Shepherding Sheep

Not to boast, but declaring the fact, that my spiritual son, a brother in the Lord, to whom I preached the gospel of Jesus Christ and baptised over a dozen years ago has been established as a family man: he got a managerial job, married a doctor sister, and now expecting to become a father. It was a joy indeed to meet him again, this time the first time meeting after his marriage. We were joyful and thrilled. 

For hours I fellowshipped with him about what the Lord has been gracing and blessing me in the service of the Lord, that too, I testified at his request as an encouraging shepherding. They invited me for dinner and we enjoyed a lovely meal together. 

As the Lord led, I ministered God's economy as revealed in Ephesians 1:4-5 linking with other relevant verses and the need to be consecrated as a burnt offering to live a Christian life for the church life. I also showed them the way of the church life and their need for such, I even encouraged them to start a home meeting in their home besides attending the Lord’s Table Meeting and other meetings of the church. They both agreed readily and decided that they would, from this coming week. May the Lord grace them to leave the fold and enter into the flock of God. 

The visit, to my assessment is a visit for shepherding and recovery. Many hidden and unknown feelings before the meeting were all removed and resolved in just one meeting. I value and treasure the worth of a simple brotherly shepherding visit. This is how the Lord visits His chosen ones, including my self. 

Face to face visit can never be replaced by whatever latest technology the world offers today. I did try many a times using phone calls, texting and messaging, and email, but nothing is as effective as a face to face meeting. As far as practicality allows, shepherding by home visit is the best. 

This reminds me of the feeling of a father and mother in raising their children to successful career and manhood. So much the more, in spiritual matter too. What a joy indeed to see our sheep grow and be preserved in and among the flock of God!

This reminds me of the Lord’s heart for His sheep, and His charge to the disciple in the matter of shearling if there is indeed a genuine love for the Lord. 

Love, I love You, and I love Your sheep. Make me a good Shepherd like You. 

John 21:15-17

Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep. 

Surprise Meet

Formally, with an invitation card, and informally, with word of mouth, I was invited to attend a wedding meeting of a brother's daughter. I have been maintaining a good relationship in Christ with this family since I first knew them when I was a student, the father of the family was my teacher. Our teacher-student relationship gradually developed into a brother in Christ. I did grace the wedding meeting with my presence and prayed that they both would grow up to love the Lord for the Lord's testimony. 

What surprised me was the meeting with a group of teachers who were my teachers more than a decade and half ago, and a class mate too. We were all surprised! To me it was all for good, and it rejuvenated my relationship with my ex-teachers afresh. I only wish that I can freely address them as brothers and sisters as freely as I do so with the teacher whose daughter's wedding turned out to be our surprise meet. 

The photoshots we took were later posted on our classmate WhatsApp group, again to the suprise of all. These are the group of people I used to pray for, and I was reminded again to continue to pray for the welfare of all; the saved ones for growth and maturity, and the unsaved ones for their salvation. 

That college in that department of Computer Science at that year was perfectly timed for me by the God of heavens. It was there that I was shepherded into the way of the Lord, into the church life, and into the way of serving the Lord full time. To meet again, and be reminisced of those golden days was indeed a pleasant surprise.  

God bless all my teachers and all my classmates then, and may they now be, as my prayer has been, my brothers and sisters in the Lord. I only wish and pray that all be saved before it's too late. 

Awaiting another surprise meet in eternity... 

The Way

Matthew 22:16And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that You are true and that You teach the way of God in truth and do not fear anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  

John 14:6Jesus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me. 

Acts 9:2And asked for letters from him to Damascus for the synagogues, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 

Jesus taught the way of God, He Himself is the way, and the believers followed Him in the way. The way is the way ordained by God. Many have believed into the Lord for many years, but how many have followed Him in the way? If all did and does, the Body of Christ would have been builded up by now. Since the case at present is not, the way has not be followed as it should. Therefore, the need for Christians to take the way of God, and the way of the Lord. 

