Only If the Lord Gains

Since the past few months I have been very busy in traveling for the distribution of the ministry literature and then for the proofreading work of the New Testament Recovery Version. In fact, from 27 Dec 2021 till date, I am in Hyderabad. Therefore,  practically I have not been able to regularly call up the ones I used to shepherd. In fact, two regular shepherding meetings and three regular church meetings I have not been able to participate for a few minth now. I realized that the time has come for me to take my hands off and let the brothers go on based on the foundational shepherding work the Lord through my co-laboring had done upon them. The outcome of all that had been done and what have been going on even in my absence, only the Lord knows. He will do what He deems best. Only if the Lord gains these ones, they will be gained. 

There are a good number of seekers and families that I have been burdened for. In fact, I had been shepherding them with the best of my ability. Now the time has come for me to put my hands off from them too. Whether they will enter into the church life or not is up to the Lord and up to them, depending on how much they are willing to be absolute to the truths being shown to them. I felt deep within me that I have discharged my burdens for these ones and did all that I could possibly have done. I have no regrets. I leave the outcome to the Lord. If the Lord gains them, they will be gained.

At the end of last year I did reconsider what all had been done throughout the year. The burdens and goals I had for the years, to my judgment, have not been fulfilled. Should I term myself a failure based on the visible result? Yes, may be, or may be not. I did my best. I didn't have any better way either, or may be I didn't know the better way. Whatever, now I leave the matter to the Lord. If the Lord gains, they will be gained. The seeds have been sown, and now awaiting its growth and harvest one day.

If the Lord gains, He will gain all these ones. They will absolutely be the result of the Lord’s work. Therefore, not to justify myself of not meeting my goals, but stating the fact as fact, if the Lord gains them, they definitely will be gained. Amen.

I simply put my trust in the word of God.

“Unless Jehovah builds the house, Those who build it labor in vain. Unless Jehovah keeps the city, The guard watches in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To stay up late, To eat the bread of toil; All the same, He gives to His beloved while they sleep.” (Psalms 127:1-2, RecVer)

And also be able to declare as Habakuk did;

“For the fig tree will not sprout, And there will be no yield on the vines; The labor on the olive tree will fail, And the fields will make no food; The flock will be cut off from the fold, And there will be no herd in the stalls. Yet I will exult in Jehovah; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:17-18, RecVer)

The Best of the Land

Today morning I woke up after a strange dream in which I was give a piece of property, a big area of land with a big house with green lawn in the backyard and even a bigger front lawn alongside some small houses on rent. The land was offered to me, apparently from a relative. But even in my dream I hesitated to receive it as it was like an inheritance from a relative. I would rather purchase my own. Nonetheless, in the dream my family have occupied the house with large rooms filled with expensive gadgets. I was not that peaceful to have those expensive electronic gadgets which general were used for entertainment purposes. With such an awkward feeling I woke up from the dream. I did not pay much attention to it, brushing it off as just a mere dream that anybody can dream of.

Today evening in my Bible reading, the Lord spoke to me these verses spoken to Joseph. They were even promises made and fulfilled, "I will give you the best of the land of Egypt."

“And take your father and your households, and come to me. And I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.” (Genesis 45:18, RecVer)

“And do not be concerned for your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.” (Genesis 45:20, RecVer)

“The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any capable men among them, make them overseers over my livestock.” (Genesis 47:6, RecVer)

“And Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.” (Genesis 47:11, RecVer)

As I read these verses, the Lord reminded me of the dream I had last night and asked me to write down today's date, 20th Jan 2022, on the side of the verse in my Holy Bible, RecoveryVersion, “And do not be concerned for your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.” (Genesis 45:20, RecVer).

I am satisfied, content, and happy with what the Lord has blessed me so far. As long as I have Him and enjoy His presence, I truly desire no more; for the Lord Jesus is my true satisfaction. Whatever the dream might indicate, I leave it to the Lord who knows best. He knows what is best for me and everything concerning me. Let Him take the final call in every matter. My heart's intent is always to receive the heavenly and spiritual blessings as in Ephesians. 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ,” (Ephesians 1:3, RecVer)

I have also been reminded of the conversation between the Lord and Peter.

