Shepherding: A Brother in Need

It has been months since we last met at his residence when a brother hosted me when I visited him at Vizag. Our time spent together was mostly in fellowship on the truths of the word of God. With tears, he prayed and fellowshipped his desire to be recovered into the oneness and fellowship of the Body of Christ after he was wallowing in the mire of religious Christianity for a decade. Though we agreed for follow up fellowship, that did not work out well. There was a lot of resistance behind the scene; a spiritual warfare was waging against his come back to the healthy, normal and proper Christian life in a normal church-life.

Two days ago he texted me of his plan to come to visit me for a fellowship. I replied with a proposal for over the phone prayer. The next day, he called me for prayer and we prayed over the phone together, and today morning too. This is a potential brother for the Lord's move in Chattisgarh and Odisha; as he has consecrated his life to serve the Lord in these two states. 

With a burden for him primarily and also for the two states, I had fellowshipped with the brothers to invite him for a training, which did not work our from his side. Later, when he proposed a training, I just laid it aside until the burden is crystal clear. But now, he is the one initiating for fellowship. I prefer it this way for all the seeking believers; not to run after them, but they should run after us. And this is always the case once they see the heavenly vision of Christ and the church as Paul saw in Acts 9.

For decade, he has been doing "ministry" with different "ministers" only to discover the corruption within the system and the "ministers" themselves in regard to money and relationships. Though he faced a very difficult situation, the Lord meant it good for his recovery. Though a minister and speaker himself, he acknowledged that he had nothing to speak except the ministry of the word he learned from us. Despite the many teachings, doctrines and practices out there in the religious division of Christianity, this bother has tasted the truthfulness, reality, life-supply, depth and effectiveness of the ministry of the word we uphold in building up the Body of Christ. He has no where else to go, but to the fellow members of the Body of Christ. So is the shepherding.

This is a wonderful experience for me too; shepherding a brother in need, and I am being shepherded in return.

Lord, thank you for the ministry of the word; preserve us in this ministry of the Body, in the Body, for the building up the Body of Christ.

  

Shepherding: A Sister in Need

As a family we visited a sister's family for home meeting. My wife and I and the sister were in fellowship when she opened up many of her concerns and the experiences she has been through. It was amazing how the Lord worked on her and how she has grown in life as manifested in the way she look at life and face issues of the day with the Lord in fellowship with the fellow members of the Body of Christ.

Though her concerns were genuine and the experiences she has been through are tough, the Lord's shepherding care was bountiful. Comparing and contrasting with how she was a year ago, there are a lot to praise the Lord for. The ministry of the word, the prayer of the saints and the fellowship of the Body is realistically powerful. The divine seed sown into her as the word is growing and bearing fruits. Praise the Lord!

Isaiah 58:9-11 Then you will call, and Jehovah will answer; / You will cry out, and He will say, Here I am.

If you remove the yoke from your midst, / The pointing of the finger and the speaking of wickedness,

And if you draw out your soul to the hungry / And satisfy the desires of the afflicted; / Then your light will rise in the darkness, / And your gloom will be like midday;

And Jehovah will guide you continually, / And satisfy your soul in the dry times, / And strengthen your bones; / And you will be like a watered garden, / And like a spring of water, / Whose waters do not deceive.   

As we pray-read these verses, the Lord enlightened us to deal with certain matters, especially prevalent among the weaker vessels; "if you remove your yoke from your midst, the pointing of fingers and the speaking of wickedness,"  then, the blessings will follow as in the aforementioned verses. All evil speaking and backbiting should be dealt with, giving no ground to the enemy. This is one of the frequent attack point of the enemy. Unconsciously, it is so easy to speak or comment loosely about another. This leaks life and stops the Lord's blessing. This may not seem to be a gross sin apparently but delving deep down, it is rooted on the indwelling sin undealt with, even many times, worse than manifested sins.

Many concerns brought out were all related to speaking, words not seasoned with salt.  Colossians 4:6, Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Another sister speaking words not according to the above Word is the main cause of trouble the said sister was undergoing. Nevertheless, this "mistake" was also used by the Lord to deal with a relationship tending to go beyond the boundary of being a sister in the Lord.

With whomever I am ministering to, my words should be seasoned with salt, always with grace, for the building up of one another. This is a lesson I am learning and still am learning. Our shepherding a sister in need was by just listening to whatever she had to pour out, the main cause of all the troubles were due to words spoken not in grace to her by some others. She had to release herself even with tears. After all the speakings and reading, we all prayed together. That's the best way we could shepherd; in listening, fellowship, reading the word of God and prayer. That was also a good experience for me and my wife, to coordinate in shepherding, as a couple. Otherwise, its not good for me to handle such case alone as a brother.

Looking forward to more shepherding together as a couple. 

Lord, continue to shepherd us to shepherd others.

Not Yet?

