Daily Dependence

 Give us today our daily bread. Matthew 6:11

Daily dependence on the Lord is what I have been learning these days. When I first got saved, the Lord taught me how to live by faith, depending upon Him, especially on my financial matter when I had no source of income of my own except the ones I received from my father. Step by step, the Lord led me to trust Him in all things. In fact, I have been graced by the Lord to follow Him all this while as He also provided all my needs. It was so thrilling yet encouraging to learn the faithfulness of the Lord. He has been so faithful all the time. I especially felt his faithfulness during trying times. 

Now, though the Lord has arranged a way for me to be taken care of financially, I still have to depend on Him. For, His arrangement is just the means, He is still the source. The means exist because of the source. The means without the source has no meaning, it nullifies its existence. Though the means have been arranged to meet my family's needs, still, my dependence is on Him, the source, and not on the means.

This experience is also so much in line with the Life-studies pursuit these days on the book of Genesis on the line of life signified by the tree of life versus the line of death signified by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Day by day, I learn to exercise to partake of the tree of life and learn to live by the spirit. Even on physical and material things, I look to Him and depend on Him. I cease to depend on what He has already provided me with. I still depend on Him, the Source, for all things even if I already have them. This is what I understood of the prayer, "Lord, give us today our daily bread." A life of depending upon God all the time.

I treasure this lesson so much. Even after twenty-five years of living and walking with the Lord, my dependence on Him becomes more eminent and desperate. For I have learned the lesson that I am nothing without Him. My life, my work, and my everything depends on Him. There is nothing I can claim of my own, literally nothing. All that I have are from Him. My life, my family, my children, and all that I have, spiritual or physical, all are from Him. I have because He gives. 

Though I have enough deposits in the bank, all from the Lord's blessing financially, I do not depend on them too. I would learn to live by His monthly provision of finance and learn to manage within it. The expenses for my family have grown much. So I am learning to save wherever I can. So I would rather try to repair all my broken gadgets than throw them and buy new ones. As much as possible, I try my best to repair at a low cost and avoid shelling out a huge amount for purchasing new gadgets. Recently I have had to face this decision with a fridge, cooler, and hairdryer. They have been good enough to throw them as junk yet I still somehow tried to repair them and make them work. Though there was a price to pay for running around for the repair and a couple of days and weeks to wait for the repair to be done, I would rather pay the price of my labor and wait than pay the price of money, an easy way to get things done just by buying new ones.

In all these little things, I got the grace to experience the Lord in depending on Him. This is what I have been learning these days. Depend on the Lord, yes even a  daily dependence. Given a choice, I would always choose to depend on the Lord even if I could do without it. And I am glad I could not do without the Lord.  So I depend on Him daily.

Lord, give me today my daily bread!

Life Lesson: Trusting in God

Today I received my new passport that I applied for exactly a week ago. Behind this new application, I went through some spiritual experiences that were worth remembering. 

I discovered that I needed to renew my passport when I was trying to book a flight ticket for an official trip to Singapore and Manila. Immediately, I applied for the renewal of my about-to-expire passport. The waiting time was about two months to get an appointment. I was a little concerned as I was to take a foreign trip by early October this year. My old passport expires in August this year and my renewal required two months waiting period. I was about to take a shortcut way of going for Tatkal at a higher processing fee. But as I calmed down and considered before the Lord, the peace of Christ within me led me not to worry about it and simply follow the waiting period. Deep within me, I had an assurance that everything will be alright. Then I applied for the normal renewal and waited for two months. Meanwhile, I undertook two distribution trips.

Last Monday, I went for the renewal and went through all the steps of document processing and completed everything. Once I came out of the passport office, I received a message stating that my passport has been granted. Then, later I received an email for Police verification. And later again, I received an email notification of the dispatch detail of the passport.

Since a four-days training came up which began last Wednesday, I decided to complete the Police verification and also get the passport. But my natural enthusiasm did not yield any fruit. Then, I went to the training and decided to handle these matters after the training. 

