God's Plan My Plan

“The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah.” (Proverbs 16:1, RecVer)

Today, I had a wonderful experience of making my own plan but ultimately a much better plan was accomplished. In fact, this was not the first time such a thing had happened. In many cases I had similar experience. I planed but God’s plan was carried out instead.

Today in the afternoon I planned to visit a brother as we planned a week ago to spend time in prayer walk and preach the gospel together every Friday afternoon. As I was getting ready, I was informed that he had another plan and our plan got cancelled. But immediately, I used this time to have my own prayer walk and accomplished some productive works. Then, I realized what actually happened was much better than my own plan was cancelled.

Later, I planned to meet a brother as we planned yesterday. But when I called him he was on his way to another meeting and the plan was cancelled. Then, I spent the time calling up contacts in Port Blaire as we planned to visit this month end. Then, one by one, I was able to talk to different contacts over the phone and the stage was set for the ministry journey to Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Besides, I could also fellowship with different brothers for the visit to Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Had not I spent time for this planning. The visit to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh will still be in the air.

After all these transpired, I was in awe at what the had reserved for me despite my own plan. If I were to go ahead with my plan, I would have missed all these important fellowships and the works accomplished. The Lord knows best and it is always best to simply amen the Lord’s way of doing things.

I was reminded of the proverb, “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from Jehovah.” 

I planned but the answer was from the Lord not necessarily according to my plan, but definitely according to His plan.

I simply worship the Lord in His way of doing things. If my plan were to overlap with God’s, God’s plan must always have the precedence. And I give up my plan immediately, and I simply amen God’s plan. What a wonderful experience! I am full of peace, joy and satisfaction. For,  I have the full confidence in God’s plan.

Lord, may Your plan always be my plan too. 

Be Perfect!

 You therefore shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matt.5:48

Be perfect? Yes, be perfect! This is what the Lord Jesus said to all the disciples and the believers. If the Lord said it so and is written in the Bible, it must be possible! Otherwise, He would not have said it. It was really hard for me to believe that I can ever be perfect in this lifetime on earth. Though I read this verse many times, I simply accept mentally what the Lord said and I really did not take to heart that this verse is meant for me, meaning that this is what the Lord said. 

To be honest, I really do not believe that I can be perfect knowing myself truly well. Far from perfection, I have been groaning for myself and longing for growth in life so that one day I can gradually be perfect indeed. My most optimistic view on this verse is that "Yes, one day when I meet the Lord I will be perfect." It is purely a futuristic view for I did not have the faith that I will be perfect so soon. But this time, my view begin to change as I hear the Lord's speaking  again and again on "Be Perfect!" 

Through the help of the ministry, my eyes have been gradually opened to see what the Lord said about perfection is truly possible because He has also given all the provisions to make me perfect. The verse says, "You, therefore, shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." Note the phrase, "as your heavenly Father is perfect." It did not say, "as your God is perfect." The term "heavenly Father" is relational and organic in nature. As your Father is so shall you be. Because the life and nature of the Father are in the son. Man begets man, sheep begets sheep, so God begets God in life and nature, not in the Godhead.  Therefore, as children of the heavenly Father, I can be perfect as He is, it is just a matter of time.

Besides, the Bible also says that His divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness. His divine power is in His divine life that I received when I was born of God. Therefore, I have all that I need to live an overcoming life and godly life. Then, there is the divine nature along with the divine power and divine life which can qualify me further to be the same as He is.

Seeing that His divine power has granted to us all things which relate to life and godliness, through the full knowledge of Him who has called us by His own glory and virtue, through which He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature… 2 Pet. 1:3-4

In the Old Testament, Jehovah God  told Abram, "I am the All-sufficient God; walk before Me, and be perfect." Abram's responsibility was to simply walk before God, live in His presence, enjoy His all-sufficient supply,  and trust in Him and not in the strength of his flesh.  

…When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Jehovah appeared to Abram and said to him, I am the All-sufficient God; walk before Me, and be perfect. Gen. 17:1

In the New Testament, the Lord's grace is sufficient for all of us.

