Healthy Trips

Whenever I took a tour, either officially or for propagation or training or conferences, I enjoyed the Lord's anointing so much so that whoever I met I ended up shepherding if they were believers, or, preached the gospel if they were unbelievers. Every time I travel I reckoned it as a "vacation" from my busy office work and enjoyed the tour in a human yet divine way,  thanking the Lord all the while. This time too, as I came to the mountain, the Lord granted me sweet hours of fellowship with Him. He showed me new direction for the literature service and enlightened me on some crucial official responsibilities. With this initiative trip to introduce the ministry to the Hindi speaking people of India, the Lord further led me to plan for the upcoming four important trips that would be undertaken before this year ends. As I considered before the Lord in prayer, I just realised it was all planned by the Lord, good for the spread of the ministry of the word, good for my service, good for the Lord's move, and also good for me personally.

On the spiritual side, the entire trip always were an exercise of the spirit, contacting the prominent Christian leaders,  and I got to function in speaking the word in season and out of season. Besides, during the recent trip, on the last two Lord’s day in two different cities, the Lord arranged a platform to minister the word among seeking believers. When invited by the leading brothers, I took it as the Lord's arrangement and ministered the word as the Spirit led. This time too, it happened in Almora and Kathgodam, Haldwani. In the other places, sweet home meeting transpired with genuine seekers, in Pithoragarh and Nainital. All these were to be followed up in a way of shepherding for the Lord's testimony. Moreover, the Lord also introduced me to some contacts and Christian leaders in other parts of North India. The most significant one is a brother who is a leader among churches in Jammu and Kashmir, another target for the ministry of the word distribution.

On the physical side, I got to exercise my body a lot, walking, climbing the hilly terrain and skipping meals quite often, reducing my intake of food which I found it very hard to do at home. I just felt physically more active and healthy.

This trip, and the likes, were all "win-win" cases from all sides, except that I miss my family. Even in such, our bonding seemed to become sweeter and dearer when I travel, for my family extended their prayer and wishes, texted and told me more frequently, "I miss you, " "I love you, " and the likes, which were not very frequent when at home.

The conclusion of the matter is, my travelings were all win-win case and altogether a healthy trip. Praise the Lord!

Haldwani

A populated plane of the otherwise thinly populated hilly state was our last destination for the recent trip. The congestion and crowd of the city reminded me of being still in India,as we climbed down from the hill station of Nainital. As we began meeting Christian leaders, the height of expectation we had in this populous city was punctured into a thin air; too few believers to meet in this crowded city. My first comment to the brothers was, this land is good for gospel preaching instead, rather than for the distribution of the ministry of the word. We started off with a low note. But was not discouraged. The Lord had brought us, so He must have some plan.

The first two days were like crawling on a hot and dusty floor. But on the last day, yesterday, the Lord did something spectacular. It was on Saturday we met an elderly brother to whom we introduced the ministry books, but he showed a little interest in reading as he said he hardly get any time to read with so much responsibility towards the congregation he is shepherding. But after introducing the books, he simply invited was to visit his congregation the next day and minister the word. With his invitation we attended the Pentecostal meeting when my attention was caught by a brother who enthusiastically was drumming a desi-beat of the worship songs followed by the conventional Pentecostal style of screaming at high pitch as the songs reached its climax. Silently, I was just praying and looking to the Lord, and was deeply confirmed within that the believers definitely needed the proper and healthy ministry of the word; the word of God was all that they needed, and the Word must be ministered with the Spirit.

After all the general items were accomplished, the leading brother invited us to minister the word. A brother and I went up to the pulpit to minister the word, with my brother as the translator into Hindi. Our coordination was so sweet, and we had the same spirit and same speaking. And the Lord blessed the speaking.

Initially, I shared my salvation testimony and then released the burden the Lord implanted within me; the urgency and importance of growth in the divine life. At length I discoursed on the practical ways to grow in life and be constituted with the word of God with the three essential practices of breathing, drinking and eating the Lord. Important verses of John 6 were delved into, on the Lord as the Bread of Life, and the need to eat Him as such, daily. Thus, after having we released the burden the Lord gave us, we prayed and got down the pulpit.