The way is definitely the way of feeding, eating and drinking the Lord every day; being renewed and revived every morning; preaching the gospel and saving sinners; shepherding the new ones for growth unto maturity; and perfecting the saints for the building up of the Body of Christ. This truth is doctrinally known to many, but is it a reality to all as well? The current state of the believers proves otherwise. Therefore, there is an urgent need for some to diligently and faithfully take this way. And I must be one of such. Lord, have mercy on me. 

Besides all these practices, there are some minute and finite adjustments in the way we carry out our shepherding and prophesying meetings week by week. A brother helped us to see that many times because of our improper and immature practices, the functions of the saints and new ones are limited, if not, annulled. To rectify such "malpractices" we must take the new way. The new way, in this context, is a practice in which all saints, especially, the serving ones exercise in having a home meeting within fifteen minutes, and prophesying within three minutes. All speaking or shepherding must be well prepared, in spirit, to the point. We did have some testings and and exercises and were all exposed in our old way of taking the new way. We must take the new way in the new way. For such there is a need for a concrete, definite, and absolute consecration-an upper room consecration. 

An upper room consecration comes with a costly price. Contextually, it is a risking of one's life for the heavenly vision, of cutting natural connection with relatives and friends who may not be on the way, of dropping the old way to take the new way for the building up of the Body of Christ. 

This is the timely speaking of the Lord. I and the brothers coordinating in the church must learn to take this new way. Perhaps, for this reason, the Lord sovereignly withholds the blessings? May we all learn our lessons well. 

Lord, grace us to take this new way for You and for Your Body's sake.

Anointing: Instant and Constant

Matthew 7:11If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in the heavens give good things to those who ask Him! 

The good things here refers to the Holy Spirit. Our Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. 

It was on this line that I shared the need for asking in prayer the Holy Spirit for everything in our lives. Be it for personal family matters, for church life, for service life, or for any matter, the filling of the Holy Spirit as the anointing in our lives is definitely needed. I also mentioned about how we prayed for hours altogether to experience such anointing with testimony in our literature service. 

An elderly and matured brother picked the matter up and elaborated further the need for constant anointing besides the instant anointing as I mentioned in my sharing in a Lord’s day meeting last week at Chennai. All the saints who were present at the meeting were all supplied too, as the ambience of the meeting under such speaking was full of light and life-supply, followed by the sharing as an echo to the brother's speaking. 

Yes, we must take care of the Holy Spirit very much in everything that we do. In fact, we should not do anything without the anointing. By prayer and honoring the word of God, we definitely will be filled with the Spirit and be anointed. All these are good, but we have to go further and deeper beyond the instant anointing to the constant anointing in our Christian life and church life. 

Reserved anointing is constant anointing. For this, the Lord has to work on us for a long period of time. We have to live under the cross of Christ daily. Christ was crucified at the cross for six hours for the accomplishment of redemption, and but he lived all His life under the cross, carrying His cross. When our lives are such a living under the cross of Christ, the Lord will give us a measure of reserved anointing. Not just for now or today, but even more for over a long period of time. It takes time for the Lord to work on us, for the reserved anointing to become real experientially and continually. The cross has to work on us all our lives for the reserved anointing. The Lord's work on us is quite personal and He will do it faithfully until He breaks through in us. For instance, a marriage life is for God to work Christ into us. All circumstances are meant to work Christ into us. For such, we must learn Christ and gain Christ in every opportunity given to us. 

Ephesians 5:16-17Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 

To redeem the time is to know the will of the Lord, the will of the Lord is work Christ into our being for which God caused all things to work together for good, so that we would be conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God. 

Romans 8:28-29And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers; 

A good testimony is that of brother Watchman Nee himself. After six years of excommunication, he said his experience in those years was Romans 8:28, "all things work together for good." The discipline of the Holy Spirit is what we have to experience. The result of such will be the working of Christ into us to be conformed to His image, and be filled with His anointing.

What we do should be the outflow of what we are. Therefore, we will be constituted with the divine life for the outflow of life. 

