A Brother's Baptism

Few years ago two sisters whom the Lord graced me to shepherd and who entered into enjoy the church life took me to a couple who were their friends. At that time, they were not interested in the gospel at all, but since we visited, we prayed for their salvation despite not being able to preach the gospel as we ought to. Few years later, the Lord worked on Him and there have been a drastic change in his life. Last week one of the sisters told me briefly about the change this person have been going through and that how much he needed to be properly baptized. Last week, a sister was introduced to our Tuesday group meeting. Yesterday, after the Saturday gospel preaching we went to drop the daughter of that new sister who now have been friends with my children and came along with us for the gospel preaching. When we dropped the little girl at her home, her uncle happened to be the man we met few years ago and prayed for. Just within seconds of the meeting my meeting with him, he decided to come for the Lord's Table Meeting. 

This morning he came, with his sister and her daughter. After the meeting we had fellowship and he testified of how heart hardened he used to be, even devilish many times, but recently he had experienced a drastic change in his life. He has been looking for a proper Christian fellowship despite his own personal pursuit of the Lord. He has the sense that as a Christian he needs the church for corporate fellowship. Even as the fellowship continued, the matter of baptism came up. Without any persuasion, I simply declared the biblical truth about the need for baptism for those who believe into the Lord Jesus Christ. The Spirit confirmed in our fellowship about baptism and he took baptism. That is the Lord's blessing to him and to the church. 

In the church here we have been praying and looking to the Lord for His leading in our going on as the church. Since yesterday we had a fellowship on the God-ordained Way with a brother from the United States who visited us. The Lord's speaking through our brother was very timely as we could testify from the saints' response and the upliftment of the meeting today in our Lord’s Table Meeting. Moreover, this new brother's baptism is also a sure sign of the Lord’s blessing too. 

The blending among the brothers, the sisters, the children, and the young people are becoming sweeter and sweeter these days. I may not be too quick to attribute this to the prayer we have been offering to the Lord for more blending, building, and also for His blessing. I believe these are the results of all the saints' burden and prayer in the church and for the church in Gurgaon. 

Praise the Lord! 

May the Lord continue to shower His blessings to the church now and ever more. 

God Meets Our Every Need

And my God will fill your every need ⁴according to His riches, ⁵in glory, ⁶in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

 Notes from Recovery Version Bible

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19⁴ God supplies us according to His riches, not according to our needs. His riches exceed our needs.
19⁵ In glory modifies fill. Glory is the expression of God; it is God expressed in splendor. God's rich supply to the believers, who are His children, expresses God and bears the glory of God. The apostle assured the Philippians that God would abundantly supply all their needs in a way that would bring them into His glory.
19⁶ In Christ Jesus also modifies fill. Christ, the all-inclusive One, is the base, the element, the sphere, and the channel in and by which God cares for His people according to His riches and in glory. This indicates that even the believers' giving and receiving of material things are intimately related to the experience of Christ.

This verse and the interpretation thereof has been so true to me. God fills my every need according to His riches. 

Though I am serving the Lord full-time, trusting the Lord and living by faith, the Lord has been faithful to meet my every need, and He meets them abundantly according to His riches. This is His blessing. Besides, He also provides in abundance also for the need of my dear ones, even my family members, my blood relation. 

It was few months ago when my sister got married, and as her elder brother, trusting the Lord, I took the responsibility of bearing the main expenses for the wedding held in Delhi with the help of the church brothers. Though the church wanted to bear the burden, I did not feel too peaceful without any participation from my side. I took the matter before the Lord and fellowship with Him and also with my wife, then we decided to bear all the expenses. As the church itself has many other needs to take care, my conscience simply did not give me peace to let the church bear this burden. Of course they paid for it initially, but my inner man told me again and again that I should pay them all back, either by installment or at one go. 

One particular day I was so convicted that I should pay off all the amount due without any hidden expectation from the church to bear the need. I was encouraged to take care of this matter righteously, and I did so though some saving we have in the bank. The Lord even gave me a dateline to clear this off. I wrote to the brothers thanking them for their love, care, and concern, and paid back all the expenses. As I did so, I was so filled with peace and joy. The Lord blessed the wedding meeting, the marriage testimony in the church in New Delhi, and also He blessed us with His riches to be able to bear all the expenses. 

At my home in Manipur too, for all the relatives another meeting was arranged at my village. Even for that meeting, the main burden I had to bear though many relatives have come forward to participate in the need. My dad, elder sister, and my younger brother labored a lot for this and spent whatever they had. As an elder brother I deemed it right and righteous to participate too. And in sweet family fellowship, my wife and I agreed to bear major chunk of the financial need. Even in this, the Lord graced us to meet all the need and in doing so, my conscience was very clear and was filled with peace and joy.  