…My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses that the power of Christ might tabernacle over me. 2 Cor. 12:9

Our only responsibility is to keep His word, love Him, and abide in Him.  

But whoever keeps His word, truly in this one the love of God has been perfected… 

1 John 2:5

Therefore, I can be perfect even as the heavenly Father is perfect. 

Finally, brothers, rejoice, be perfected, be comforted, think the same thing, be at peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.  2 Cor. 13:11

To such a revelation what else can I say except, "Praise the Lord! Hallelujah!" Now, I am fully confident that I can be perfect as a child of my heavenly Father whose life and nature I now possess and partake of. What a grace, what a blessing! Now I do not doubt God's word anymore. When He says, "Be Perfect," I simply say, "Amen, Lord, perfect me."

Lord, what a prophecy, what a blessing that I can be perfect like my heavenly Father God! Perfect me, Lord!

Lord, Help My Unbelief!

“And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe. And after these things, He appeared in a different form to two of them as they were walking on their way into the countryside. And they went away and reported to the rest, but they did not believe them either. And afterward He appeared to the eleven as they were reclining at table, and He reproached their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.” (Mark 16:11-14, RecVer)

The disciples of the Lord Jesus did not believe in what He prophesied concerning His death and resurrection. In a good number of instances, the Lord’s own disciples did not believe in what actually transpired of which He already foretold. While reading this incidents of unbelief in my Bible reading time, I thought to myself, "Why they did not believe having had walked with the Lord physically for years?"

On a second thought and reconsideration, I was enlightened to see myself that even if I were to be one among the disciples hearing all His prophecies yet when they were fulfilled I possible might still not believe. The Lord showed me that how I did not believe in His words when I actually thought I truly believe.

The Lord has given me promises and spoke to me concerning certain matters and things. And He confirmed with His written words and also through the experiences of some saints and through the speaking of others. But deep within I doubted until I could practically see the fulfilment of them all. Though I was confirmed time and again, I still doubted the Lord’s words and wanted a proof of its fulfilment. O what a poor me!

Today, I had a very uneasy feeling concerning a sister whom I have been caring for, like my own daughter. When I sensed certain things concerning her living I wanted to "fellowship" with her. But the Lord inwardly calmed me down not to. When I was tempted to make a call to her or considered to speak to her on the matter I was suspicious of, the Lord reminded me to simply believe in His words. He has spoken and He will take care of the matter in His own way and in His own time. Therefore, I gave up the idea of "fellowship" and left her to the Lord’s hand and prayed for her instead. And as I prayed, the Lord reminded me again to simply believe in His words.

I was exposed to see myself that even in such a small matter I was anxious and suspicious instead of trusting in the Lord. I myself am filled with unbelief despite my tall claim of believing in the Lord’s word. Now, I no longer wonder nor condemn the disciples of the Lord for their unbelief. During their time, they had not yet received the Lord’s Spirit into their spirits. No wonder they did not believe. Now, I have already received the Holy Spirit and still then instead of living by the Spirit I live by my mind and invited trouble for myself by my unbelief. Now, I totally lost confidence in myself and my belief system. Only the Lord’s life of faith can make me believe in what He said or did.

Now I would gladly identify myself with the disciple who proclaimed to the Lord Jesus concerning his belief.

“Immediately, crying out, the father of the child said, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24, RecVer)

Devoted to Destruction

“And the city shall be devoted to Jehovah for destruction, it and all that is in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the messengers we sent. But as for you, keep yourselves from what has been devoted to destruction, lest you devote yourselves to destruction by taking of what has been devoted and you make the camp of Israel something devoted to destruction and bring trouble to it.” (Joshua 6:17-18, RecVer)

“But the children of Israel acted unfaithfully in that which was devoted to destruction, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of that which was devoted to destruction; and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the children of Israel.” (Joshua 7:1, RecVer)