This further brings us to our usefulness to God. How rich we are to the Lord will determine how useful we are to the Lord. How rich we are will be determined by how much anointing we have. Then how do we gain the anointing? By the experience of the cross and gaining Christ; this must be our daily experience. We must make use of every opportunity the Lord allows in our lives for us to gain Christ. This is to redeem the time. 

The conclusion of the matter is: Redeem the time by gaining Christ in every opportunity to be constituted with the Holy Spirit as the anointing within us constantly and instantly and be useful vessel to the Lord. 

O Jerusalem!

The day was December 6, 2017. I just enjoyed the Lord's speaking in a full time serving ones training held at Chennai, and I was about to rest for the day when I saw a pop-up news on my smartphone that Mr. Donald Trump, the President of the United States of America is set to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. I was so happy within. Later, a brother came to me to inform me of the same. Since Indian timezone is different from that of US by about half a day, the confirmation could happen only the next day as in IST. As I slept, the thought and feeling within me was a pleasant one. I feel blessed to live in the time where Bible prophecies are literally being fulfilled, one by one. 

The next day, when the confirmation came that Jerusalem indeed has been declared as the capital of Israel, few thoughts came buzzing within. About a year ago, my innate inclination toward the elected President was based on this one key: the campaign promised to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Among other factors, this one key factor stands out in support for the contending candidate. Biblical views in line with the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose will always find my support and allegiance to it. Though I am apolitical in my stand, I incline towards those whom I consider God, who is on the throne, has sovereignly appointed. What a glad tiding to me this sounds!

This is not about who loses and who gains, when it comes to the fulfillment of God's Word, God's sovereignty is supreme. 

Romans 9:14-16What then shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with God? Absolutely not! For to Moses He says, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 

What God had promised, this He has fulfilled. 

The aftermath of such is foreknown. But God is in control. As such, our responsibility is to pray. 

Psalms 122:6-9Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Those who love you will prosper. Peace be within your bulwarks, And prosperity within your citadels. For my brothers’ and companions’ sake I will now say, Peace be within you. For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God I will seek your good.  

The following days, there has been circulation of messages on the hot topic as breaking news to the entire world. Two such messages are worth mentioning. Authors unknown, I am not the author, and I just "copy and paste" as relevant posts to the subject concerned. 

God bless Israel! God bless America!  

Two "copy-paste" messages:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Response to President Donald Trump's Statement: This is a historic day.

Jerusalem had been the capital of the Jewish people for more than a millennium (1000 BC - AD 70). In Jeremiah 29:10, thus says the Holy Bible (NIV): This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.

Israel became a Nation on May 14, 1948. And its city Jerusalem got recognition as capital on Dec. 6, 2017.

If we calculate the number of days of all these past years in b/w we will get a figure of 25,408 days.

The Jewish calendar, according to Bible, has 360 days/year

(12 X 30 = 360).

If we calculate the total number of days (25,408) by the days of a year (360) we will get the number of total years as 70, i.e., seventy in God's calendar  (25,408÷360 = 70.555).

This prophecy (Jeremiah 29:10) fulfilled in 536 BC and has fulfilled in our days again by God towards Jerusalem. After exact seventy years of its birth as a Nation, it's officially recognized as Israel's Capital. This is called dual fulfillment. That means same prophecy has been fulfilled two times in their respective generations (in 536 BC and AD 2017). How awesome are your deeds, oh God! Who can understand them?

Hence, I think all these prophetical fulfillments are eye openers for any Gentile (i.e., non-Israelite, non-Christian), nominal Christian and unbeliever to understand that Holy Bible is real and it's God is real Who has prophesied everything before in the Bible. And it is also real that Jesus Christ is coming soon. 

Untill December 6, 2017 Jerusalem had not become the capital of Israel. Hence, the Jews could not take full control of Jerusalem to build their Temple. The Bible clearly tells us that before Jesus Christ's Second Coming there will be a Jewish temple in Jerusalem and its control will fall into the hands of Antichrist, a world ruler. Let us take note that in order for a Temple to be built in Jerusalem, the Jews must have full control over Jerusalem and It must become their center of power. This is why the city has got its due recognition on December 6, 2017.