Right after the training, I received a call from the Police station last Saturday for passport approval Police verification which I did yesterday after the Lord’s Table meeting. The same evening, I received a call from the postman about my passport delivery. And today morning I got my new passport.

This is a very normal natural process. But for me, there are some deep spiritual learnings behind the scenes. The Lord's hand was upon me and my environment including the people whom I contacted. The lesson of trusting in the Lord and living by faith even in this matter was so precious to me. And the lesson of the Lord’s sovereignty over my situation added to the degree of God’s loving care for me. Thank the Lord that He cares for me even in all the fine and minute matters. Just trusting in Him for all things has been a real enjoyment of peace.

Two months of waiting and a week of processing was the time duration for this wonderful experience of trusting the Lord! I need not push anything naturally and if I did so, it did not yield any result. All that was required was to learn to trust and wait for the Lord to do His work. Praise the Lord for this lesson and experience!

Ministry of the Word to Bilaspur(UP), Pakwara, and Moradabad

The brother who helped us from the previous places we visited so far had no clue about our onward journey. But the Lord already arranged a brother through the free books distributed online by Rhema Distributor. This brother was actually shepherded by the contact we had. He willingly received us at his home in Bilaspur and we had a wonderful time of fellowship with his family and the family of his friend. They all were from Catholic backgrounds but had left that fold and gathered as a small flock shepherded by this key brother who received us warmly. They were quite simple and received all that we had to minister. 

The key brother further took us to visit a good number of Pastors in the villages. Surprisingly, the entire area of about twelve villages was all Christian. It was indeed a surprise to learn that in such a district a good number of Christians have been preserved by the Lord.

 

After we met all that have to be met, we moved on to our next and last destination for this trip, Moradabad. Since the brother we knew is a working dental doctor in the vicinity, Pakwara, we went there and were accommodated in the medical college guest house. It was indeed a new experience there. After the trip, I wrote to the brothers with the photo of the guest house captioning as:

On the last two days of our distribution trip, the Lord arranged our hospitality in the guest house of a medical college where our host, our brother, is a medical doctor. The Lord took good care of us throughout the trip. In a village hut or in a city mansion, we enjoyed the Lord’s presence, all the same. 

Hymn #348

What matters where on earth we dwell?

On mountain top, or in the dell,

In cottage, or a mansion fair,

Where Jesus is, my joy is there!

In Moradabad, eight Christian leaders gathered together and they gave us time to introduce and distribute the ministry literature. Though they were quite scared initially as they have been facing persecution, when we met them they were very joyful with the word we ministered to them.

On the Lord’s day, I had a feeling within me that we should attend the Lord’s day meeting of a particular Pastor who impressed me among all. But I prayed and waited to fellowship with my fellow brothers. Once we all agreed in one accord, I called up the Pastor and enquired if we could attend the meeting, he spontaneously welcomed us and also requested me to minister the word.

On the Lord’s day meeting in Moradabad, I and a brother ministered the word of God on the truth concerning the daily need for breathing, drinking, and eating the Lord. I used all the relevant Bible verses to minister to them the timely word. I also led them to call upon the Lord Jesus's name and pray-read a verse, John 6:63. All the believers responded with much joy. I trust the Lord that His word was a rich supply to all the believers. Later, we had further time together with the family members of the Pastor over lunch. I do believe through the continual shepherding by the ministry of the word, the Lord can recover them to take the ground of oneness and take the stand as the church in Moradabad one day. Thus, the Lord blessed us again in this trip. Then, as a conclusion, I wrote to the brothers:

Altogether, the Lord led us to 11 localities for the distribution of the ministry literature in one week's time in Uttar Pradesh. All these places were our first visit and there is no local church yet. 

May the Lord bless the sowing of the seed of the ministry of the word unto the raising up of His testimony one day!

Thank you Brothers, for all your prayers!

Glory to God, hallelujah!

