Christ, My Wisdom!

I asked God for wisdom and He gave me problems to solve. That's how God answered my prayer for wisdom. In fact, that's how God answers the prayer for wisdom generally. When Solomon was enthroned as the king of Isreal, he prayed for wisdom and understanding. God promised to answer him and He did so by sending two women contending for their child. Solomon solved the problem because God gave him wisdom.

1 Kings 3:9 Give therefore to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people and to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?

1 Kings 3:12 I now do according to your words. I now give you a heart of wisdom and understanding, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor will one rise up after you like you.
1 Kings 3:16 At that time two harlots came to the king and stood before him.
1 Kings 3:25 And the king said, Divide the live child between the two, and give half to one and half to the other.
1 Kings 3:28 And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had exercised, and they feared the king; for they saw that the wisdom of God was within him to execute justice.

Similarly, I have also been praying for wisdom and understanding from God. He answers my prayer for wisdom by giving me problems to solve. Yes problems, not just one and once for all, but many and more to come, I believe. But, the Lord's wisdom will also be given to me to solve all the problems. In fact, in such solving of problems, it should not merely be rendering a solution to the problem, but much more the learning and gaining of Christ by all the persons involved. Otherwise, mere wisdom will not contribute to the growth in life, much less to the fulfillment of God's plan. 

Last month, my father informed me about a situation in Manipur, in my village concerning the ex-communication of the saints in the Lord's recovery who wanted to take a stand for the absoluteness of the truth of the Bible. My dad asked a tough question which really led me to the Lord to consider carefully and then I answered. Later, I received information from other family members about the same complicated issue in my village. Then I fellowshipped with my family members as we also prayed for the situation to be headed up by the Lord who is sovereign over all and the all-wise God. I was very clear in my mind as the Lord enlightened me, I gave them options to consider in order of importance.

The first is to go to the source of the problem, the village authority and their village lawmakers, to request in person, and pay a fine, if need be. The second is quietly and temporarily relocating to other relatives' homes.  If nothing works out, I even offered the land God gave me for use of this temporary need. But I advised strongly against going to the law court and filing a case based on the constitutional rights of India as an Indian citizen. Then, we followed up on the matter in prayer every night at our family prayer meeting. When the D-day came, the Lord sovereignly interfered and the matter was settled at the local police station and at the village court by paying legal fines imposed. 

A few days later, my dad called me up for the same matter. But this time it concerns our family's status of being ex-communicated. He asked me for money to pay some fines and clear off the matter at the village court. But deep within, I knew this was not of the Lord. So, I had to deny the request of my dad. Though good and timely it may seem to him, but for me, there is a better way to handle this. So at my answer, my dad also realized that his suggestions was not the right ones at the present time.

In this way of simple life experiences, the Lord trained me to learn to exercise wisdom who is Christ already in my spirit. For wisdom is Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:24 But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

1 Corinthians 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

Christ is my wisdom! Christ is in me, in my spirit. 

I turn to my spirit where Christ as wisdom is, 

Then, His wisdom becomes my wisdom. 
Be wise, be in Christ! 
Need wisdom? Gain Christ!

A Word of Appreciation

The Lord in His sovereign arrangement blessed me to coordinate and serve together with a few brothers for the literature service in India. This is a service blessed beyond description. From the day I was brought in to serve, I realized this is the portion allotted to me by God. This is indeed my function in the Body. Therefore, I respect the Lord's arrangement, and I honor and treasure it to the uttermost.  

From day one, with this attitude the Lord gave me, I could right away fit in. With whoever I coordinated or have been coordinating so far, I enjoyed the sweet flow of life in one accord. I also learn to blend in and build up with the brothers the Lord has placed me with. And I always consciously exercise to learn, listen, and obey rather than give suggestions and opinions when in meeting or fellowships unless asked for it. I honor my fellow brothers and regard all of them as much better than me. I need them very much, without them I can do nothing. This lesson I have been learning from the ministry of Brother Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, to deny myself, learn to take up the cross, and follow the Lord by following the brothers.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.
Matthew 16:25

