me and my family have nothing to do with the goodness of "I." But it has always been and will always be because of the Lord's mercy and grace mingled with His blessings. In experiences, when I am not as healthy or strong, my faith in the Lord for His work and blessings dwindles. But as things have transpired, I discovered that what the Lord wants to do does not really depends on how weak or strong I am. My "I" is not the deciding factor for the Lord's work. When my "I" is in the ebb of falling apart and at his weakest point, still the Lord carries out His work, for it is not my "I" but the Christ who lives in me. Whatever my situation may be, the Christ in me is still the same Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever.  

Yes, no doubt, who I am can affect the Lord's work, for the work of God is carried out in coordination with man, but the higher fact is, when in Spirit, it is no longer I, but Christ, and that Christ carries out the work in me and through me.

These days I have been experiencing the work of God being carried out through this "rotten worm." Every time I exercised my spirit and fellowshipped with anyone, the word of God as rivers of living water flowed out. I myself was the first to be so supplied with the riches of Christ's life flowing out through "my own speaking." Bible verses sprang up from no where and words of life just streamed forth as stream in the desert. With whomsoever I fellowshipped, it was just life and life and life flowing out. Had it been my own merit for this blessing, I doubt the most it would be such, for I know this "rotten worm" deep to the core with all my failures and weaknesses. In fact, the truth is, "Not I But Christ." 

Many times my own presumptions deluded me of my weakness and I lost complete faith in being useful to God at all. But as the Lord graces me to learn and grow, His works continues in His pace and path, irrespective of how weak I am or I feel. My self "I" is in fact the "no longer I" but is now the "Christ!" That's why, things are happening as it ought to; shepherding, praying, gospel preaching, fruit bearing and churching...  

O for more grace to learn more of "No I But Christ!"

Gospel : Phone Call

Matthew 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. 

The gospel must be preached in the whole inhabited earth. In this age with all the technology available, to preach the gospel in the whole inhabited earth is not a distance dream nor an impossibility. God gave wisdom to man to invent many new gadgets for His purpose. No doubts, many might have misused it, but as for us, the sons of God, we must use them for the Lord's purpose.

I have been using phone calls for fellowship, shepherding and even also for gospel preaching. And many times I used SMS to text living Bible verses to some friends and saints. Space or distance should not be a hindrance any longer.  

Today, I had a STD phone call with a sister based on the SMS she sent me concerning her brother's need for salvation. I spoke to her brother immediately over the phone and preached the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. After my greetings, he addressed me as "brother" and poured out his heart's burden to be completely delivered from the bondage he is in; of excessive drinking habit, and violent and abusive behavior thereafter. 

The gospel I preached was simple and plain, "The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the true and living God can deliver you from all your sins and bondages." I asked him to call on the Name of the Lord, "O Lord Jesus!" a couple of times, knowing and believing for sure in the mighty and powerful Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the deep and heartiest burden, "Save me!"  Then he prayed with me the "sinner's prayer of confession and believing into the Lord Jesus Christ." O what a joy to lead one soul to the Lord again! Though physically I cannot met him where he was, the gospel preaching work could go on, through modern technology of phone call. Hallelujah!

Similarly I recalled an incident a few years ago in which my cousin sister's husband who resided in London, out of his deepest desperation after he lost his beloved wife, called me in the middle of the night (Indian Time). The only thing I could do was to help him to believe into the Lord Jesus Christ. Over an ISD call from London to Gurgaon, we called on the Name of the Lord Jesus together a couple of times and I helped him to pray the sinner's prayer of salvation. Praise the Lord he was saved! I have no clue where and what he is now today. But I do have the fullest assurance of his salvation when we prayed over the phone.

Use every available tool for the gospel, that gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth.

Shepherding : Prayer

Philippians 4:

6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every man's understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

Last night two saints came for fellowship and as we to fellowshipped, the Lord gave me the discernment of what they were actually going through. To meet their present need the Lord also gave me Bible verses to prayer-read with them. As we pray-read these verses from Philippians 4:5-9, the timely speaking of the Lord was so precise and profound. It met their actual need. Oh, it was a great relief for them as we used the verses to pray back to the Lord with all the burdens hidden deep within. O what a release to make all the request made known to God! O what a blessing to pray and petition God with thanksgiving and the ensuing peace of God in the midst of hardships, trials and temptations.

Later, I fellowshipped with another saint in Guwahati, as the usual Saturday night prayer fellowship over the phone, using the same Bible verses, the Lord's speaking again was so timely. That family is going through the biggest turmoil in their lives with a member of the family creating havoc within the family. However, using the Bible verses I shepherded this family to trust in the Lord and to bring all their matters to Him; for they cannot solve any problem and explained further the Lord Jesus Christ is the only solutions to all the problems. After this short-while phone call prayer fellowship, we all were full of joy and peace. In Christ Jesus, the peace of God guards our hearts and thoughts.

Today morning I received an SMS from a sister whom I have been praying for the salvation of her and her husband. The SMS stated that she wanted to be baptised at the earliest possible. Immediately I fellowshipped with a brother and we gave her the option for today afternoon. She accepted and confirmed stating that she has been fully prepared to fully give her life to the Lord Jesus Christ. As I picked her up for baptism, on the way she mentioned the same Bible verses in Philippians as her sister shared to her last night after I had fellowshhpped the same matter. And she joyfully got baptised!

Immediately following this another new one, who has not yet been baptised, came to visit me and we read the same Bible verses again. This friend has received the Lord and is waiting to be baptised. Through the fellowship he has agreed to take baptism before the end of this year. This friend has been prayed for over four years till date.

In shepherding prayer is a vital ingredient, without which there can be no real and effective shepherding. All the new ones or saints that the Lord has burdened me to care for are all on my prayer list. Though I may not meet them frequently I have been praying for them, and that is a part of shepherding. When I did meet them, the Lord would give me the timely word for them which really shepherds them. 

Shepherding in much prayer and petition with thanksgiving is the best way of shepherding.  Lord, make me a faith praying shepherd.