“Israel has sinned. Indeed they have trespassed My covenant, which I commanded them; indeed they have taken of that which was devoted to destruction; indeed they have stolen; indeed they have been deceptive; indeed they have put it among their goods. Thus the children of Israel are not able to stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, for they have become something devoted to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy that which was devoted to destruction from among you. Rise up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, There is something devoted to destruction among you, O Israel; you will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove that which was devoted to destruction from among you.” (Joshua 7:11-13, RecVer)

“And he who is taken with that which was devoted to destruction shall be burned with fire, he and all that belongs to him, because he has trespassed the covenant of Jehovah and because he has committed folly in Israel.” (Joshua 7:15, RecVer)

The Lord enlightened me afresh this morning during my Bible reading time concerning the seriousness of involving in something that Jehovah God has destined for destruction. The children of God should have nothing to do with what God hates. Any compromise, any mixture with the world will face a stern punishment from the Lord. The story of the Israelites serves a good testimony to paying heed to what God had commanded. Disobedience to God’s word was meted out with dire consequences. O what a warning!

In the New Testament too, the principle is still the same. But we have the divine life of God, our Father, that can enable us to obey what He has commanded. It is by living by the Father's divine life that true obedience is practical. On the one hand, there is the warning and on the other hand there is the divine life supply that enables us, the children of God, to heed to the warnings. What a blessing!

There is the divine part which God has gracefully bestowed, His divine life and nature. And there is the human part which the children of God have to actively exercise their free will to obey God’s word. The coordination between the divine and human will enable one to be truly obedient to keep oneself from the things devoted to destruction. 

This is the Lord’s Holy warning!

Lord, I need Your grace day by day to actively exercise my free will to choose You and cooperate with You to keep myself away from the things devoted to destruction. May I be preserved from anything devoted to destruction. Lord, save me!

A Visit to a Hospital

A cousin brother of mine who has been living with me for many years recently had a complaint about his health. He suspected it to be TB as he was once treated with TB which was already cured. But this time, he suspected based on the symptoms manifested in his body. Therefore, I took this opportunity to shepherd him in a way of taking him to the proper hospital for proper and timely medication.

The only TB center I found was in Sector 10, Civil Hospital in Gurugram. This disease has been claimed by the Government of India as being eradicated. So there is a diagnostic center for treatment. It was a wonderful time driving him to and fro to the hospital for treatment. We altogether had three trips. Firstly for a medical check-up, secondly for lab testing, and thirdly for confirmation with the TB doctor. After all these processes it was confirmed by the doctor that there was no TB in him, but then he should be on medication for five days. The matter was solved! The Lord allowed such a thing so that I could practically show him that his life matters to me and to the Lord. That he is being loved and cared for.  From my side, I got the opportunity to take care of the needy saints, starting with my family members, and then shepherd others in a very practical way.

I hardly visit a hospital as the Lord has been keeping in good health. Though I used to have a cold and slight fever now and then, I took the natural way of increasing my immune system through a healthy diet and rest and dealing with bodily weakness along with trusting in the Lord for His healing. When my children fell ill, my wife will take them to the nearby clinic. In that way, the Lord has provided all the necessary needs for my family. Therefore, we hardly need to visit any hospital. If need be, we will visit too.

The Lord used even visiting a hospital to take care of one another. I felt it was a good time arranged by the Lord that visiting a hospital is visiting one another for shepherding. There was physical healing and there was spiritual healing too. The Lord is sovereign in all things related to His children. Praise the Lord!

A Visit to a Cousin

The Lord's promises are true and I always claim them until they are fulfilled in my life. One such promise is the promise of household salvation.

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household. Ac 16:31

Now, all my immediate family members are saved. My prayer is for the next level, for the salvation of my uncles and aunts, and cousins. One such is my cousin who got married last year and is now settled in New Delhi. Two weeks ago I received information that his wife had delivered a baby boy. Last Lord's day night we went to visit them at their residence in Ashram, New Delhi, and gifted him some gifts. The material gifts include Baby Care products, New Born Baby Diapers, and a set of Messages for Building Up New Believers and Shepherding Materials.