My younger brother was going through some hard times due to the birth of his twin sons and business not going too well. In fellowship I promised to help him as a brother and also as my participation towards the family as I hardly could be with them nor support them regularly which generally an elder brother would have done. Due to my service, all family responsibility, I, kind of, handed it over to my younger brother who has also been with mom and dad. At least, I deem it right to meet their financial need now and then. Again, after much prayer and fellowship, in agreement with my wife, we helped the family by transferring a sum that I asked my brother to give me. It was really a blessing to be able to help the ones in need again. 

The Lord also has been speaking to me about His riches and blessings that meets every need, and not merely according to our need to bu much more according to His riches. This verse by Paul has been so subjective to me these days. I even charged the same burden to the family that I visited. 

My God meets your every need according to His riches!

Tell Him

In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

In this world of toils and trials, we are faced with many different circumstances. Amidst it's cares and concerns we are helpless without the Lord. Many times we run from pillar to post to chalk things out only to find oneself in deepened trouble. Man-made wisdom only brings in man-made disaster. The more one tries to solve a problem, the more complicated it gets. Godless men are doomed to suffer bitterly, and the same fate goes with believers who do not put their trust in the Lord. 

Thank God, I have a God on whom to trust and tell Him of all that I am going through. When troubles and sorrows meeting, when trials and snares crossing, I can always go to my God, and and tell Him of all that I am going through. He is ever ready to listen to my heart's cry in prayer and petition, and much more to grant His peace. 

This telling of the Lord of all my heart's burden has many definite blessings. Even the Bible says, "In nothing be anxious." So should I not trust the Lord's word? It would be a folly not to. Thank God, I can indeed trust Him and tell Him of all my cares and concerns. This draws me closer in fellowship with Him, even in oneness. The more the better, and the sweeter it becomes of this fellowship. 

This fellowship of need also leads me to spend time with Him in prayer. I believe the Lord often does things to draw our attention. Else we would be too busy in our world of no- time-for-God. So, He is sovereignly wise to cause us to turn to Him. This strengthens my prayer life too. Though I pray daily, often I need more specific and intense intercessory prayer. Such things are common when there are spiritual storms around. Thank God who allows such a "storm" to me sometimes, though it might be a mere storm in a tea cup to Him, so that I can come to Him to tell Him yet again of all my heart. 

This frequent turning to Lord again and again also leads me to have intimate fellowship with the Lord. God is not merely to pray all our prayers to. He is much for a sweet and intimate fellowship with us. Often, we are too religious to be intimate with Him, so He finds a way out for us to spend intimate time with Him. 

Telling Him of all our concerns strengthens our prayer life, our fellowship and intimacy level, and the best beneficiary in the ordeal is me, because I tell Him of all that is in me. 

This is the Lord's speaking these days, in our group meetings and fellowships; these verses we pray-read and we fellowshipped this burden in our group meeting last week. And I am already falling in love with these Bible verses. The Lord gave a timely word in the meeting. Tell Him...

"In everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

NBC Chennai 2017

To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, Philippians 3:10

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Note on "know" from the Recovery Version: Paul lived in a condition of having not his own righteousness but the righteousness that is out of God, in order to know (to experience) Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. In v. 8 to have the excellency of the knowledge of Christ is by revelation. But to know Him here is by experience — to have the experiential knowledge of Him, to experience Him in the full knowledge of Him. Paul first received the revelation of Christ, then sought the experience of Christ — to know and enjoy Christ in an experiential way.

It was on my journey in the train from Delhi to Chennai last week when this verse touched me so much. I pray-read over and over again this verse, and prayed that the Lord would grace me to know Him in a very subjective way. My deep burden was to know the Lord as I ought to, and as God would desire me to know Him. And my prayer and burden in attending the National Blending Conference in Chennai with my whole family was the same too, to know Christ and experience Him thus.

Amazingly the subject of the blending was "Know Life and the Church." It was a perfect plan for me to pray to know Christ, and the Lord answered it in the conference with many brothers, who in one accord, ministered the word on this subject. The Lord's speaking was very timely and spirit-filled as the whole Body had been praying for this blending. The churches in India have been blessed and graced by the Lord to come to a stature that manifests the growth in life and building up among the saints and the churches. This is amazing! 

The coordination in the Body was so marvelous, with all service team carrying out their responsibilities faithfully; from transportation to accommodation to meeting to ministry of the word to different kinds of meetings to food, all were wonderfully coordinated. Herein is a testimony of the Lord's blessing in India. I have been through all the national level blendings in India so far, this blending has manifested much maturity. Praise the Lord!