“Then Peter answered and said to Him, Behold, we have left all and followed You. What then will there be for us?And Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you that you who have followed Me, in the restoration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for My name’s sake shall receive a hundred times as much and shall inherit eternal life.” (Matthew 19:27-29, RecVer)

The Lord had spoken in plain words. However one may interprete theses verses, the Lord will take the final call and let Him do whatever He wants to do. Yes, there are the Lord's promises, but I will not run after the promises of blessings, be it heavenly or earthly, I would rather have Him as the Blessing. When I have Him and enjoy His presence, He is mine! Let the wise in heart judge what is better, the blessings or the Blesser? I would rather choose the Blesser. Therefore, I am not bothered and will not be bothered by promises being fulfilled or not, as long as I have the Blesser, God Himself, my Lord, my God, and my Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Lord had spoken in plain words. However one may interprete theses verses, the Lord will take the final call and let Him do whatever He wants to do. Yes, there are the Lord's promises, but I will not run after the promises of blessings, be it heavenly or earthly, I would rather have Him as the Blessing. When I have Him and enjoy His presence, He is mine! Let the wise in heart judge what is better, the blessings or the Blesser? I would rather choose the Blesser. Therefore, I am not bothered and will not be bothered by promises being fulfilled or not, as long as I have the Blesser, God Himself, my Lord, my God, and my Savior, Jesus Christ!

A Faithful Slave

Yesterday, the 18th of January 2022, one of our dear brothers, a Marathi translator and editor, went to be with the Lord. The matter was made known to me while I was in the training hall of the ongoing Recovery Version proofreading project. Perhaps, the time had come for our brother. It was surprisingly shocking, yet the Lord is sovereign.

Later, I took the initiative to make the matter known to all the other serving ones in the literature service through our WhatsApp group. In the afternoon, a brother and I attended the funeral meeting online and at the last minute, were able to send a text message which was read outloud at his burial site, afterwhich he was buried.

Message on Behalf of the Serving Ones in the Literature Service

Read outloud just before Br. Samuel Sane's burial at the burial site.

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

Dear brothers and sisters, as serving ones in the literature service who had the privilege of serving the Lord with our dear Brother Samuel Sane, we convey our deepest condolence at the departure of our dear brother. This is a huge loss to the Marathi literature service, and we believe , for the church also.

Our brother had been so faithful in his service. The Lord used him to begin the translation of the ministry of the age to Marathi. He had been a fellow slave and fellow soldier who untiringly served the Lord supplying the riches of the ministry to saints through his translation service. Inspite of his several physical weaknesses, our brother served faithfully till his last breath. We are deeply grieved by this loss. Our heart goes to the family members of our brother. We stand one with all the brothers in the local church there in prayers for the Lord to encourage all the bereaved. 

We are in the middle of bringing the  riches of the New Testament Recovery Version to seven Indian languages, one of which is Marathi. Our dear Sister Preethi is laboring faithfully in this service. Her father had been a strength to her, both her mentor in this service and a wonderful companion to her. We pray that the Lord would supply her and grace her and the team to bring out the Recovery Version in Marathi. That would really make our brother Samuel happy as it would please the Lord also.

Brother Kerry who is also here in Hyderabad wanted us to convey how appreciative he is of Brother Samuel's faithfulness in his service.

May the Lord be with our Brother Samuel's family, all the saints and grace us to go on for the fulfillment of His economy.

Serving ones in Amana Literature

Today, in the memorial day meeting, as serving ones in the literature service, we were given the first opportunity to testify on his behalf. 

Br. Samuel Sane was the pioneer for the Lord’s move in Maharastra and had paved the way for many more to be brought into the truths. He spearheaded the translation of majority of the hymns which are being used in the churches speaking Marathi today all over Maharastra. He had also been faithfully translating the ministry literature to Marathi diligently and faithfully. One key word that stood out in all the testimonies is, "faithful."

For many years our brother had been suffering from many health issues. But whenever anyone enquired about his health his plaintruth reply had always been, "Grace upon grace, abounding, absolute, and bountiful grace who is Christ Himself is sufficient."