Ministry of the Word to Meerut, Mansurpur, and Muzaffarnagar

There was a cloud of uncertainty in Meerut as all the Pastors that our brothers helped to call up were too scared to host us due to the ongoing persecution. Yet, the Lord opened a door where there seemed to be no way. A brother outside the city came to receive us and took us to various Christian leaders in the city. In fact, the first Pastor we met was so glad that we visited him and his family. He was so impressed by the Holy Bible Recovery Version and purchased a copy for himself immediately with a couple of other ministry books.

After meeting all we had to meet, we got late as we had to travel for about two hours journey to another town. When we reached our next destination and had our dinner, it was very late then to go to the house arranged by our host. No more public transports were available yet we were not perturbed. Instead, I took a photo of the vehicle we finally got and sent it with a caption:

Last night, after meeting the key Christian leaders we got late. In fact, very late that no more public transport were available. Finally, we got a goods carrier and rode under the clear sky to our place of hospitality with loads of good "of experiences of Christ!"

The house for our hospitality was the humble home of our host. He willingly accommodated us despite his wife being sick and no good facility available. Yet we learned to accept happily the Lord’s sovereign arrangement. The next day I wrote to the brothers:

Last night, we were given hospitality in a very humble house of a brother. Though he was physically poor, his heart was very large. He gave the best he could for the Lord’s sake. Despite the facility, the Lord gave a wonderful sound sleep. Today morning, we enjoyed our morning revival and Bible reading under a clear sky!

We continued to meet some good Pastors in Mansurpur and Muzaffarnagar who received the ministry and with whom also we enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship. Surely, the Lord brought us to these places for the recovery of His testimony one day. We were also impressed by our host who was diligently leading us despite his family situation. We knew he has been going through tough times, but he did his best to take us to meet different Pastors for the introduction and distribution of the ministry of the word. 

May the Lord bless him and his family. May the Lord bless the sowing of the seed of the ministry of the word in all these places.

Ministry of the Word to Kwarsi, Khurja, Bulandshar, and Hapur

A brother from Aligarh had arranged for another brother in Kwarsi to take care of us and led us for the ministry literature distribution journey further. We met a couple of Pastors in Kwarsi who have been serving in the villages nearby and they all came together in our host's house. We introduced and distributed the ministry literature to them. They all were independent Pastors with no outside support financially. They seems to have suffered financially but they all were very firm in their faith and in their stand for the Lord’s testimony amidst the difficulties including the persecution they have been facing these days.

Then, we were led to the town Khurja and to the city Bulandshar where we drove around to meet different Christian leaders for the introduction and distribution of the ministry literature. Whoever we met and wherever we went, the Lord’s favor and blessings were upon us. Even in the midst of persecution, the believers have been facing recently from religious fanatics, the word of God indeed run swiftly. While in the city, there was a heavy downpour and the whole city road was flooded with rain water. It was a very prophetic experience. I sent a short recorded video clip of the flooding road with a caption:

Showers of blessing! 

Sailing through the "sea-ty" swiftly. 

“He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly.”

(Psalms 147:15, RecVer)

During the night, our host did not have enough room for our night stay. So, he arranged his rooftop under a clear sky for the night sleep. Perhaps, after many years I slept under an opened heaven and a clear sky. I had a very good night sleep. The following day, I sent a photo of our cots with a caption:

Last night we slept on the roof top of a brother's house in a village as we came for the ministry literature distribution. Our sky was clear as we ministered the word to Hindi speaking believers in the villages. 

Remember us in your prayers.

The next day early morning we left for Hapur by train. It was quite tiresome but I had a good sleep in the train. At a Pastor's meeting hall in Hapur, we introduced the ministry literature to eight Pastors who gathered for this purpose. The only word we heard were about the subtle persecution from the ruling authorities in the state. Despite such threatening news, the Lord covered and blessed our distribution trip.

May the Lord bless His move in all these localities!

Ministry of the Word to Aligarh

This city has been in my heart for many years. But only this time, the Lord opened the door for His move into this city. A brother whom I contacted over the phone received us warmly in his house.

As we fellowshipped with him, it became clear that the Lord used him and his family for His move in the city. Though there were a good number of Christian leaders and workers, it was his family the Lord led us to. 