After the meeting many believers came and testified of how much blessed they were. To note few of them: a sister and her children came for fellowship and expressed her hunger and thirst for the word of God. She even took all the English ministry books as she wanted to pursue the truth. Then, the drummer brother came and testified of how much he was blessed by the Lord's speaking. He even wanted to meet us again and later in the evening when we were out for a group meeting he went to our guest house and handed an envelope to a brother meant for me and testified to the brothers how much he was blessed with the word. Then, an elderly brother who was from Muslim background and from Jammu and Kashmir region fellowshipped the blessing he received through the ministry of the word. As I introduced the ministry books, he recollected the book he read many years ago, The Spiritual Man, by Brother Watchman Nee, and was so glad to meet with us. He even welcomed us to visit him and introduce the ministry books in his state. Besides, we also learned that four leading Pastors attended the meeting and they all testified after the meeting, thanking God for the ministry of the word. 

May the Lord cover us with His blood, we are just His vessels to flow Him forth.

In the evening, a family invited us for a fellowship. Though we could have excused ourselves with our own valid reasons, the principle I generally uphold is, never say, No, to any believer requesting for fellowship. So we paid the price of visiting them in the outskirt of the city and enjoyed an hour long fellowship on Grace - God in Christ as the Spirit realised and enjoyed by us. This was not an intended message, but as we began the home meeting, the Lord burdened me to sing Amazing Grace and said something about the author John Newton, and ministered the word on grace, proofing verse by verse, how God in Christ as the Spirit became our enjoyment. Two brothers also coordinated with me and completed the message on Grace. The Scriptures the Lord gave us instantly were John 1:1, 14, 16, 17; 14:16, 26; 20: 17, 22; 1 Tim. 4:7,8; 2 Tim. 4:22; and 1 Cor. 15:10. The family was so happy, especially, the house wife, who was not so opened when we first met her the day before. Praise the Lord for the ministry of the word! May the Lord continue to grace them and also recover them for His testimony.

That was how this trip concluded. Lord,  gain Your testimony in Haldwani!

Nainital

Having enjoyed the hilly terrains, driving through scenic landscapes of Cedars and Cyprus trees, we embarked on a hill station of some two thousands feets above sea level, and there lies a beautiful greenish lake in irregular oval shape, surrounded by mountains inhabited with lodges and hotels all around where tourists frequented for sightseeing and lake boating, a hamlet called, Nainital, our next destination for the distribution of the ministry of the word. 

Wasting no time, we visited all the Christian leaders and introduced the ministry literature as soon as we arrived. Surprisingly, all of them were so interested in the ministry that without much consideration,  they grasped there copies each. We also met the top two colleges' Principals as they were Christians themselves, though they  administrated an academic institution. Perhaps, due to their busy schedule, high security level and strict discipline, we only got few minutes to introduce the ministry. Nevertheless, the Lord opened their eyes within that short span, and they all immediately purchased the ministry books, of no less amount. 

Two other note worthy meetings were:

a leader of the biggest Christian group, and a brother who is a tent-maker by profession and serving the Lord. The commonality of both was that they loved the Lord very much and were very hungry for the word of God. Though we met them at different time and place each, their response to our fellowship was like a mirror image; one from a mainline church on the front line and well known,  and the other running a small group meeting as a church in his home at the back mostly hidden and less known. Both had pleasant visage, quite charming, and smiling throughout our fellowship. Every book we introduced to them, more precisely, every word or sentence we uttered,  they echoed with a resounding "Wow!" expressing their joy in the light and revelation they saw through the ministry of the word. And they both ended up ordering the whole set of ministry books we introduced. Besides, they both wanted to have us again for further fellowship and thanked us for visiting them. And with both, we spent a couple of hours at a stretch and enjoyed it as well. 

