Bengali Translator

A brother has been serving as a Bengali translator for over a year now after he moved to a Bengali speaking city. He has been translating the ministry books at his own pace as he also has a strong burden for evangelism. Though the translation work is being carried out, the progress is slow.

This time on my way back from Guwahati to Delhi, I took a flight that stopped by at Kolkatta. I had three hours layover; time good enough to fellowship with this brother.

The Lord led me to fellowship with him three important things:

Constitution 

As a brother serving the Lord, there is a great and urgent need for truth constitution. Service is and must be the issue of our constitution. If we are constituted with Christ as the word of God, what we serve will also be Christ as the word of God. Otherwise, there will be a great shortage and even a loss in our service. We are not called by the Lord to do merely a human work; here we are to serve the living God. We cannot serve the living God without the living word of God. Now that the ministry of the word is amply available, they must be pursued daily; study and get constituted to the extent of being able to flow out Christ as rivers of living water. For this, I also encouraged him to use daily HWMR as nourishment from the word in line with the ministry of the age. I also offered him to join us on our weekdays morning prayer and life-study pursuit. I have released my burden to help him, the choice is his.

Translation Service

I encouraged him and even charged him strongly to give at least four hours a day for the translations service. He must maintain a strict schedule and make a goal in his service, without which nothing much will be accomplished. I gave him a dateline for translating four books before the end of 2020. The books are- The All-inclusive Christ, The Economy of God, The Knowledge of Life, and The Glorious Church. Now, the onus is on him. I hope that he will receive the burden, take it seriously, and accomplish the work in time.

Fellowship in and Oneness with the Body of Christ

I also fellowship with him the importance of fellowship in the Body with a  warning on the danger of being independent from the Body. His attitude towards the brothers, the ministry, and the Lord's move, in general, must be proper. There should never ever be a negative speaking of any brother or about the ministry. He must exercise his spirit to enjoy the Lord and be one with the ministry. I was also very bold in directly telling him not to talk about his family's financial need to anybody except to the Lord. I testified to him how the Lord provided my needs, and encouraged him to trust the Lord and live by faith. The Lord is faithful to meet all his needs.

Above all, I fellowshipped with him not to expect anything for anyone, except the Lord. And that he need not feel upset when brothers did not contact him for propagation in his city as the Lord knows why. I assured him that he is our brother and is very much in our consideration and fellowship as he has been feeling that he had been sidelined for some reason. The Lord knows why and the Lord will fully restore all broken relationships when we are one with Him and also learn to be with the members of the Body of Christ. This fellowship was so sweet and he took it in a very positive way. I thank the Lord for His sovereignty in leading me to fellowship with him. May the Lord fully recover him.

We had a wonderful time together fellowshipping, praying, and enjoying a delicious Bengali fish meal together. That's how I spent my three hours layover at Kolkatta. Still, looking forward tot he day the Lord would raise up his testimony in Kolkata.

May the Lord bless my brother and preserve him fully and purely for His testimony among the Bengali speaking people. 

Assamese Translator

It's been years since I have the burden to gain an Assamese translator to make the ministry of the rod available for the local people of Assam. Prayers have been offered for the same. The Lord heard the prayer of the Body and in His time He manifested the chosen one.

An Assamese brother who got saved from a Hindi-Brahmin background has a very great burden for his own people. He was indeed right when he shared his heart's desire to serve the Lord among his own people. He, being educated, knew the value of Christain literature. It has been his heart's desire to translate good Christian literature into his mother tongue, the Assamese. As I heard him release his burden, face to face, my innate response was, "Brother, the Lord has heard your prayer. That's the reason I am here, to fellowship with you about the practical detail."

Since the time we first spoke over the phone almost a year ago, he showed interest in translation. But, his family went through a tough time. His father became severely ill and later went to be with the Lord. But before that, his father got saved, and also fulfilled his father's desire for him getting married. In an impromptu arrangement, the marriage was fixed and done while his father was still alive. All this process took over a span of a year. Now that everything was done, the Lord released him and led us to meet face to face. The Lord knows the best.

Besides, he also constructed a new house and dedicated two rooms for the Lord's use; one for Bible study, fellowship, and prayer; and the other for his translation office. In fact, when we visited him, we were the first ones to make use of the room he dedicated it to the Lord. We had fellowship and prayer and dedicated the room for the Lord's use.