 Doing nothing by way of selfish ambition nor by way of vainglory, but in lowliness of mind considering one another more excellent than yourselves. Not regarding each his own virtues, but each the virtues of others also. Philippians 2:3-4

When one of our fellow coworkers resigned from the official directorship due to practical and personal reasons, I was assigned to write a letter of appreciation for the same. I considered before the Lord for a couple of days to get the thoughts, feelings, and utterances from the Lord. Yesterday, I completed the draft and sent it to the brothers for checking, correction, and confirmation. After my two brothers have read and checked, they both confirmed the letter. To be truthful, this letter expressed exactly how I felt about the brother for whom this was written. This was straight from my heart, and I meant every word I used in the letter. I truly respect and honor a brother who the Lord anoint to pioneer His move in India. May God bless him and all of us. The letter is titled, "A Word of Appreciation" to be signed by the three fellow bondslaves.

 A Word of Appreciation

Remembering unceasingly your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope

 in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father.

1 Thessalonians 1:3

Dated: ** July 2023

Dear Brother *********,

We, your co-working brothers, fellow slaves, and officially also the members of the Board of Directors of A**** L**********, express our appreciation and high regard for the faithful service you have rendered to the literature service in India. In fact, we respect and honor the Lord’s anointing upon you in pioneering the literature work in India too. We look to the Lord for grace that we can continue to carry on faithfully and fruitfully the burden that you once bore. We trust the Lord that He will grace us to relay further the ministry literature torch as a beacon of light to the Christians in general, to the saints in the Lord’s recovery in particular, and even unto the next generations until the Lord returns.

We acknowledge your contribution to the literature service and also thank you for your coordination since you came onboard the company in 2010. It was indeed a complete twelve years of serving together in sweet coordination! Thank you, dear Brother *********!

Even though you have resigned from being an official director due to practical and personal reasons, we would encourage you to continue to carry on the burden of Malayalam literature service according to your capacity and the grace the Lord has bestowed upon you, as long as you wish to or as long as your health allows. We assure you of our full cooperation. We will stand in oneness with you and share your burden of Malayalam literature service as we have always been doing so.

We, as you fellow bondslaves, wish to exhort you with the words of the apostle Paul quoted below.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:58

May we also humbly request your persistent prayer for all of us who will still continue to shoulder the burden you also once bore and also for the Lord’s blessing upon the literature service in India. Your prayers and your blessing, we will dearly cherish and treasure.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.

Your brothers,

Our Lives Matter

Casting all your anxiety on Him because
it matters to Him concerning you. 1 Peter 5:7

The world at large has been fighting for its own rights. Nobody is humble enough to be looked down upon by anybody. Everybody wants to stand and fight for their rights. In the West and now in the East, I believe too, everywhere people are fighting for their rights. The campaign began a few years ago with Black Lives Matter. Then, White Lives Matter. Now, in my own home state, Manipur, as the conflict between two dominant groups is gradually escalating into civil war, propaganda and slogans have been raising wherever they could with the signa, Tribal Lives Matter and Meetei Lives Matter. 

Well, I thought to myself, whatever race or nationality you may belong to. Be it black or white or yellow; be it tribal or non-tribal, all are lives, and all lives matter. Should not the generic propaganda be, "Our Lives Matter?"

To me, life matters. Whichever lives you may interpret for the adjective before "live", they are all living people created equally by God, the Source and Author of life. So, Our Lives Matter!

With the background of the ongoing ethnic clash in Manipur and a few days ago, an ex-classmate of mine lost her husband, I took the opportunity to let all my friends and colleagues know that God loves and cares for us. In fact, our lives matter to Him much more than we matter to ourselves or to anybody. At such a juncture, we simply must trust in the Lord who cares for all equally. We should and must not give heed to the enemy's tactic of causing anxiety, worry, and depression among the "victims." We must always remember, God sees and knows everything. And God does care. And to God, Our Lives Matter.

Such being the case, it is best to simply trust in God. Any human scheming with man's natural wisdom will only lead to chaos, confusion, and complication. The best a believer can do in the midst of such complexity is, to cast all anxieties to God who cares for us. Because our lives matter to Him!

