Dealing with Garbage

Garbages are real garbage indeed that it needs to be disposed of at the earliest. Our kitchen garbage has been disposed of regularly to a nearby garbage dumping bin which basically is meant for the shops in the shopping complex. Since our home is adjacent to the complex we find it easier to dump in the garbage bin there. But of late, we were prohibited to dump any further as that was meant for the shops in the complex. Faced with this prohibition we had to give our garbage to the garbage collector. But to my surprise, the garbage boy was so adamant and would not collect from our home at all for some reason. Perhaps, he wanted some money to be paid? Or, since we never used him for the past years and I had requested him in person but his ego would not stoop down to my request of collecting the garbage in my home? Even after repeated requests he was not willing to budge in and would simply not collect at all even when confronted, reminding him that it was his duty to do so, and he was paid for it in our maintenance bill. Reasoning did not work with him.

For about a week or so we were left in the lurch. Neither could we throw garbage in the garbage bin nor the garbage boy would pick it up. So we had to throw it at a distance garbage dumping area. But that was not the solution. How long could we dispose off our garbage to a distant dumping area? We are the legal resident of the community paying all the fees regularly for the past twelve years. How could I let things just go off? 

I checked with my neighbor and he advised me to lodge a complaint with the customer care. I did that for over a week, calling the customer helpline almost daily. Every time I was promised to solve the issue, yet was never solved. Every time I called I got a formal message stating that my complaint had been registered and would be resolved soon. The same call with the same response had been repeated over and over again. Then I finally decided to take the matter to the maintenance department where I was given a phone number. This phone number was never answered even after repeated calling. Therefore I had to go back to the maintenance department to take them to task. 

Then, I was told to contact another department that handles garbage collection. I went there in person and registered my grievance with the person concerned. He finally promised me that the matter would be solved the same day itself. The same day, a garbage collector came and collected the uncollected gardbage for a couple of days altogether. Then, from the following day, the garbage boy collected the garbage placed near our gate. The proces took over two weeks. Thank God, finally, the issue was resolved.

In this process, I personally, and, we as a family, took the matter before the Lord in prayer. The Lord simply wanted us to trust in Him for all things. Even minute and non-issue like this, which should have been legitimately handled by the community welfare, we need to trust the Lord for it. Perhaps, the Lord wanted us to pray and trust him even for our legitimate rights. In every bit of our lives, we have to trust the Lord. That's what we are being led to.

Thank God for this lesson of trusting the Lord; we find opportunity to trust the Lord in every area of our lives. In dealing with garbages, we need to trust the Lord. Yes, in dealing with life's garbages too, we need to trust the Lord.

An Engagement Meeting

A brother and a sister have been in a relationship for a couple of years now. Though they never thought they would take the relationship further to consummate in marriage yet, they somehow wanted an engagement that was necessary as the brother had to make a commitment to the relationship as he has consecrated his life for two years to be in the full-time training. The training regulation requires that he either cut off any romantic relationship so as not to be distracted from the training or be properly engaged so that his relationship remains a testimony. As the church brothers, we felloowshipped with the couple and the brother's family first. The sisters's family however was not willing to accept the relationship and would not agree to take it further. But the matter was in fellowship and prayed over.

As we approached the sister's famliy again, it was very clear that her parents would not budge in.  Yet they could not give up their relationship either, and still the brother had to go through the full-time training. The only solutuion is to somehow get the consent of the sister's parent. How to do that? 

As I was considering before the Lord, I felt deep within that this matter will go through,provided done in  a proper and humane way. I felt good to bring in a brother and sister from the church in Aizawl to be our spokespersons and talk to the sisters's parent on behalf of the church. Here, humanity is very much invovlved. The Mizos by nature are very socialising people. Especially, when it comes to people of the same Mizo community. So I fellowshipped with the Mizo saints to fellwoship with the sister's parent who are Mizos themselves. Initially, their response was still  negative, and expressede a very strong reaction against it. But we kept the matter in prayer. A week later, I got an information that they changed their minds and were ready for fellowship. I didn't know how that change transpired from an emphatic no to a  sweet yes. I believe, prayer and the fellowship and coordination in the Body. So, last week we set up a Zooom online meeting to hear from them their feeling about the engnagement of their daughter to the brother concerned. They all spoke up in agreement and we all decided for the engagement a week  later.

Today, as the church in Gurugram we conducted an online engagement meeting where I did the hosting and the other saints participated in hymn singing, prayer, sharing the word, etc. In fellowship and prayer, what seemed to be impossible became possible. The Lord works in a miraculous and mysterious ways. Thank God for His sovereingity! We have been praying that all these be for the Lord's testiomony's sake. We have no personal interest except for the interest of the Lord and His testimony.