Personally, the Lord also answered my prayer and deep desire, to know Him by knowing life and the church, not doctrine alone but also in experience and in reality. Praise the Lord!

When India had her first national blending, that too in Chennai, I was a trainee then in 2004. For many new ones it was a crucial turning point in their Christian lives; coming into the church-life. Thirteen years after, many of us, those "new ones" then are now functioning in many crucial services in the Lord's move in His recovery today. Looking back, it was purely and truly the Lord's mercy who have been leading us and shepherding us thus far. Majority of the "new ones" I knew then are now maturing and functioning today. Praise the Lord for his mercy!

Lord, continue to bless Your testimony and Your move in India! Bring all of us to know Christ as life and the church as our living! India for Christ and the Church!

Chennai Family Visit

After the National Blending in Chennai last week, as a family, we visited an Uncle and an Aunty who were my guardians when I was a student At MCC in 2000-2003. This was my first visit as a family. Though they are aged, they are still young in spirit and welcomed us with the same love and care as when I was a student then. Our fellowship began with their daughter and son-in-law, who used to serve the Lord in Shillong, when I was studying for my graduation. Since then we have a very wonderful relationship in the Lord. Whenever I pass through or visited Chennai I would do my best to visit them. They reckon me as their own son in the Lord and I deem it so spiritually too. Though their daughter had gone to be with the Lord, the bridge that she established between us is still going strong. With the same love and care they have for me, I too want to reciprocate in the best way I can. Perhaps, by introducing the ministry to them, and the saints as well. What I have done so far is, introducing the ministry literature. If it be of the Lord, I pray that they also be brought into the church life and be blended and builded in the Body.

Besides this visit, as a family, we had a day visit to a theme park mostly for the sake of my children. This was the park I visited twenty years ago when I came to Chennai for the first time for students' retreat. That time I was one of the enjoyers of the theme park, but this time with three children, I was the ward of the enjoyers, my children. Now, my desire and interest are related to my family, especially my children. 

As a family, we also visited the family of my teacher when in college who was instrumental in introducing me to the church life. Ever since I began my fellowship with him, my teacher then and my brother now, our relationship in the Lord has been steadfast. Though we may not share the same vision exactly, still as a brother, I always did my best to visit whenever opportunity arises. This time my visit was purely a brotherly-family visit. We enjoyed dinner together with my children getting to eat their favorite south Indian specialty: Dosa, Puri, and half-fried egg,"bull's eye."

My travel this time was more of family oriented. Though I travel often for the ministry of the word distribution purpose, this time I was reminded to pay more attention to my family. My wife has been reminding me to bond with my children more, as much as possible, as I hardly get time to really bond and blend with them. This was one of the opportunity to bond as a family in our visit to Chennai.

Praise the Lord for all these families whom the Lord has prepared to shepherd me then, and now I can fellowship with them as Christian brothers in the family of God. As a family, our prayer for them follows too. 

May the Lord grace them good health and long life to continue to serve the Lord by serving the saints, especially students.

Learn Christ

This is the phrase that I learned some twenty years ago. My understanding of this phrase has grown so much through all these years; not merely in doctrine, but much more in life and experience. This two words together means a lot. It eccompases the entire Bible in truth, and perhaps, our entire human life-span, in life. There are so much truth and revelation in this power-pack phrase, "Learn Christ!" The ministry has helped me understand this phrase in a very specific and practical way.

But you did not so learn Christ, Ephesians 4:20

This is the living needed in the daily life of a Christian: Learn Christ. 

Note from the Recovery Version on "learn Christ":Christ is not only life to us but also an example (John 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:21). In His life on earth He set up a pattern, as revealed in the Gospels. Then He was crucified and resurrected to become the life-giving Spirit that He might enter into us to be our life. We learn from Him (Matt. 11:29) according to His example, not by our natural life but by Him as our life in resurrection. To learn Christ is simply to be molded into the pattern of Christ, that is, to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

The Bible also narrated the detail of learning Christ in our daily living in many aspects. This time in my personal study of this portion of the word, I was enlightened to see the humanity that is needed for living Christ. It entails many practical things that are very human, not the natural humanity but the humanity of Jesus. 