In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

Those who learn this simple spiritual lesson will be at peace. Our lives matter to God! So, cast all your cares upon Him, and bring all your anxieties to Him in prayer. The God of peace will make the peace of God our peace!

Therefore, the conclusion of the matter is, our lives matter to God.  So, trust in Him only, and cease from all natural maneuvering. For, Our Lives Matter.

Learn from Mistakes

God does not make mistakes, never did He nor will He ever. God is perfect and all He does is always perfect. Whatever God does for me is always the best. I may not understand it now, but time will testify that He always does the best for me.

Recently I made a couple of mistakes. It might sound silly and trivial. Nonetheless, they were still mistakes. I wonder to myself why I made such silly mistakes. I even thought of rectifying the mistakes I committed but ultimately I realized that they were not actually mistakes. It turned out that it was meant to be that way. 

We just had our Board of Directors meeting last Thursday. It was my official duty to preside over the meeting and make necessary official records. It was clearly told during the meeting that certain matters were a fellowship of the brothers not a part of the board meeting per se. But somehow, I recorded one of them into the minutes of the record. A brother pointed out this obvious mistake I committed and I apologized immediately.

Later, I still found that I made a typo in the minutes recording. Again a brother pointed it out. I thought I did it right but still, I made a mistake. And I again had to rectify the report. I thought to myself, what blunder and what oversight had I committed. Nonetheless, I learned that I needed the brothers who would help me find the mistakes I made and correct them. 

Another mistake I made was in filing my IT return. I thought I did everything right until I paid my tax and submitted the online form. First, my payment was not captured in the form I submitted. And later I discovered that I had filed the wrong form altogether. On checking with the official CA, I was told it could be rectified. And it was confirmed later that this was not a big issue and it will be settled. On the CA's advice, I did not try to revise it nor try to file with the new form. In this case, I thought I did not follow the inner leading as I initially intended to wait for a day. But as soon as I received my Form 16, I immediately did the filing, thinking that it was an easy job and it could just be done in a few minutes. I just proved myself wrong.

Nonetheless, I took this as a lesson to learn from and did not regret it. I am a child of God. I may make mistakes. But my Father God does not. Even when I committed a mistake, He turned it for my good to learn a lesson from.

Recovery of Brothers (2)

In the previous post on "Recovery of Brothers"  My Goodland: Recovery of Brothers (palmeichung.blogspot.com), one of the brothers in the dream was recovered back to the fellowship of the Body of Christ. The Lord has been so merciful to them that he even gave up his opinion to receive the brothers' fellowship concerning his marriage. A few weeks ago, as the brothers in the church, we proposed a sister to him. A few days later, he messaged me stating that he had no desire to go ahead and decided not to consider marriage for the time being. It was a very discouraging message as we have been doing our best to shepherd him and help him in his marriage matter. But last week, we had the burden to bring up the matter again and fellowshipped with him the need for him to get married. He did not give any reply then, but said he would definitely reconsider.

Meanwhile, we started a regular small group meeting in his house on Thursdays for the Life-study pursuit. I also requested him to read messages for building up New Believers, Vol. 2 on "Seeking God's Will" and "Marriage." Yesterday, after the Lord's table meeting he had to attend his official duty and was thinking to go home straight after his work, but he felt led by the Lord to come and meet me for fellowship. As we fellowshipped, he expressed his desire to consider the marriage proposal again. And happily and openly, he fellowshipped that he would obey the Lord's leading through the brothers. Therefore, we initiated the proposal for him.  May the will of the Lord be done.

On Saturday morning in our brothers' fellowship, I enquired about a senior brother and told the brothers that I would like to visit him if anyone has a plan. I was very firm in my decision to visit him because of the dream the Lord gave me on May 12th morning. It was the Lord's doing and I had to follow up on it. Yesterday, after all the meetings, I asked a brother if we should be visiting that senior brother. I got a reply that he had not yet responded. But later, he responded and confirmed that we would be visiting him.