After those meetings, I just realised why the Lord brought us to that tourist spot. And deep within me there was a confirmation that the Lord indeed is recovering His testimony in this important and famous hotshot of North India. 

Apart from the spiritual blessing of meeting the Lord's chosen ones, we also enjoyed our stay there; the cold weather, fresh air, scenic views and delicious food. In fact, I ended up purchasing gifts for my son, especially, and daughters and wife as well. I felt I just could not miss the opportunity to show my love and care for my family in the humanity of Christ. 

That was a wonderful and all-inclusively enjoyable trip; both as an official one and personal one too, yes, even that of a spiritual one, yet, physical too. 

Lord, gain Your chosen ones for Your glorious testimony in Nainital! 

Almora

A beautiful hill town teeming with greens everywhere, the Cedars and the Pines, and breath of fresh air gliding through the hills,  the valleys,  the terrains,  and of course, through me as well, to satiate my love for nature at its freshness. This was the town where the Lord brought us for the introduction of the ministry of the word. On day one itself,  we have met the three main Christian leaders of this thinly Christian populated area, barely half of a thousand. These short while meetings were so fruitful that we were invited for the next day's meeting which happened to be the Lord’s day.

We went to a group that welcomed us to the meeting, and just attended the service as a guest. But when it was time for the "Sunday Message," the "Pastor" suddenly called and invited me to minister the word. No prior information and it was an impromptu arrangement. Being called and invited,  I just went up,  trusting the speaking Spirit and being "ready in season and out of season" I opened my mouth and the Lord anointed it and the Spirit ministered the word with much life supply. The ministry of the word was on "God's Heart's Desire" and "Calling Upon the Lord's Name." A local brother did the translation into Hindi and the the Lord indeed blessed the speaking as later on the brothers and sisters, including, the leading brother himself testified of how the Lord led him to invite me to minister the word. It was the Lord's ministry and it was the Lord's speaking. Praise the Lord!

After the meeting, three leading brothers sat with us for further fellowship. And four of us fellowship on "the Church as the Body of Christ." It was a deeper and more practical fellowship at length with three brothers taking turns and one translating into Hindi all the while. A wonderful coordination in the Body as we fellowshipped on the Body of Christ! To our encouragement,  the leading brother testified that they fully agreed with us as it was all the word of God,  and that they have been practicing similar teachings. He even said,  next time we visit again he would host us and we would have more fellowship and blending.

In the afternoon, we visited the biggest and oldest Christian group where we introduced the ministry books,  after which I shared a little about "a Christian life" within the ten minutes alloted to me with Hindi translation. The next day, the Pastor's son came to visit me and testified of how happy and thankful to the Lord he was for the speaking we delivered yesterday in his congregation. He even testified that that was the first time a "living message with Bible verse were clearly and explained in a simple way." They have been bogged down ritualistically for years with man-made tradition, without any life supply. The speaking we had,  he testified, was very apt and timely. Thank God,  at least I didn't know about their situation, but I spoke only as the Lord led me to do so. The Lord is the speaking God,  and I just gave Him the ground to do so. Amen.

May the Lord gain His chosen ones for His testimony in Almora!

Counting God's Blessings

Often times I wonder if the Lord's blessing is upon us or not, especially in the church matter as I coordinated with a brother. Even a senior and matured brother used to fellowship with us in this church matter, as the physical attendance of the Lord's Table Meeting has not been increasing for years now. This indeed is a matter of concern, and we, in the brothers' fellowship have been praying and fellowshipping on this matter quite often. Even me, personally, am looking to the Lord for His mercy that there be a break through in increase. 