By the way, this is the first enganement meeting we have in the church. We hope that in the coming days the Lord will also lead us in the marriage meeting of the saints.

The faithful Lord has been leading us through and through.  May the Lord preserve the couple and their families for His testimony!

A Surprise Visit

Yesterday I ended up meeting a family that has been contacted almost fifteen years ago in Gurugram. I had no idea how this family was first contacted, but one thing was sure that they loved the Lord and somehow they came into contact with us. Since they have been very regular to a  pentecostal group under the shepherding of a pastor, we decided not to follow up on them as they are already under a pastor. As long as they love the Lord and are in fellowship, they may go ahead in their way of life unless otherwise, the Lord makes us meet together again. So basically this family has been "given up" for a home visit from my side.

Now and then the husband would call up, but I no longer paid heed to visit this family ever again.  In fact, a brother had left the same group and came into church life. Another family also left the group and their son and daughter are now in the church life. These ones came purely because they loved the Lord and the word of God. We, as the church, simply opened the door and welcomes whoever would like to fellowship with us. No matter what their background may be, as long as they are believers, they are welcome.

The way I ended up meeting the family was significant. I had been considering purchasing a bookshelf for my family. With my children growing up, space for bookkeeping has become a great need. I had been devising in many ways to meet the need. I did online research, visited furniture stores for bookshelves, and finally, I came across an online ad that attracted me. The bookshelf and the price seemed quite attractive. So I called up the phone number of the seller and decided to purchase a metallic glass door bookshelf. But before I went forward to the final order, I decided to see the product with my own eyes and visit the shop. Yesterday the plan was made. 

Interestingly, in the morning I received a missed call from a brother whom I mentioned above. It was a surprise and also a coincidence? Then I called him and find out how he was doing and why he called. He told me he needed the Recovery Version of the Bible. Well then, I thought to myself, this might be the time to visit him. So I told him that I would be visiting a furniture shop in old Gurgram. When I enquired about his house, it was not too far from the shop I was to visit. Them I decided to visit him and he also welcomed me. That's' how we ended up meeting yesterday.

God indeed worked in a miraculous way. I could never give up on people. Even if I did, still the Lord would connect me somehow. So we had a good time of fellowship on "Sonship and the Body of Christ." He was so impressed by the depth of the truth we understand and teach, and also got his new copy of the New Testament Recovery Version.  Our brotherly relationship remains intact. 

May the Lord continue to speak to my brother and show him the vision of Christ and the church. It's up to him and up to the Lord if he ever would take the way of the church life. Much grace to him and his family.

A Week of Sickness

The past week was a new experience for me. I found myself lying on the bed most of the days. I felt fatigued and body ached with slight temperature. I was wondering what had happened to me. There was speculation of being infected by the current pandemic but on further examination, it sounded like a normal cold or viral fever. I did not bother to see the doctor either. I have this funda in my head that my body will feel weak if my supply of energy is weak. So the best was to fight against the weaknesses in my body is to feed my body with healthy food. So instead of spending on doctors' consultation with prescribed medicines, I would rather buy healthy food items and enjoy them. And boost my energy and fight against the germs that attack my body. I must keep strengthening my immune system.

This one week I was mostly lying on the bed, yet I still carried our all the responsibilities I have. Official duty is carried out by replying mails, and all other church shepherding activities happened through my phone while still on the bed. I cannot shrug off my responsibility with the excuse that I am weak. Yes, I did take rest, but still, I need to carry our my responsibilities. The Lord continued to grace me to finish all the daily shepherding works and my personal chores. This one week also gave me enough time to rest as I hardly rest otherwise. This time I could rest more. Praise the Lord for the experience of grace more even through my physical weakness.

My life has been so much into the word of God and the church life that I could not imagine a life without the word of God and the practice of the church life. While on my sickbed too, I could not give up my Bible reading, prayer with saints over the phone, and listening to the ministry messages. Even when I was supposed to rest, I still found myself doing my daily spiritual chores for over five hours. To me, that was the mercy of the Lord and I felt being blessed. The Lord has healed me gradually and I have also learned the importance of health. Good health and strength are also my prayer points on a regular basis for me and for all the serving ones without which we cannot practically serve the Lord at all.

A week of sickness is a week of learning and a week of rest. 

For God's Sake

Everything that we do must be for the sake of God. Be it our prayer or shepherding the saints, all that we do must have a goal. That goal must be for the building up fo the Body of Christ. All for God's sake.