Since our brother is so seeking for the truth, I was led by the Lord to minister to him the truth concerning Christian life and church life. Using relevant Bible verses, I showed him the vision of the Body of Christ, and the practical expression of the church in a locality as the local church standing on the ground of oneness. I also ministered to him the truth concerning the Lord's recovery using the Bible verses and the church history. I also introduced to him the New Testament, Recovery Version, with translation comparison with other versions and footnotes as a study aid. 

Our fellowship that day lasted for about three hours; the flow of life was so sweet and strong. I felt deep within that the Lord had just accomplished something new and great for His testimony and move in Assam among the local Assamese.  The inward peace and joy, the love and affection, and the sweet oneness we experienced were truly indications of the Lord's hand for His testimony. 

Officially, I have made it clear to him that he would be taken into consideration for full-time translation service in fellowship with my coordinator, which I did later. Though he was the only one I could meet, there is a need for another proofreader, which he said he has. This is another proof of the Lord's leading and blessing for His move.

Lord, bless the literature service in Assamese and bless Your testimony in Assam!

Shepherding in Guwahati

After the distribution of the ministry of the word in Guwahati, I decided in fellowship with the brothers and also my wife to stay back for a few days to participate in the shepherding work of the new believers. The day the distribution was done and I arrived in the city, protest erupted due to the central government's proposal to amend the citizenship law of the country, Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB). Amidst the violent protest by the people, the city was shut down with curfew imposed to avoid violence. Nevertheless, the protest was all around.  Through we exercised caution not to go out during the day, in the evening, we still went out every day, walking past by the protestors who were burning materials to highlight their protests on the main road. In spite of the tense political atmosphere, the Lord shepherded us to shepherd the new ones in their homes.

Every afternoon and evening, as long as I was there, I could go to visit the saints and shepherded them. I enjoyed a wonderful time of shepherding with a brother and a sister who serves there as well. I could see great hope in the city as the Lord has imparted His divine life into at least thirteen families to my count. Perhaps, there were more. During my few days of stay there, I was aware of these thirteen solid seeking families. They are good enough seeds for the strong testimony of the Lord in Guwahati. 

At the moment, the church in Guwahati is going through a lot of situations. I judged them as the enemy's attacks. Since the very beginning, families after families who came to serve here had to face major problems. Mostly the health of the serving ones' families was under attack. The latest ones being a brother and a family who had been serving there for quite some time and the situation seems quite stable. Suddenly we realized that they were severely attacked in their health. One brother had such a serious skin disease that he could not even come out of his bedroom; he had to take bed rest the whole day. That went on and on for months when he finally decided to move out of the city for proper medical treatment. Another brother and his wife were also severely attacked. He and his wife were diagnosed with a severe illness which prompted them to go to Chennai for medical treatment. In this way, the key serving ones were driven out one by one. 

Now, a single brother who has been so much burdened by the Lord is serving there alone. Another single sister whom the Lord burdened came to take care of the new ones for eight months. Her burden is to strengthen and establish the local sisters within eight months and leave for the next destination wherever the Lord would lead her. Another brother who used to serve in the city a decade ago is now freshly burdened to come to this city with his family for at least a year. Now the situation is such that, those who were assigned to serve came and could not continue, but those who received the burden directly from the Lord are volunteering themselves to come and serve in this city.

On the one hand, it is the enemy's attack, yet, on the other hand, it is the Lord's purifying work. Serving the Lord should and must be according to the vision and revelation received from the Lord. And it must be out of burden from the Lord and received by the serving ones directly. With this new arrangmenet, I have great hope that the Lord will continue to strengthen His testimony here in Guwahati.

This city is the gateway to North-East India. It is a crucial city for the Lord's move all over the North East. It is also strategically located to commute to all the other states in the North East.

Lord, bless Your testimony in  Guwahati.

Udalguri: A Blessed Bonus

Udalguri was the first time I ever heard of from two sisters who were visiting their childhood place in Bhutan lodged for the night not far away from Bhutan border. The Lord gave them the discernment and the burden that this city should receive the ministry books. The two sisters reported to me about their visit and strongly suggested that I visit this town and meet the key Christian leader there as there are many Bodo Christians who may need the ministry books. I reckoned the sisters' fellowship as the Lord's speaking and requested them to make necessary arrangements for the literature distribution. In fact, after prayer and fellowship, a schedule to visit the town was made. But due to the fellowship of another brother the plan was rescheduled, considering the time and means to reach this town. The Lord moved through the members of the Body and led us to visit the town.

Though we planned to meet on 9th Dec Monday, we had to prepone the visit to the town on 4th December, Wednesday. The Lord knew why it had to be that day, Wednesday, and not as per our plan on 9th Monday. 