As we were on the way to his home, we were praying for him to be fully recovered back into the fellowship of the church in Gurugram. We did not know what his response would be, but with much preparation in spirit, we went.  As soon as we met him, we found that he was very anxious about his health. He was fully distracted by his health report. To sympathize with him, I even helped to call up a brother who is a doctor to interpret his medical report. Through our visit and fellowship, his intense anxiety was dealt with. He received the life supply from the members of the Body through the word of God which comforted him. After an hour of anxiety and restlessness, he calmed down, and we were able to fellowship soberly on the word of God.

As usual, he would still express his opinion about the truth and the practices of the church life. But he really missed the fellowship of the church. He even requested that we should visit him at least once a week. He also confessed that he is in need of life supply. 

When we drove back home, I told the brothers that the Lord is faithful to fulfill His promises, as I narrated the dream the Lord gave me on May 12 concerning the recovery of these two brothers.

May the Good Lord, the Shepherd of all, shepherd these two brothers according to their need and gain them fully for His testimony in the church in Gurugram!

Enjoying the Word of God!

Today as we were fellowshipping, a brother asked us to share on our recent enjoyment of the word of God. We might have had a lot of experiences on witnessing patterns, testimonies, observations, and others, but what is the subjective enjoyment of the word of God? In fact, the only thing that builds up the Body of Christ is the word of God.

Acts  20:32 And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who have been sanctified.

If not for the word of God, our service to the Lord will just be an outward service, doing the formal mundane work for the sake of carrying out our duty without any impact on the lives of the saints for building up of the Body of Christ.

The Lord has been merciful to me and a couple of other brothers with whom I had been coordinating for the ministry literature journey to the hills of Nagaland. I shared my recent experiences and enjoyment of the word of God to all the brothers in the fellowship. As I shared I also enjoyed the Lord’s anointing so much and there was indeed a rich flow of life.

As we began the ministry literature journey on 13^th June 2023, the Lord’s prophetic word for this trip is:

Haggai 1:8 Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the house, and I will take pleasure in it and will be glorified, says Jehovah. 

We were very clear that we were going up to the mountain, the hills of Nagaland, to distribute the riches of the ministry so that we can also collect the materials for God’s building, the remnants of the Lord whom the Lord has sovereignly prepared for Himself and for His testimony.

On the first day, as we started our journey, our morning enjoyment was from 2 Pet. 1:19.

And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 2 Pet. 1:19

The prophetic word was the commission to go up to the mountain and bring wood for the building up of the house of God. Since then, every day, we had the word of God to lead and direct every step that we took. 

Psa. 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

As such serving ones in the distribution of the ministry of the word, I was very enlightened by the commission the Lord gave to me, “To be a the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his  household to give them food at the proper time.” What I have been doing is not an outward work of “selling, promotion, or marketing” the ministry literature. Perhaps, they may be. businesswise. But as for me, yes, deep within me, I am very clear and convicted that the Lord has commissioned me to accomplish this heavenly task of giving food at the proper time to all His children. These children could be the Christian leaders, pastors, theologians, missionaries, elders, deacons, Executive Secretaries, and Chairmen of all kinds of Christian associations and mission boards. The ministry of the word is spiritual food for all the children of God. The Lord has commissioned me with this task of giving food. And I must be faithful and also be prudent in executing this heavenly commission.

Matthew 24:45-47 Who then is the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over his  household to give them food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Truly I say to you that he will set him over all his possessions.

To be such one who gives food, I must be fed and filled with the spiritual food myself first. For this, I must labor on the word of God. I must enjoy the very word that I have been ministering and distributing. In fact, the Lord further revealed that I am indeed a son of oil together with my fellow coworkers in the vineyard.

Zech. 4:12, 14 …What are the two olive branches that are by the side of the two golden spouts, which empty the gold from themselves? ...And he said, These are the two sons of oil, who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.

We labor in the vineyard owned by the Lord of the whole earth! So we do so with full freedom and authority. In the New Testament terms, we are ministers of the new covenant, ministers of the Spirit who give life.

2 Cor. 3:6 [God] made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

In all our  journeys, the Lord had marvelously and miraculously prepared angels to lead us practically.

Rev. 22:16 I Jesus have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star.

Step by step, wherever we went, the Lord had His angels prepared to lead and guide us. From district to district amidst the jungle hilly roads, from town to town, from village to village, and even from house to house, the Lord had led us using His angels, people who suddenly appeared to lead us and then disappeared after they led us. We simply worship the Lord and His ways of leading us in a very intimate way.