*******************

Read this speech from the prime minister of Israel..... Benjamin Netanyahu, with all Glory to God.

Mr. Nethanyahu said:

Only 70 years ago! The Jews were taken to the slaughter like sheep. 

60 years ago! We had no country. No Army.

Seven Arab countries declared war on our small Jewish state, just a few hours after its creation!

We were only 650 Jews, against the rest of the Arab world! NO IDF (Israel Defense Army).

No powerful Air Force, only brave people with nowhere to go.

Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Saudi Arabia all attacked us at the same time.

The country that the United Nations gave us was 65 % desert. The country was out of nowhere!

35 years ago! We fought the three most powerful armies in the middle east, and we swept them... yes... in six days.

We fought against various coalitions of Arab countries, which had the modern armies and many Soviet weapons, and we had always beaten them!

Today we have:

*A country*

*An army*

*A powerful air force*

*A State-of-the-Art economy which exports millions of dollars*

*Intel - Microsoft - IBM develops products at home*

*Our doctors receive awards for medical research*

We make the desert bloom, and sell oranges, flowers and vegetables all over the world.

Israel has sent its own satellites into space!

Three satellites at the same time!

We are proud to be at the same rank as: The United States, which has 250 million inhabitants,

Russia, which has 200 million inhabitants

China, which has 1.3 billion inhabitants

Europe - France, Great Britain, Germany - with 350 million inhabitants..

The only countries in the world to send objects into space! Israel is now part of the family of the nuclear powers, with the United States, Russia, China, India, France, and Great Britain.

We have never officially admitted it, (but everyone knows it) and say that only 60 years ago, we were led, ashamed and hopeless, to slaughter!

We have extirpés the smoking ruins of Europe, we have won our wars here with less than nothing. We built our little "Empire" from nothing.

Who's Hamas to scare me? To terrify me? You make me laugh! 

Passover was celebrated; Let's not forget what this is about.

>We survived Pharaoh.

>We survived the Greeks.

>We survived the Romans.

>We survived the inquisition in Spain.

>We have the pogroms in Russia.

>We survived Hitler.

>We survived the Germans.

>We survived the Holocaust.

>We survived the armies of seven Arab countries.

>We survived Saddam.

>We will continue to survive the enemies present today too.

Think of any time in human history! Think about it, for us, the Jewish people, the situation has never been better! Then let's face the world.

Let us remember: All nations or cultures who once tried to destroy us, no longer exist today - while we still live!

Egypt?

The Greeks?

Alexander of Macedonia?

The Romans? (does anyone still speak Latin these days? )

The Third Reich?

And look at us,

>The Bible Nation.

>The slaves of Egypt.

>We are still here.

And we speak the same language! then, and now! Arabs don't know yet, but they will learn that there is a God ....as long as we keep our identity, we are forever.

So forgive us for not worrying.

>Not to cry.

>Not to be afraid.

>Things are fine here.

>They could certainly get better.

However: Don't believe the media, they don't tell you  that parties continue to take place, people continue to live, people keep coming out, people continue to see friends.

Yes, our morale is low. So what? Only because we mourn our deaths, while others rejoice in the blood shed. That is why we will win, in the end.

He never sleeps or will ever sleep.... the guardian of Israel.... Yahweh God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Share on your walls and with all of your friends....

Skilled Scholarly Scribe

Nehemiah 8:8And they read in the book, in the law of God, interpreting and giving the sense, so that they understood the reading.

Generally, I do not care too much for the natural man's birthday, and not mine own nor my family members. But for the sake of humanity and as the Spirit inspires, I do post some birthday wishes. Today morning as I was enjoying the word of God for my need to be skilled scholarly scribe, the Lord reminded me of my younger sister's birthday. On praying for her, the best wish and prayer I could offer is for her to be a skilled scholarly scribe in the word of God, as she and her husband themselves are real academic scholars. 