After a sumptuous breakfast, we fellowshipped freely on the truth concerning the church even as we introduced the Holy Bible Recovery Version to him and a couple of ministry books. He and his son, who is also helping him in the Lord’s work, even testified that they saw the church as in the Bible through our speaking! They both were very impressed by the truth we ministered and placed orders for the Bible and the entire ministry books in Hindi.

Then, this brother called a good number of Pastors to come and meet us in His house to be introduced to the ministry books. He also took us to other Pastors within the city. In one place, three Pastors gathered together and we had a wonderful time of fellowship, especially on the truth concerning the church and her universal and local aspects. In fact, whatever title books were introduced to them, they purchased them. Apart from ordering the Hindi set, they also requested if they could make a plan for a day or two of meeting in the city. If the Lord so wills, may the Lord’s will be done.

In the night, we were given hospitality in our host's house. His son, who is also shepherding a group of Christians, invited us to share in his online meeting. We ministered the word on God's eternal purpose in creating man and how He carries out His plan by our daily cooperating with Him through our eating and drinking of Him daily. We even pray-read a verse from John 6:63 together online. All the attendees really enjoyed the meeting.

The next day morning, a brother from a Muslim background who believed into the Lord Jesus Christ after proving by his own research that Christ indeed was resurrected, came to visit us. He was so interested in the Holy Bible Recovery Version and the ministry books that he placed an order for it and requested for an occasional online meeting to consider some deep biblical truth together. All these were because the Lord led us to testify to him of the riches He has been blessing us in His recovery.

After all these meetings in Aligarh, the brother drove us to a nearby town and entrusted us to another brother for our onward ministry literature journey. Praise the Lord for His move in Aligarh!

May the Lord raise up His testimony in Aligarh!

Lord's Move to Uttar Pradesh

The Lord is sovereign over all. I had no choice but to follow Him and exercised to be one with Him and His move. This month of July I decided to stay back as many official works needed to be done. Of course, I did them all, one by one. But, as a brother proposed the distribution trip to North India, my initial reaction was to let the other brothers go and I stay back. A week passed by, and as I went before the Lord to consider this matter, deep within me I had the burden to go too, at least to Aligarh. The city of Aligarh stood out among all. 

For some reason, the city of Aligarh had been ringing in my heart. But when I checked for contacts, I did not get any positive response. One Wednesday morning as we were fellowshipping about the North India distribution plan, I realized that a brother who had to join could not. Therefore, it became imperative for me to join and modify the dates for distribution as the dates were based on that brother who could not join. Then, one Friday as I went before the Lord to pray, I was even further confirmed about my participation in this trip. When I called a brother from Karnal, he gave me a brother's phone number in Aligarh whom I contacted. He welcomed me to visit him. This became the Lord’s confirmation for the visit to Aligarh!

The Lord had arranged everything again. Though I planned to use my car, I could not bring my car. It suddenly had an electrical minor issue prompting us not to take the car. The first time it ever happened in the history of this car. Later, it was discovered that it was a switch fuse issue. Then I realized it was the Lord telling us not to take the car this time. Because flood and religious Kawara blocked the road we were supposed to tread. And for our need for the distribution, a car had already been arranged in Aligarh!

Likewise, the cities, towns, and villages the Lord wanted us to visit were all arranged spontaneously by the local brothers. We simply followed their instructions and leading, step by step. In fact, they themselves planned the localities and people to visit. We only did the introduction and distribution of the ministry of the word.

Even for our accommodation and food, we enjoyed whatever was provided to us. In the village on the housetop or in a guest house in a city, it really did not matter. For what matters most was the Lord’s presence, as it always is and will be. This reminds me of the hymn below.

Hymn #348

What matters where on earth we dwell?

On mountain top, or in the dell,

In cottage, or a mansion fair,

Where Jesus is, my joy is there!

This is the Lord’s move and He is carrying it out according to His heart's desire. We labor in His labor as we are one with Him. The Lord's work the Lord is doing through His vessels, us. 

Lord, bless Your move in UP, especially Aligarh!