Psalms 103:7 He made His ways known to Moses; His acts, to the children of Israel.

The word of God can be shared in two aspects. One is out of necessity. As serving ones of the Lord we have to minister the word. But if without the enjoyment of the word of God, all that is ministered will be out of necessity. Nonetheless, the Lord may still anoint and use the word to accomplish His purpose, But the better would be the second aspect. That is, sharing the word of God out of the fullness of the word and  overflowing richly living water. This is the normal and proper way of sharing the word of God.

John 4:14 But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.

John 7:38 He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.

Only by this kind of flowing out the living water, can we genuinely build up the church as such a minister of the word will cause the growth of the saints. So we can echo the apostle Paul in saying:

Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in full knowledge and all discernment.

This is my testimony of enjoying the written word becoming the living word, and the living word becoming the applied word; the enjoyment of the logos becoming rhema! All these are for the ministering of life to people for the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Lord, grace me to enjoy Your word day by day all the days of my life for the building up of your Body!

Ministry of the Word to Mokokchung, Kohima, Dimapur, Golaghat and Jorhat

This was my third time to come to Mokokchung town but I never could meet the Principal of the most reputed theological college. As we went to Impur and met the Executive Secretary of the Christian mission thete, I was introduced to the Principal of Clark Theological College. I called the Principal and we agreed to meet the following day.

At his office, I introduced the Holy Bible Recovery Version to the Principal which he immediately decided to purchase. He also introduced the academic dean and librarian. To all, we introduced the ministry literature. The Principal took the burden of introducing the free ministry books to the students himself. In that way, the Lord blessed the distribution there.

In the night, we fellowshipped with a group of Pastors from the Yuimchunger tribe. They were very interested in the Holy Bible Recovery Version and all of them purchased it. Besides, we also fellowshipped on the truth concerning Christ and the church. They were very interested in the Bible we quoted and fellowshipped concerning the church ground. The seed of the local church truth has been sown and in time, we will see the Lord manifesting His testimony in Mokokchung. 

Kohima was not in our plan this time. But, the Lord had His better way. We had to stop by Kohima and were able to meet with a brother whom I knew twenty years ago and who now has been serving as an independent pastor among inter-tribe couples who have not been to the already established churches. To him, I gifted the Holy Bible Recovery Version and will also send a few selected ministry books. Besides, a brother who is a lawyer by profession and who used to enjoy the church life in Delhi came to fellowship with us at our hotel accommodation arranged by a sister. 

Dimapur was just our base to start the ministry journey, as such, we did not have plan to do anything in the city. But at the last minute, we decided to meet a couple of families. It so turned out that the Lord had already reserved His remnants for His testimony in Dimapur. An Ao family, a Lotha family, an Angami family, a Yuimchunger family, and a couple of seeking brothers and sisters were all met. We all enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship and prayed together. To me, these families were revealed by the Lord to be the backbones of the Lord's move in Dimapur. May the Lord shepherd each one of them unto the raising up of the church in Dimapur.

Jorhat and Golaghat in Assam were the only two cities we could visit. The first one was the Eastern Theological College where the Principal gave us favor to display the ministry literature to the students and he himself purchased the Holy Bible Recovery Version for the college. In Golaghat, we dropped by the only Baptist Church and met with the Pastor and Deacon. Here, my burden was to find an Assamese translator. I got a few phone numbers to follow up.

Though we intent to go to Diphu, we had a time constraint. Therefore, we deferred the visit for some other time. Yet, a Pastor's daughter came to Patkai Christian College for her academic work through whom we were able to meet her Professor as well, who happened to be the adviser to the Evangelical Union students in the campus. Thereby, the Lord opened a new door in the college campus in Dimapur. In fact, we also met the Christian student leaders in Unity College where we introduced the ministry literature and also shared a word of exhortation to the students.

The Lord was sovereign in leading us to the right people at the right time for His divine purpose. The seed of the word of God has been sown. And now, we pray and wait for the Lord to manifest the result.

Lord, gain Nagaland for Christ and the church!