As I prayed together with a brother regularly for the saints for the church, all the items of prayer that we offered one by one were directed to God and for His sake. We prayed that the saints would rise up to preach the gospel so that their function would be gained, much more the new ones, all for the sake of God. We prayed for the recovery of the dormant and backsliding saints, not merely for their recovery, but for the sake of God. We prayed for the increase in the number of the saints meeting regularly in the church in Gurugram, all for the sake of God. Everything that we prayed for, we prayed for God's sake. Now, we are crystal clear that we are here for God's sake. All that we do and say must all contribute to the fulfillment of God's heart's desire. All for God's sake.

Our views have been focused very much on all my prayers these days. We are very clear about the goal we desire to achieve in all our spiritual activities. All our rallying behind the saints in their affair is to shepherd them for the sake of God's purpose. We will spend and be spent on behalf of the saints. Our coordination in the church these days is solidly based on this goal. for God's sake. 

Even as a family, my children's education plan, all their upbringing, the discipline and teaching at home, and all the matters related to their lives are all with a view of God's economy. Everything is now for God's sake. 

May the Lord preserve me and my family for His sake, all the days of our lives.

Sowing Seed

A few weeks ago my daughter asked me for help to deal with an assignment given to her by her teacher. The assignment was to recite a Hindu mantra, which is a ritualistic practice of Hindu religion to invoke some form of deity for the benefit of man superstitiously and religiously. With me nor my wife telling her such things were not right for a family that believes in the true and living God, she herself had a deep sense in her being that it was indeed not right for her to do it. She was very restless, anxious, and lost her peace. She had tried her best to convince her teacher that she could be given something else instead. But her teacher stood her ground and did not budge an inch. She simply retorted that it was good to try new things. 

It was after our night prayer that I found my daughter to be very anxious. She requested me to help her in dealing with the matter. Then I jumped into the fray. As a father and as a Christian I stood for my daughter. I wrote a message to her teacher that my daughter was not comfortable doing the assignment of chanting a mantra as we did not believe in religion nor superstition. Then I also called her teacher to explain the mater. It was then that the teacher obliged my request and changed the assignment. To my surprise, my daughter's visage completely changed suddenly, from something very anxious and worried to something bright and joyful. She realized that she can confide on her dad in times of deep trouble. What she could not her father could! That was a lesson for her. it strengthened our father-daughter bond. 

The same week, she prophesied on the Lord's day about this incident and thanked the Lord that the Lord saved her by answering her prayer to be saved from doing something against her faith. That incident became a testimony of her faith amidst the unbelieving majority.

This is a testimony that our children have been under the constant sowing of seeds at home. Our Christian lives, our Bible reading, our prayer life, our church life, all the God-man exercises are sowing of seeds to the children. Unconsciously, the seed of the divine life has been sown into their being. Without us telling them what is idolatry, they all could easily discern what is not the true and living God. The three of our children have this divine innate sense in their being. Perhaps, they are the only Christians in their classes amidst the majoritarian Hindu in North India. We are glad that the Lord has been gracing them to be a testimony in their bit at their level. For this reason, we pay much attention to spiritual education at home; sowing spiritual seed.

Lord, preserve all our children, and may they grow in the divine life. The seed sown into them may grow and grow unto the full maturity.

Shepherding: Serving Ones

Last Thursday, I called for an official fellowship with the serving ones of Malayalam translators as there has been confusion going among them in coordination. Due to lack of proper coordination, each serving one seems to be doing what seemed right in their own eyes. The coordinator was neither informed nor the office. If such was the situation of a secular company I could only think of one word, "fire." Thank God, we don't follow the custom of the nation. We follow the Lord's leading in fellowship and in sweet coordination. Therefore, officially I called for fellowship to consider the matter.

In fellowship, each one of the serving ones was asked to present themselves of their works done. Then, we brothers who are taking the lead, fellowshipped certain principles to be followed as serving ones. So, we officially instructed the serving ones to report to the coordinator for every work they do, without which they would not be supported. We also addressed some of their questions and clarified the ambiguity in their service arrangement. So, two of them were encouraged to translate as learners in the probationary period and the one to do all the typesetting works. 

In this way, all the serving ones are being shepherded, and the literature service can go on smoothly. This new arrangement is proper and I personally feel quite satisfied with the way the Lord led us in settling the confusing situation.

Similarly, other serving ones in different areas also have different issues that have been brought to my attention. In all these matters, my safe refuge is to go to the Lord. I take the matter to the Lord and to my brother who is coordinating with me in the literature service. In this way, I am being shepherded and the serving ones are also being shepherded.

Be it personal, family, church, or service matters, the Lord is my Shepherd. I am blessed to be under the Lord's shepherding and also learn to shepherd the Lord's sheep.