He used to be the first person to translate all the training and conferences materials whenever assigned to him. He had also raised up a good number of serving ones to follow in his footsteps. Now we have a team of Marathi translators who will continue the Marathi literature service. Though we have lost him physically, he had raised up his predecessors, not leaving his service void, to continue the very works he had given his whole life for. He had trained his own family to be so one with the ministry, especially in the literature service, that the condolence amount we offered to his family was offered back for the sake of the literature service in Marathi. What a testimony!

In my portion, I shared just two verses that I believe, truly describes his service.

“Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his household to give them food at the proper time?” (Matthew 24:45, RecVer)

“His master said to him, Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.” (Matthew 25:21, RecVer)

Besides, many other saints who have been shepherded by him have testified concerning our dear brother. With all these saints remembering what the Lord had done in our brother's life, a brother well quoted this verse:

“Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of His faithful ones.” (Psalms 116:15, RecVer)

Live to Him

Yesterday morning, I was freshly enlightened by the Bible verse on "living to Him." The ministry literature opened my eyes to see the depth of the truth concerning living to the Lord. Therefore, I shared with all my classmates the following message. I also quoted the verses in all the languages my school mates are speaking.

Sharing with all my today's "manna"; I was freshly enlightened by these verses from the Bible.

“For whether we live, we live to the Lord, and whether we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore whether we live or we die, we are the Lord’s. For Christ died and lived again for this, that He be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” (Romans 14:8-9, RecVer)

Paite

7 Kuamah eimah a dia hing i hi kei ua, kuamah eimah a dia si leng i hi sam kei hi. 8 I hin leh Toupa ading in i hing a; i sih in leng Toupa adia si i hi ngal a: huaiziak in i hin in leng, i sih in leng Toupa a i hi uhi.

Hmar

7 Tûkhawm mâni ta dinga hring ei ni nawh a, tûkhawm mâni ta dinga thi ei ni bawk nawh. 8 Ei hring chun Lalpa ta dingin ei hring a, ei thi khawmin Lalpa ta dingin ei thi a ni sih a; chuleiin, ei hring khawmin ei thi khawmin Lalpa ta ei nih.

Thadou Kuki

7 Ijeh ham itile eiho koima ama dinga hinga ihipouve, chule koima ama dinga thia ihipouve. 8 Ihinle Pakai dinga hing ihiuvin, ithiu jongle Pakai dinga thia ihibovui; hijeh chun hing jong leuhen Pakai dinga hing ihiuvin, thi jong leuhen Pakai dinga thia ihiuve.

Zou

7 Aziehpen koima eima a dinga hing ihisih a tualeh koima eima a dinga shi zong ihisih hi. 8 Aziehpen i hin leh Mangpa a dingin i hinga, i shi in zong Mangpa a dingin i shi uh ahi. Tuaziehin i hin in zong ishi in zong Mangpa a ihi uhi.

Simte

7 Bang jiahin ahiai i chih leh koimah ei a diing a hing i hi sih a, huleh koimah ei a diing a si zong i hi sih uhi. 8 Ajiahchu i hin, leh Lalpa a diingin i hing a; i sih, inzong Lalpa a diingin i si uh ahi; hujiahin i hin inzong, i sih inzong, Lalpa a i hi uhi.

Gangte

7 Kuomah, eimah dinga hing I hi puou a, kuomah, eimah a dinga thi le I hi diek puou hi. 8 I hin un le, Lalpa dingin I hing u a; I thih un le, Lalpa dinga thi I hiu hi; zieziekchun, I hin un le, I thih un le, Lalpa a I hiu hi.

Vaiphei

7 Kuama eima â ding bep ah hing I hi puau in, kuama eima â ding ah thi le I um diak puau hi. 8 I hin unle Lalpa â ding ah hing I hiu a; I thiu leh le Lalpa â ding ah thi I hiu hi. I hin unle, I thi unle Lalpa â I hi zing ui.