It was long since I have been burdened to upgrade my educational qualification. I thought this time I could make it as I applied for a research program in one of the most reputed universities in the country. But  since the time I received a call letter for exam and interview, I had ever been busy with my official responsibility, as I had been to the North East for the ministry of the word journey. Though I carried with me the text books for studying, in case I could find time, but I found myself engaged in the ministry of the word all the time. I dared not divert attention as I would handle first thing first, and not compromise on my priority. Thank God, I could fully discharged my burden fully for the ministry of word this time in the seventeen localities in four states the Lord led me to in the North East of India. In fact, the only time I could open up the text books for preparation was in the flight when I flew back from Imphal after mission accomplished.

Right from the time I landed in New Delhi, the difference of temperature was almost unbearable. On reaching home, my daughter was down with bacterial infection which I was not aware of. But she loved me so much and missed me during my absence, she came to hug me on my arrival. Later I got infected with the same bacterial infection. Though we both consulted different doctors, we ended up eating the same antibiotic. That laid me down to bed for days, and sovereignly it began on the night before I went for the exam. The two days before, were occupied with office matters which I could not lay aside either, finding myself with no time to study nor prepare for the exam.

Nevertheless, I went for the for the exam but my body was running high in temperature with headache and bodyache. I could not wait any further to rush back home and take rest. I simply reckon this as the Lord's hand tapping me to wait yet a little while for the upgradation. Initially, it was painful inside, but the Lord knows best. I simply submit myself to the Lord. Let His will be done.

The words of the Lord are loud and clear, but the timing, I still have to find out. I do not give up unless the Lord make it clear too, but still looking to the Lord for His further leading and proper timing. Besides, I will prepare myself thoroughly before I can venture into yet another training in life. 

Lord, lead and guide me at Your time.

Brotherly Fellowship

Since the Lord had called me to serve Him on 1st January 2003 from the Bible verse, "And now, O Israel, what does Jehovah your God ask of you except that you fear Jehovah your God so that you would walk in all His ways and love Him and serve Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul;" (Deuteronomy 10:12) I had told my parent in faith that the Lord was responsible for all my needs and that I would not burden them any longer, financially or otherwise, but should the Lord bless me, I would share the blessing of God with them. Since then, I determined not to receive anything from my family, be it financial or family inheritance, till date, by the Lord's grace.

When I had a time of fellowship with my brother and his wife, I made it very clear to them that all the family land and building belongs to them, and I would have no part in any inheritance. Instead, as the Lord blesses me I would help them to further construct the first floor of the building for them and for the use of the church in Imphal as a meeting hall. I also told them that the Lord has provided all my needs, and if need be, He will also provide our own building elsewhere in India or abroad. I would simple trust the Lord. This is the first time I have made it very clear to my brother, as the Lord had called me to serve Him, and that he would take care of our mom and dad in their old age.

I also fellowshipped with him about his living before God and man, and the need to exercise to live a God-man life to be a testimony to the heathen village we are in, besides emphasizing the need for a physical exercise too. In order to shepherd him, we also looked into his business and critically analysed its pros and cons; even calculating in minute detail if it was worth continuing. We also looked into his academic career and encourage him to finish his graduation and suggested a Master's degree program too. And also studied the loans and other financial matters, and warned him to be careful of loans; better is never to borrow, but work within the walls. Most importantly, we prayed together for the Lord's work in us, for our family, for his education, job, family life and also for God's purpose to be fulfilled even through us.

It was a sweet and long fellowship indeed. It was worth it, and my burden was released concerning him. That was my brotherly fellowship with my brother in the Lord and in blood.

Lord, gain us fully for You!

Family Fellowship

Last week, the Lord sovereignly arranged my step-mom and step-brother to visit me at our home in Imphal. Though I wanted to visit them, due to time constraint I could not. However, my burden to meet them was conveyed by my brother to them and they came.

It was eight years since I last my step-brother, when after preaching the gospel to him I and another brother baptised him. Now he has grown up so much; I spent quite a considerable length of time with him and with my step-mom too, fellowshipping about what the Lord has been doing in our lives, and encouraging them to love the Lord, eat the word and live a life of prayer daily.

To me, I consider them as my brother and sister in the Lord and treat them as such. The only law I applied to this matter of "step" is the law of the Spirit of life. I do not apply Moses' law or any man-made law, not even the denominational law of today's Christianity, but the leading of the Spirit within and without. And I dare not touch any outward matter, be it ethical or societal, but only as the Lord leads. To me, this is all that matters.

In my consideration of the family life, they are as dear as any other members. I treat them as my relative in spirit and in blood. Though certain uneasy matters still lingers around, all cloud of doubts have been cleared off as far as I am concerned. And I look to the Lord for more of His working in our family for His testimony.

Besides, as the church in Imphal went for an outing two weeks ago, our family was in the same car when all of us could blend together, even discussed family matters and plans ahead of us. It was a wonderful time together.