As we visited the town, the key Christian leaders of the Bodo Baptist Church welcomed us. They themselves testified that our visit was very timely on Wednesday as they all could come together only on Wednesdays as they were busy all the other days. Only on Wednesdays, they could spend enough time to fellowship with us, otherwise, it would just be a quicky meeting with just one or two brothers on the other days. The Lord timed everything!

After much warm welcome, we introduce the ministry books one by one. I felt such an anointing within me that I simply let the word of Christ flowed out from within my spirit, using the ministry books. They all were so impressed and enjoyed the ministering of the high peak truths. I personally could only testify that it was not me who spoke; it was indeed the Lord. The ministry of the word flowed forth like rivers of living water with the ministry books as the course for the flow.  On the one hand,  it was an introduction and distribution of the ministry books, yet on the other hand, it was a propagation of the ministry truths. 

The result of this meeting was the open door for the ministry of the word to reach some 120,000 Bodo brothers and sisters. The key brothers placed an order for the entire set of books by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee in addition to the free Rhema booklets that received.

After such a wonderful time together with the brothers, we also prayed together and ate lunch together. They volunteered to drop us to a nearby town of over an hour's journey from where we could catch a bus to Guwahati, our next destination. Without that care, it would not have been easy for us to go to our next destination. The timing, the day, and the place for this meeting was all sovereignly arranged by the Lord.

Lord, bless Your move among our Bodo brothers and sisters! Bless the ministry books to supply them with healthy spiritual food. One day, the seeds sown as the ministry of the word will bear abundant and remaining fruits unto the raising up of His testimony among all the Bodo speaking localities. 

This was a blessed bonus in our ministry literature journey; 

Not planned, yet well planned.

Not expected, yet well accepted.

Tezpur: A Call from a Brother

A brother who invited me to speak the word of God in his wedding meeting a few years ago has now been blessed with a baby girl. His sister is serving as a medical nurse in one of the hospitals in Tezpur. This, therefore, became a base for him to serve the Lord in this city and now he has the burden to raise up the Lord's testimony by 2020. At his invitation, we came to this city for the ministry of the word literature distribution.

One of the significant things was the Lord's leading us in meeting many seeking medical doctors and medical students. While we were fellowshipping with two medical students in a cafe, another medical doctor overheard our ministering and joined us in. After flowing out the words of life to these hungry souls, my heart was deeply for the follow-up shepherding. I encouraged our local brother to pick up the burden to shepherd these seekers. Thereby, we established a weekly home meeting in the campus every Lord's day afternoon. This was very unexpected and unprecedented. It even came as a surprise to our brother. Nevertheless, it was the Lord's doing for His testimony.

Besides, one pastor opened up his situation and his longing for the oneness among the believers in the city. Though he has established his own Christian group, he was going through turmoils within his own group. Divisions after divisions were the history and story of Christianity. His reading of the ministry books gave an inkling about what the Bible says about the church and the standing of the local church on the ground of oneness. He also expressed his burden to study and pursue the ministry books and perhaps, meet with our brother. As a response to his opening, we ministered the truth concerning Christ and the church. I personally hope that he will sincerely and seriously study the word of God and pray that the Lord would lead him and recover him for the Lord's testimony in Tezpur.

Lord, bless your move in Texpur and raise up Your testimony by 2020!

Itanagar: Preparing the Vessels

A brother and his wife who both are professors in a reputed engineering institute in Itanagar gave us enjoyable hospitality during our distribution trip to the city. This brother and I had been to the same full-time training together some sixteen years ago. We both came from the same evangelical background from which the Lord graced us to move forward further for His testimony. We both were called to serve full-time and even consecrated our lives to serve the Lord. Yes, we are still serving the Lord full-time now, as He graces us one, we will do so until His return or until we fall asleep. But the way He carved our paths is different. He led me to serve in a full-time way in the publication work and him as a full-time professor in an institute. But we both are serving the Lord through our respective fields.

Besides enjoying fellowshipping with his family, the Lord opened the door to fellowship with their relatives at different times.

Doctors and Professors  

One evening, we visited their sister to get to know her as it was my first time to meet her. I was informed that she was not open to the ministry at all and even she strongly opposed the brother and sister standing for the Lord's testimony. It was a second "knocking" to see if we could at least fellowship. Initially, she really was not interested to fellowship with us. But as I began to converse with her, I discovered that she had been a class-mate during her medical studies of one of my best school friends. Using that connection, I interacted with her and she became more open. She asked a question on the "Tabernacle" in relation to today's "churches." That gave me the ground to minister the word a length.