Manipuri

 7 মরমদি ঐখোয় কনা অমতনা মশাগীদমক হিংবা নত্তে, অদুগা কনা অমতনা মশাগীদমক শিবা নত্তে । 8  মরমদি ঐখোয়না হিংলবদি, ঐখোয়না ইবুংঙোগীদমক্তা হিংবনি; ঐখোয়না শিরবদি, ঐখোয়না ইবুংঙোগীদমক্তা শিবনি; মরম অদুনা ঐখোয়না হিংবা ওইরবসু শিবা ওইরবসু ঐখোয় ইবুংঙোগীদমক্তনি ।

Nepali

हो, हमी सबैजना प्रभुको लागि बाँच्दछौं। हामी आफ्नै निम्ति बाँच्दैनौं अथवा आफ्नै निम्ति मर्दैनौं पनि ।

8  यदि हामी बौरीउठनु बच्नु भने हामी प्रभुको लागि बाँचिरहेछौं। अनि यदि हामी मर्छौं भने, हामी प्रभुको लागि मर्दछौं। यसैले हामी मरौं कि हामी बाँचौ हामी प्रभुकै हौं।

Rongmei

7 Aniu gaanv khat na sini kakhang khang na ringh mak ge, kakhang khang na ni theih mak ge. 8 Aniu ringc e thei, aniu ringc bammei hei Poubauhmei khang e; aniu theic e thei, aniu theihmei hei Poubauhmei khang e. Kumna aniu hei ringc pw ni, theic pw ni Poubauhmei khang e.

What a blessing to be able to read and understand the word of God in our mother tongue!

Read your Bible everyday...

Today, in the online meeting for the seekers in Madhya Pradesh, the burden the Lord gave me is just this, in continuation of the word released last week on persecution.

As Christians, we were purchased by the Lord, therefore, we all belong to God. As such, we have no right to live our own life but to live to God. In living to God, we are always determined to please God. To live to God is to please God. To please God is to do His will. 

As a slave belongs to his master who purchased him, likewise as a Christian we belong to Christ who purchased us at the cross. Christ loves us and gave His life to purchase us, and we are constrained by His love to love Him in return and to live to Him, to please Him.

“Therefore also we are determined, whether at home or abroad, to gain the honor of being well pleasing to Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:9, RecVer)

“For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died; And He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15, RecVer)

The way we can practically live to God is by the fact that in our believing and baptism, we have been crucified with Him and that He has become our life and our living; a life living in faith, which also His faith in us.

“For I through law have died to law that I might live to God. I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:19-20, RecVer)

This truth may be deep and profound, nonetheless, experienceable. Only by growth in the divine life, can we live such a life. For this, we need to consecrate our life fully and absolutely to the Lord, and live to Christ, pleasing Christ, doing His will. Amen!

Lord, grace us to live You.

Ministering on Persecution

A brother called me up and fellowshipped with me to minister on persecution as many of the new believers have been undergoing persecution because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. I took that as the Lord’s leading as it was also the portion I have been reading in my Bible reading portion. Thank the Lord that He worked everything together for good.

Last night I ministered on persecution according to the burden and the Lord’s leading. The Bible verses I referred to are below.

“He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me; And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his soul-life shall lose it, and he who loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it. He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who has sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.” (Matthew 10:37-41, RecVer)

The Lord desires that His believers take up their cross and follow Him as He did, doing the will of the Father. This cross includes the price to pay in loving the Lord absolutely above all, even above father and mother, and above brothers and sisters. Surely this is a heavy price to pay especially in an Indian cultural context where parents are considered as "gods". The pint is not that one should not love their father, mother, brothers, and sisters, but to love God above them all.

When one follows the Lord, the enemy will do his best to stop by using persecution as his tool. Yet, God in His sovereignty always turns the enemy's persecution for the perfecting of the believers; in strengthening their faith and in multiplying the number of believers. This is seen in Odisha when a brother and his sons were burnt alive resulting in thousands and thousands of Oriya speaking people believing into the Lord Jesus Christ. China has a similar testimony too; as much as during the time of the early Christians beginning from the time of the incidents in the book of Acts throughout the church history till today.

Therefore, I encouraged all the believers who joined the online meeting to rejoice and exult, if they were persecuted, quoting the Lord’s promise.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Blessed are you when they reproach and persecute you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you because of Me. Rejoice and exult, for your reward is great in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12, RecVer)

Persecution is an added advantage to the believers for the strengthening of their faith and the perfecting of the Christian life. In that way, as the light of world, they can enlighten the darkened people of the world. Light overcomes darkness. As light of the world, the more there are persecution, the more blessed they are. They have become living testimony for the Lord Jesus and as light of the world, many persecutors may even be gained for the Lord.