Even more so, when I came back to Gurgaon, I spend as much time as I could with my wife and my three children; at times telling stories, reading Bible together, helping them in their summer vacation home works, playing and praying together. So far, so good. The Lord is so good to us. 

Christ centered family life, bound by the cord of the divine love with the uniting bond of peace and the band of oneness, is our family prayer daily. 

Lord, bless our family for Your testimony!      

Touching God

Unceasingly Pray 1 Thessalonians 5:17

My simple subjective experience of this verse, "unceasingly pray," is to simply be in touch with the Lord. This is so simple yet ignored or neglected quite often by many. Only if all the children of God are simply in touch with God all the time, their lives would have been revived and there will be growth in life, manifestation of the gifts God has given to them and expression of the living Christ. This is one of the major items I have been practicing and encouraging others to do; to be in touch with the Lord.

All electrical gadgets, however good or expensive they may be, without a flow of electric current they are all "dead corpse," just show pieces; at best good for appreciation and at worst, white elephants.

In many of my fellowship with the saints and seekers I have been focusing on this truth of touching the Lord by simply exercising the human spirit. 1 Timothy 4:7b "...exercise yourself unto godliness". Without this crucial exercise of the human spirit where the Spirit of God dwells, there can be no touching God. The right organ must be used for touching God. "God is Spirit.." John 4:24a, to touch God who is Spirit we must exercise our human spirit. The best and simplest way to touch the Lord is simply to call upon His Name, "Lord Jesus!" I used to have a reservation of calling the Lord Jesus' Name out-loud, mostly due to ignorance and religiosity, but once I tasted the sweetness of tasting the sweet Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I can't help myself, but to keep calling, "Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus!"  

Our main problem is not touching God. Once we are in touch with God all the time, all problems are no problems at all. Come what may, we go through situations with God and experience Christ and gain Christ all the more. 

Many have wasted the "problems," God allowed in their lives; they are blessings in disguise only if they have proper spiritual eyesight. In God, with God and through God, they can "walk on the water", "make way into the sea" and "cross the river Jordan".  All these experiences will be subjective, only if they are in touch with God.

This simple truth has been my message these days, to whomsoever I met and ministered to. Last week and this week, in all the fellowships and meetings, I have been speaking this simple truth, "touching God." And I myself are learning and practicing touching God. 

Lord, keep me in touch with You all the time.

Being Broken

Gen. 32:24 And Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.Gen. 32:25 - And when the man saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with Him.Gen. 32:28 - And He said, Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but  Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.Gen. 32:30 - And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, for, he said, I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been preserved.Gen. 32:31 - And the sun rose upon him as he crossed over Penuel, and he limped because of his hip.

This reading of the word few weeks ago gave me a lot of light. In our natural man we are individualistic and selfish as Jacob's name implies, a supplanter. We are "bluff-masters" indeed in our sinful nature. But the Lord loves us and He will do anything to gain us by all means. So the need for dealing and breaking.

Until the break of dawn indicates that the time of the incident was midnight. Night is darkness, and darkness is the absence of light. Spiritually, when we are individualistic and in ourself in our undealt natural man, we are void of God's divine life and we are in the darkness, in the night. Even at such time, the Lord would visit us, to deal with us and gain us, as signified by the "a man" visiting Jacob.

A man, an angel of Jehovah visited him, wrestled with him and broke the socket of his hip. Who or what is this "man" subjectively? It could be persons, matters or things, which the Lord sovereignly uses to break our natural man. Many times, the Lord uses compatible ones to break our strongest part, "our thigh".

Oftentimes, we are too strong and too good in certain things and we don't depend on the Lord. Thus, our strongest part becomes our weakest part; the things we are good at, our strong point in our natural man, becomes our weak part in our spiritual man, as we fail to depend on the Lord. Therefore, our thigh of strength need to be touched and broken. Many things we faces are the Lord's visitation, perhaps, sicknesses, losses or even deaths and the likes are the Lord's dislocating of our hip. So that we would limp and never trust in what we used to trust any longer, except in the Lord Himself.

We should thank the Lord for "a man" whom He sent to wrestle with us until the break of dawn. Hallelujah! By and through this wrestling we face God, face to face. That's why that place of wrestling was named Penuel, meaning face to face with God. This is a turning point and a crucial phase of our Christian life. Without such experience, there can be no growth, much less, maturity. We all need to come face to face with God. Meet God in every situation.

After this dealing and breaking, two things followed suit: change of name and limping. Change of name signifies change of person, for the name denotes the person. And one no longer walks as used to be, but limping begins, dependence on God now and forever.

Henceforth, one is no longer in himself in his undealt natural man but is broken and on the path of transformation unto maturity. Therefore, "the sun rose upon him" walking in the divine light of the Lord onto maturity.

This should be every Christian's experience of life, without which would be an incomplete experience and there would be no way to maturity.

Lord, grace me to be broken, transformed and mature in life to fulfill Your heart's desire.