Using the Bible references to "tabernacle", I began from God's plan in Genesis 1:26, tracing the history of Israel all the way from Egypt to Canaan, with emphasis on the tabernacle, temple, the Lord Jesus Christ, the believers as the church, the dwelling place of God in spirit. This was to clarify the truth concerning Christ and the church, the Body of Christ. I also recommended two books for her to study, The Normal Christian Church Life, and The Orthodoxy of the Church, both by Watchman Nee and gifted a copy of the latter.

On another night, we visited the same house again and met the husband of the sister. Though he professed to be a believer, the fact was, he became a "baptized believer" to get married to the sister who was a Christian. His faith was shaky and he himself doubted his own salvation. Moreover, he was not serious about his faith either as he has been waiting for the time when he will have the inward urge to really devote himself to God. 

I took his stance as an opportunity to share the gospel by using my own testimony of how I encountered the living God at the age of nineteen while at college. I also expounded the truth concerning salvation using John 3, the life of Nicodemus and emphasized on the need to be born of God in the spirit. Later, another brother continued the sharing by showing him the way to experience the living God by calling upon the name of Jesus using the Bible verse from Romans 10: 8-13.

The couple is doctors and now medical professors as well. To me, the two would be gained by the Lord for His testimony as I view them in faith.

Father and Mother

Though we had no intention to meet the father and mother of our host, we still got to meet them as we drove near their house in a bid to avoid the city traffic while on our way to distribution. With much joy, they welcomed us as the friends of their eldest son. We encouraged them to love the Lord and opened their home for Bible studies and prayer meetings once the construction is over. I believe that the parents' home is prepared by the Lord for His testimony.

Ministry Station and Truth Book Room

Our brother also showed us the plan he has for constructing a library and book room for many seekers to come and receive healthy spiritual food. This he did out of his burden, he designed and built it with his own expenses, all for the Lord's testimony. 

Overall, what I could see clearly is the preparatory works for the Lord's testimony in Arunachal Pradesh. The Lord is preparing and perfecting His building materials, both organic and physical, for His strong testimony. The state, though it has been witnessing thousands of indigenous people turning to Christ, they were mostly influenced by the pentecostal movement of signs and wonders. There is a great need for the supply of the healthy word of God. Only the ministry of the word in the Lord's recovery can meet the need. For this, the Lord has been preparing our brother and sister; saving them, giving them good families, jobs, properties, all for the Lord's testimony. Now, our burden is that the Lord will raise up His lampstand by 2020.

Lord, bless Your move in Arunachal Pradesh, and establish Your testimony in Itanagar! 

Comforting One Another

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who are sleeping, that you would not grieve even as also the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so also those who have fallen asleep through Jesus, God will bring with Him. 

1 Thessalonians 4:18Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The father of a family who has been in contact for a decade had a kidney failure two weeks ago and later succumbed to his bodily weakness. I was traveling for the ministry literature distribution then. Only after I was back to Gurgaon I could visit the family. In fact, today we visited the family still in grief of the lost of their father.

Though we were ready to handle the burial and funeral service of the brother even when I travelled as I was about to I form the brothers for the same. Yet we were not fully given the ground to do so. This family being from a Hindu Brahmin background, they had to go along with the rituals after the death of their father, perhaps, due to family pressure. We had no say in the matter whatsoever. Neither were we consulted nor were we given any ground. Neither was the family regular for any church meeting or did they give us regular time to visit them. It was all left to their discretion and decision.

Nevertheless, as Christian brothers we visited them today and comforted them with the comfort of God. The Bible verses quoted above were read together and we enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship together. Though the pain of losing one's dear ones still gripped the entire family, we comforted them with the word of God and prayed for them.

Besides, we also encouraged them to pay heed to themselves who are still alive and that they need not worry about the one who was already gone. As the living ones, we must love the Lord and pursue the Lord, awaiting His return with the hope of being caught alive as Paul exhorted the Thessalonians.

We also gave them the opportunity to have a regular meeting at their house at their own will and time. Every believer is precious in the Lord’s eyes and we will shepherd the family as long as they are open to the Lord's shepherding.

Perhaps, this is the new beginning in their Christian life for the church life. Though they promised to open their home and start coming for the meeting, we look to the Lord for His shepherding. We trust the Lord will shepherd them to be established in the Christian faith and in the present truth to bear the Lord's testimony together as the church here in Gurugram. 

Lord, gain the whole family fully, reconstitute them for Your testimony.