Spiritually, there is a great need for such a scholarly scribe, constituted and skilled in the word of God. The age we live in today has been indoctrinated with different teachings, wrong teachings, incomplete teachings, improper teachings, unhealthy teachings, and even no teachings at all. Many children of God have grown up with almost little or no healthy teaching of the word of God. Immense knowledge on secular and academic field have been imparted, even humongous amount have been spent for secular education, but what about spiritual education? No wonder, the state of Christianity is what is seen today; a deadly deficiency in spiritual vitamins! Christians are starving for healthy spiritual food, if not, dying for the lack of it. Therefore, the need for the recovery of the children of God by education through skilled scholarly scribe. 

This burden is on par with what God had done with the Israelites when they returned from Babylon to Jerusalem; the reconstitution work is carried out by Ezra, a priestly scribe, skilled in the word of God. 

Therefore, I sent a prayer and wish to NY sister the following:

God’s intention with us (today's Israel) is to have on earth a divinely constituted people to be His testimony. Because of the degradation of today's Christianity, we have been contaminated with various different teachings and practices. Therefore, there is an urgent need for today's Ezra, a priest who serves God, and also a scribe, and a scholar, and who is skilled in the Word of God.  

Wishing and praying for you and your husband to be such Skilled Scholarly Scribes for the Lord's testimony.  

Blessed Birthday!

Lord, grace us and train us to be Your skilled Scholarly scribes.  

Crucial Crisis

Only God is sovereign over all; at times things happen and I have to gradually accept the fact and live along with it. At times, but in fact, things happened beyond human understanding and only God knows why. The mystery lingers on until in His time He revealed it to me what it really means to Him and to me. Such was the case when one night I received a surprise bulk messages from a brother concerning my cousin brother who had been in the training. Immediately I sensed something had gone wrong, or that a serious decision was about to be taken. Though I slept peacefully as usual some reckoning within me about a possible decision was perceived. The next day I received two urgent phone calls: one from my wife, and the other from my coordinator brother in the church, about a strict decision taken to discontinue the said brother from the training. Was it a shock or a surprise, or a shocking surprise? Well, the Lord is sovereign. I reckon it as all good for our perfecting. Sometimes, life lessons are learnt the hard way round. 

Since then, in the midst of the ministry of the word literature journey I had been carrying out, I would pray and consider how to handle this matter as I definitely have to fellowship once I get back home. Every time I tried to come up with some decisions, the Lord shut me up and reminded me with my own words, "Do not do anything without prayer until you are clear it is from the Lord." Therefore, I was saved from my presumptuous thoughts and natural decisions. Only yesterday, when the ministry journey for this time ended, a faint light began to dawn on me, though still not clear. And this morning as I was waiting to board a flight back to Delhi from Kangra, while I was reading my daily portion of the Bible at the Airport's waiting lounge, the Lord’s spoke to me and He made all things clear. 

Ezekiel 34:16I will seek the lost one and bring back the one that was driven away and bind up the broken one and strengthen the sick one; but the fat one and the strong one I will destroy — I will feed them with judgment. 

"Bring back the one that was driven away and bind up the broken one and strengthen the sick one;" the Lord's speaking was loud and clear. Now I know how to deal with this case. Besides, the Lord also promised that if I shepherd the sheep properly, the Lord will shower His blessings. 

Ezekiel 34:26-27And I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing, and I will cause the showers to come down in their season; there will be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure in their land; then they will know that I am Jehovah, when I break the bars of their yoke and deliver them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 

Not only did the Lord showed me how to deal with persons, matters, and things, but He also promised showers of blessings if I would obey His speaking and follow His leading. 

Praise the Lord, my God is a living and speaking God! Even critical crisis is a crucial class for real life lesson learning and perfecting. Thank God for the training, the brothers who faithfully made decision in the training, my wife, my brother in the church coordination, and the faithful God who speaks His timely words. All things indeed works together for good. 

Romans 8:28And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.