Since my prayer burden for them is that the whole family would be saved, I took this visit as an opportunity to preach the gospel and led them to salvation. His wife is a Catholic and he himself is not very clear about what he believes into. There were two other cousins of my cousin's wife. Therefore, I preached the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ starting from God the Creator and His creation, the fall of man, the redemption accomplished through the God-man Jesus Christ, and how to believe into Him and receive Him. Then, I led them all to receive the Lord in a fresh way by helping them to pray with me the sinner's prayer for salvation which they all prayed willingly. I did this just to make sure that they truly believe into the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

To me, every family member, every friend, and everyone I meet, if they are not yet saved, the best thing to speak to them is about the true and living God, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the best gift and the best words I can minister to them. In addition, I did have fellowship with them about family matters and their future plan. 

The Lord was with us and I truly enjoyed the Lord's presence in all the speaking and preaching. Thank the Lord for such a wonderful opportunity! When the time is ripe, they will also be introduced to the saints in the church in New Delhi.

May the Lord continue to speak to them through the word of God spoken to them, and may they grow in life.

Be Honest

 Honesty is a virtue that is much appreciated by all. But human nature is too fallen that it is rather hard to find one who is genuinely honest in all things. I am no exception. this is one thing I find very much lacking. I am by nature, not honest especially when it comes to expressing my inward desire. I always conceal my own self until I am forced to let it go. I do admire people who are honest, and I am learning to be honest too trusting in the Lord's work in my character. 

I can be honest to tell others I positively feel good about them. I can praise and speak well of others openly to their faces and to others. But can I speak about their negative points and failures too? My "good nature" always tries to conceal telling the truth if the truth is negative. Well, it may be good to cover others' weaknesses. But at times I must be honest enough to speak my heart out, call black as black and white as white. Otherwise, my diplomacy will only lead to hypocrisy.

Over the past few weeks, I had the opportunity to learn to be honest and expressed genuinely my inward feeling about things and people. One brother, who is not mentally sound turned up to the office uninformed. Due to his history, I was very careful not to welcome him as I knew it was not easy to handle him since he is also mentally out of control. I simply did not have the confidence to take care of him. Therefore, I intentionally avoided his calls and text messages as I knew his intention to try to take advantage of me being a brother in the Lord. But I seriously did not want him to play with brotherhood according to his whims and fancies. I wanted him to learn his lesson and let him know that he is not welcome at the moment with his mental state. Therefore,  I got the opportunity to express my inward feelings and I did so with honesty.

As he turned up uninformed, he had become an unwelcome guest. How would I handle such a one? I was not happy at all but was not able to express my feeling immediately. But when I got time to speak to him, I did tell him my inward feeling that he was not welcome and that he should leave. But he was smart enough to pay with words and somehow convinced me and my brother to allow him to stay for two days. After two days, though I informed him to leave as we were also leaving for about ten days, he tried to trick me with his multi-personality disorder, changing faces and characters, each one with an intent to convince me somehow that he could stay,. But I knew that this trick would not be played on me anymore and I mustered up my courage to tell him what I actually felt about him and told him that he should leave, which he finally agreed on and left. 

But he returned back uninformed and unwelcomed after ten days. This time I was determined to be honest and told him to his face, my displeasure with his behavior. Therefore I even told him to leave immediately. Of course, I did have a fellowship with my other brother concerning how to deal with a  case like that. I expressed my deep concern that I should be honest and tell him what I felt deep inside, that he was not welcomed this time with his mental state. I also knew that he was trying to somehow convince us to let him stay as he knew that we are soft brothers and that somehow in the past he would eventually convince us. But this time, I was determined not to be tricked and determined to be honest and to tell him what I felt. So I told him that he was not welcome and that he should leave. Thereafter, after much talk and discussion, he agreed to leave.

Deep within I pray for his full recovery, mentally and spiritually. But I cannot fulfill this duty either.  Therefore, I exercised myself to be honest and told him my inward feeling. I still pray for him and hope that he be recovered very soon.

I am learning to be honest and to express my inward feeling without any diplomacy. What a lesson!