“You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situated upon a mountain to be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and place it under the bushel, but on the lampstand; and it shines to all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.” (Matthew 5:14-16, RecVer)

Today, the leading brother informed me of the spiritual help they received through the ministry of the word. And that the persecutors' attempt to falsely charged them with "conversion" was only recognized truly as prayer meeting and the case against the new believers in a village where persecution has been going on was dropped.

May the Lord preseve all His children, make them the light of the world, and save their entire family and villagers.

Accidental Incident

Faithfulness is the character that drives me in my service. No matter what responsibilities, I desire to be faithful in all, at whatever cost. Therefore, as I have been graced to oversee the practical carrying out of the proofreading project of the New Testament Recovery Version in four Indian languages, I take Christ as my grace to discharge my responsibilities well.  The Lord has been gracing me thus far.

Today, I had a task to carry out that needed my physical going out to purchase medicines, food items, and office supplies. I tried my best to do it even when I had to take the risk of riding a bike in a new area. I was so strong willed that I wanted to finish this task as soon as possible. Therefore, I used a bike that belongs to the campus we are in and rode it for the first time in decades. I also took along a helper sitting at the back. As I rode on, I slipped on a dusty road and lost my balance. Within a fraction of a second, I found myself falling down on the road. Thank God, no heavy vehicle sped behind and we were saved. Though the helper and I had minor injuries, mine on my two knees on which I hit the road and my right thigh suffered gradual pain. But it will be healed soon.

Circumstances did not allow me to do what I intended to do. Nevertheless, the Lord gave me a helper, a brother who helped me in purchasing most of the important items required for the project work. He has been such a good coordinator that he made himself available at my beck and call. Thank God for such dear brothers. 

I have learned my lesson that even though I wanted to be faithful, I cannot be faithful on my own. I needed the Lord as my faithfulness. Save for His grace, I can do nothing. This accidental incident is a circumstantial leading of the Lord for me not to proceed for what He did not want me to. Praise the Lord!

An Impromptu Meeting

Yesterday, as we were eating our lunch the general manager of the campus came and introduced their founding director who chanced to visit the campus for some reason. I had the privilege to listen to him at the dinning hall. After lunch, he invited me to his office for more fellowship.

Most of the time I was listening to all he had to say, ranging from how he started serving the Lord,  and how it grew and grew until it became very big with about 20,000 work force. Though it was his success story as a Christian enterprise worker, I was not moved at all. Deep within I took him as a warning not to venture too much into works and turn the service of the Lord into a social organization doing charitable works. That definitely is not my call. I wish to serve the Lord without any mixture whatsoever. I pray that the Lord would preserve me to be pure in heart and pure in motive..

In the meeting, he also mentioned about his biggest "sin" in his entire life; falling into the trap of the enemy in the area where he deemed best to take the stand of integrity and righteousness. The very character he propagated is the very character he fell against. I don't understand why he narrated his failure to a total stranger like me, his child's age, and that too in my meeting with him for the first time. I simply listened and listened and took precautions in ways I need not repeat. I opened myself to learn and learn from the aged and the experienced ones, from their successes and failures too.

When I got the opportunity, I introduced the Holy Bible, Recovery Version and showed him some crucial footnotes that impressed him a lot. I promised to gift him the Holy Bible, Recovery Version officially. I also shared a little bit of my testimony and also answerd his question on how we operates the literature service in India. 

Then, after about two hours' fellowship, I felt the need to stop the meeting. He also sensed that it was time. Therefore, he offered prayers for himself, his burdens, and also for me and my family.

As I was about to leave, he kept repeating his mistake he had committed in some official dealings and expressed his deep regret in his failure in the very matter he firmly stood for, I took the opportunity to let him know that God wanted none of our human endeavor, therefore, He allowed us to fail so that we trust in ourself no more. I quoted Job's life of how God striped and dealt with him to gain Him and also quoted Paul's word that our Christian life should be "no longer I but Christ".

“I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20, RecVer)

I was glad for the open door through him as a well known Christian leaders through whom, perhaps, the ministry books can be introduced and distributed. May the Lord bless our relationship for the furtherance of His divine move.