In Ephesians 4 and 5, there are practical ways of learning Christ; walking worthily of the calling with which we are called, lowliness and meekness, long-suffering, bearing one another in love, being diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace, the reality is in Jesus(the reality of learning to live Christ is in Jesus Himself), renewed in the spirit of your mind(a very practical way of learning Christ), put on the new man(to live by the life of Christ), speak truth each one with his neighbor, working with his own hands in that which is respectable, no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but only that which is good for building up that it may give grace to those who hear, kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ also forgave you, walk in love, walk as children of light, redeeming the time, understand the will of the Lord, be filled in spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father, being subject to one another in the fear of Christ....Many of these virtues can be lived out only in the life of Christ, by being Jesusly human. This is indeed to learn Christ. And I am learning them one by one.

Even as the Lord spoke this portion of the Bible subjectively to me today, coincidentally, the morning revival portion that I am enjoying today is on the same line of thought too. Learning Christ to live Christ by putting the body to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus may be lived out in the our mortal flesh.

Always bearing about in the body the putting to death of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor. 4:10-11 

For the testimony of Jesus we need the highest human life, a life lived out according to the divine life given to us by God. By the divine life we need to have a human life that reaches the highest standard. In our living we should be “Jesusly human.” We should aspire to have a glorious testimony of the Christ in whom we believe and whom we serve and honor. Then we shall be a shining, golden lampstand. This is our declaration concerning human living. (Life-study of Titus, p. 29)

These are on the truth side of learning Christ from the Bible and also from the ministry portion. Now the experience of learning Christ is being carried out day by day; these days, it has been more intensified. Not by outward imitation of Christ, but by exercising our spirit and turning to our spirit. To learn Christ, we must love Christ; as we love Christ, we will learn Christ and the issue will be to live Christ. So love Christ, learn Christ, and live Christ. In fact, this was the statement I wrote on the book of a classmate sitting next to me in a classroom on the first day of my MCA class at MCC, Chennai, in 2000. The result of this statement I wrote was that he became my friend, brother, prayer partner and a brother in the church-life today. Learn Christ!

Blossom and Blossom

The wilderness and the desert will be glad; And the desert will exult and blossom like the rose. It will blossom and blossom, And even exult with exultation and a ringing shout. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of Jehovah, the splendor of our God. Isaiah 35:1, 2. 

As I was enjoying the reading of the word of God, the verses in Isaiah 35 became very living to me. Personally, it was and still is, the Lord's speaking for the day and the days to come. These days, things seems to be dry; the spiritual atmosphere as I perceive in the locality where I am is like a dry desert. The last few days, in all my prayers, be it personal or corporate, my burden has always been to pray for the saints and the church in Gurgaon; many times, naming the saints one by one. The is the best thing I could do for the church at the moment. At times I am discouraged at the spiritual condition of the the saints including myself, and yet other times I am very encouraged that the Lord has given many good fruits, good materials for His testimony. The need for improvement is the regular corporate meeting, blending and building up of these saints. Perhaps, this is the spiritual background from which the Lord spoke this today.

"The wilderness and the desert will be glad; And the desert will exult and blossom like the rose. It will blossom and blossom."

I take God at His word. My words may be unfaithful, but His is always faithful. My wilderness and desert will be glad; gladness or joy is the fruit of the Spirit. Come what may, the enemy may try as much as he could, the ultimate result of the Lord's shepherding will be "gladness" despite all the attempts of the enemy. The spiritually barren land that I am in, will exult and blossom! There is a time for everything; time to sow and time to reap. As I and the saints are in the garden of God in the church here, and as we have been watered by the ministry of the word, the Lord will definitely cause the plants to grow and blossom. This is the promise the Lord has promised me. All our prayer and labor will one day bear forth fruits; even abundant fruits. It will first blossom and blossom followed by fruits and more fruits. 

As a brother my simple responsibility is to "Strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the shaking knees." v3. I may have been seeing weaknesses all around; nonetheless, I must not condemn the weak vessels, but strengthen them. 

35:4 Say to those who are of anxious heart, Be strong; fear not; And there are many shaking knees too. 

To the weak ones, a word of encouragement as well. Shepherding and prayer is all that I can do at the moment. Likewise, I visited and called many of these new ones for shepherding and prayer. AFter a few weeks of travelling when I contacted the new ones under my care, they all are going on in life and in the Lord. The Lord has been preserving and shepherding them too. O how my heart yearns for their growth in life and their enjoyment of the Lord, and that they can bear the Lord's testimony! The promised result would then be:

35:5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped;35:6 Then the lame will leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb will give a ringing shout; for water will break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.35:7 And the desert mirage will become a pool, and the thirsty ground, springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, their resting place, there will be grass with reeds and rushes.

These are the words of the Lord; so encouraging! As the church corporately, and personally too, the Lord has promised, so we will blossom and blossom! Lord, hasten that day!