When in fellowship last week, this brother whom I revered and honored very much,  asked me, "Palmei, you have been very exercised, praying, studying the word,  pursuing the ministry, and shepherding.. Why is there no increase?" My simply reply was, "Brother, I have been asking the same question to the Lord." And I fellowshipped with him that though there may not be an outward increase to quantify the result of our labor,  but I do definitely take my experiences in the church in Gurgaon as a training from the Lord,  and in shepherding I do enjoy the Lord  very much. I also testified of how the Lord has been graceling me to labor on few families for three years on a weekly basis and how they finally came to the church life and now becoming responsible brothers in the church. I also testified of what the Lord has wrought into me subjectively. Whenever I travel for literature distribution or gospel propagation I have been referring to the experiences God blessed me in Gurgaon. In such  trips I enjoyed the presence and blessing of the Lord so much. Then, he affirmed of what I shared in fellowship and commented that many times the Lord will used "difficult" situations for our training, learning and perfecting. 

As I went back home and considered the question the brother asked me, "Why is there not much blessing?", the Lord reminded me to count all the blessings He has bestowed on the church in Gurgaon. How many saints have been shepherded, how many young people have been sent from the church in Gurgaon to join the full time training, and how many have been serving full time now, and some even are our co-workers today, then, I was so encouraged to learn that the Lord indeed has blessed the church I am in, a lot. But I do not wish to take this as an excuse either, for  not gaining the increase that is expected of a local church. Yes,  manifold blessings are there, and I must expect for much more blessings,  even the kind mentioned by our senior brother,  of increase in number,  as the normal acceptable standard. Lord, gain Your increase. 

Besides, on the official side, as I counted the blessings of God, I thanked the Lord in how He has been leading me in accomplishing quite a number of important official tasks. Many of them started off with no clue,  but as I labored and prayed over it, all of the tasks were accomplished and fine tuned one by one. And after the works were done I just marvelled at the Lord's wonderful hands behind the scenes. I could not help but just praised the Lord. 

When counting the Lord's blessings one by one, I have only words to thank and praise the Lord. 

Thank You Lord, for all Your blessings. Keep me under Your blessings all the days of my life. 

The Joy of God’s Presence

One of the treasures I treasure in my Christian life is the presence of God. Without the presence of God with me, I dare not go anywhere nor do anything. But to be assured of the Lord's presence, oneness with  the Lord and with His Body is of utmost importance. Hence, the need to fellowship and coordinate in the Body is a basic requirement. With all these requirements met, and set in place through fellowship and coordination, I set out for yet another ministry of the word literature journey. This time it's a North India Distribution of the Ministry of the Word : Hindi Literature.

This is the first stage for North India Hindi speaking region tour to Uttarakhand. As I set out, I enjoyed the Lord's presence so much. Especially when I took a Sumo mountain tracking vehicle, it was all a wonderful tour of prayer. On the one hand,  enjoying God’s beautiful  creation,  the hills, the valleys, the greens rows,  the rivers,  rocky mountains, beautiful landscapes etc. And yet,  at the same time, praising and praying all the way. Though it took eight hours of climbing the mountain terrain, the joy of the Lord was so sweet and strong. Many prayer burdens were released throughout the journey to my heart's content. I could spend enough time to release all my burdens before the Lord in detail. What a joy to enjoy the Lord Himself and His creation! 

When I reached my destination,  a brother's house in Pithoragarh at the mountain top from which the Himalayan ranges are visible, I took a short rest with tea,  and then set out to meet the main Christian leader of the biggest Christian group in town. As we fellowshipped, the Lord opened the eyes of this leader; he was so interested in the ministry  books that he proposed a seminar for the entire Christian leaders and workers in town, and asked us to visit some of his  acquaintances who loves the Lord. As he fellowshipped, I just felt that the Lord has given us open doors as we have been praying for,  for the spread of the ministry of the word. A new light  dawned in me that there is a wide open door all over Hindi speaking region! I never saw this vision before that the Hindi speaking belt of India is ready for the ministry of the word. I just realised that the Lord took me to this mountain top beside the Himalayas to see this light, that there are open doors among the majority Hindi speaking population.

Later, a fellowship with a Principal and also owner of a higher secondary school, was also very encouraging. As I introduced the ministry books, immediately he ordered all the Hindi books we introduced. We had a short fellowship and prayer. That was my day's portion.

Finally, before resting for the day, I had some serious fellowship with a brother who was considering to leave his full time service to do full time business to meet his intense financial need. My simple fellowship was that he should be very clear from the Lord in whatever step he decided to take. And not to succumb to pressure; often such pressures are God ordained. That he may learn God’s ways and know God Himself.

With all these joyful experiences for the day, it was returned time. The joy of God's presence has always been, and will always be my heart's treasure. 

Lord,  preserve me in the joy of Your presence all the days of my life. 

Build In to Build Up!

Lesson on building are not easily learned. Though the vision and revelation of the building up of the Body of Christ may be crystal clear, but the reality and practicality of the heavenly lights from the Lord are to be learned. Else, it may just end up being a "good doctrine on building." 

By the  Lord's mercy, I have been learning the teaching concerning the building work of God, and by His mercy again, I have seen some light, vision and revelation on the building. Yet, I humbly confess that I am still learning to really be built up for the building work of God. The Lord has been faithfully speaking to me again and again on this matter of building up. Thank God for all the training, conferences and fellowship that helps me see the importance and urgency of the building work of God and my own urgent need to be built up with my fellow members in the Body of Christ.

Thus far, I dare not say that I have been built up, but I do say, I am learning to be built up with my fellows co-workers and coordinators in the Lord's service. Frankly speaking, to be built up really needs the Lord's mercy and grace; especially when it comes to being practically crossed-out of all things "non-blendable" and crossed-in in the spirit of coordination-to be fitly framed and joined in the Body.  

Two very recent incidents help me a lot in the matter of building. Though I have an official and specific responsibility related to the literature service where the Lord has sovereignly placed me in, the fellowship from the Body on two important matters that never dawned on me, gave me light to listen to and follow up on the concerned fellowship. I took to heart and followed it up, and discovered that these proposals are very good for my official responsibility and also for me personally as serving ones. Save for the Body's fellowship, I would have been blinded regarding these two crucial matters. Thank God for this small instances of receiving fellowship and learning to be built up with the Body.

As I made plans for the two: one is a distribution trip in North India (Uttrakhand) in coordination with free Rhema Literature Distribution, and the other is a matter of starting a new literature office in New Delhi in coordination with the church in New Delhi and the serving brothers, I learned that these were truly of the Lord revealed through the members of His Body. And in pursuing the fellowship of the brothers I could see and experience the Lord's anointing and blessing. These are how I am learning to build up for the building work of God.

Even in the church in Gurgaon, these days our Saturday brothers' fellowship is all focused on being built up with one another to build into the Body of Christ. Our pray-reading of the word, the ministry of the word, and prayer have all been with this one goal of "build in to build up." 

Excerpts from the ministry that I enjoyed so much on "building":

In the perfecting training messages we dealt with the problems of opinion and peculiarity. But no matter how much you may exercise yourself to solve the problems of opinion and peculiarity, if you are not built up, none of those messages will be of any help to you. Only as we are built up together can the matters of opinion and peculiarity be dealt with. As long as you are willing to be built into God’s building and actually are built in, the problems of opinion and peculiarity will disappear.…Our unique need is to be built in.

True spirituality is a matter of the building. Without the building, the spiritual house, there is no sanctification, spirituality, or spiritual power. A certain brother may seem to be kind, holy, and spiritual. But if this brother is not built into God’s building, his apparent spiritual wealth will become spiritual bankruptcy. The reason for such a condition is that without the building there is no protection or covering.

The principle is the same with God’s spiritual building. If we want to be protected, we need to be built into God’s building. Our protection is not our spirituality; our protection is the building. 

The shortcomings in the lives of even the most spiritual Christians are due to the lack of building up. (Life-study of Exodus, pp. 1336, 1335, 1337)

Perhaps, there may be many more lessons to learn in the matter of building up. May the Lord grace me in His time to really be built up and built in the Body.

Lord, build me up with others saints by being built-in in coordination, that I may be built in to build up.