Two Funerals

The day before yesterday I received a message from a brother who is also a translator informing me of the demise of his father. His father had been ill for quite some time, in fact, seriously ill that at one point the family lost all hope. The doctors discharged him with no hope ever, and the family took him home just to wait for his demise. But our brother prayed for his father and at least for a moment he regained his health back. But this did not last too long, and the sad news of the demise came. My innate reaction was, I called up my brother, listened to what he had to say, comforted him, and also prayed with him. In times of sorrow, I should stand with him though from a distance. He has been up and down as far as following the ministry is concerned, but nonetheless he is a dear brother in the Lord and I still maintain my fellowship with him as a brother. Despite his opinion about us an the ministry, he is still a brother in the Lord. Therefore, during this difficult time, I did my best to stand with him and even help him in whatever way I could. Later, in fellowship with my coordinator, we felt good to assist him at least for the funeral expenses of his father. So we offer ten thousand rupees as a token of love and comfort during this time of grief and urgent need to this brother and his family. Words did comfort, but much more, practical help like offering comforts too. Leaving all his views and opinion about the Lord's recovery aside, he is still a dear brother in the Lord. As much as the Lord permits me to be fellowship with him, I will do so faithfully. I do pray that one day he will be fully for Christ and the church. 

One day, all will need to face the tomb unless the Lord returns before our time ends. One thought that crossed my mind was, before that day comes, I better grow in life and be matured to have a complete conclusion.

Ep 1:18The eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

Note from the Recovery Version: The hope of God’s calling includes (1) Christ Himself and the salvation He will bring to us when He comes back (Col. 1:27; 1 Pet. 1:5, 9); (2) the rapturous transfer from the earthly and physical realm to the heavenly and spiritual sphere, plus glorification (Rom. 8:23-25, 30; Phil. 3:21); (3) the kingly enjoyment with Christ in the millennium (Rev. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:18); and (4) the consummate enjoyment of Christ in the New Jerusalem, with the universal and eternal blessings in the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1-7; 22:1-5).

On the same day, I received another message from another translator that his sister's father-in-law went to be with the Lord. Since it was just a distant relationship, I initially thought it was not important to attend his funeral meeting. But my dear broher and coordinator fellowshipped that we better attend the funeral representing the church. Though I initially questioned the need for it, I later realised that it was during this time of grief, pain, and sorrow that we put our church life to a practical test. Then, I obliged to the fellowship, and we went to attend this funeral in North Delhi. Though we could not do much, we at least showed our support by being physically present at the funeral meeting. We did offer prayer for the family at the tomb. And stood in oneness with the saints in the church in New Delhi to take care of all the practical needs of the family. We also offered some amount on behalf of the church and handed it over to the church in New Delhi to consdier the best use of it concerning this family.

Rm 12:12Rejoice in hope; endure in tribulation; persevere in prayer.

Rm 12:13Contribute to the needs of the saints; pursue hospitality.

May the God of all comfort comfort the two families. May those of us who still remain look away unto Him, the hope of glory.

Ministry of the Word to Kolkata

Kolkata is one of the metro cities we have been praying for. For decades we have been burdened for this city. A couple of ministry and gospel trips have been undertaken. Yet till date, the testimony of the Lord on the ground of oneness is still just in prayer. This city was planned this time as brothers from Chennai were to come too. But, at the last minute they could not make it due to the cancellation of their train because of the cyclone Michaung that flooded the city and caused havoc. Therefore, we planned to just meet my old classmate's family and some seekers.

In fact, when I sent out prayer requests, my classmate enquired if I could minister in their congregation on the Lord’s day, the day we planned to arrive the city, which happened to be their "Mission Sunday." But the Lord did not give me peace at all. So we decided not to accept the offer except to just come to visit the family.

As we spent time with my friend and brother's family in Kolkata, we had a wonderful time of fellowship on the truth concerning the Christian life and the history of the church, and the proper church life in the Lord’s recovery. My friend and his wife were very interested to learn more. They have opened their home for the ministry and in just a couple of hours we were able to meet whoever we need to meet in the city for this time of visit. At least for the day we were there, I told them that their house has become a "Mission Centre" which was their way of understanding what we call as propagation center. When I left, I sent a note of thanks to both my friend and his wife:

Thank you for your love, care, and hospitality. The Lord enabled us to accomplish our burden through your open home for the ministry as we could meet the key local Bengali contacts by inviting them at your home within  a span of few hours. 

Jehovah bless you and keep you; 

Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;

Jehovah lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

(Numbers 6:24-26, RecVer)

Thank you! Praise the Lord!

Even in our planning, we planned to visit a seeker but due to Uber cab booking cancellation we had to change our plan and asked the seekers to come to meet us instead. That turned out to be the Lord’s perfect plan as another seeker just came before the appointed time to meet with us. We enjoyed a time of fellowship, enjoyed lunch together, and also learned that the Lord opened a new door for His move in Kolkata among the local seekers. 

In the morning, a brother from Asansol called me to enquire my whereabouts and also to request for free Bengli books. As he learned that I was in Kolkata, he introduced me to his friend who later came to meet with us. And another local brother also joined us. Therefore, we all enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship as the two local Bengali speaking brothers shared their testimonies. Another new door was opened for the Lord’s further move in Kolkata.

After these meetings, I became quite clear what the Lord has been doing in Kolkata all these years. He has been preparing the local believers and gradually bringing the ministry to them and also introducing them to us. What we have been trying to do over the past decades, the Lord has been doing it in His way and at His time. Now, the time has come for us to reap the harvest. Now, with the churches in Tamilnadu picking the burden for Kolkata, the stage has been set for the raising up of the Lord’s testimony in Kolkata. 

On a lighter note, my departing flight from Kolkata was postponed thrice. I booked the last available flight from Kolkata to Delhi to give me sufficient time to meet people and minister during the day. This postponed flight gave me sufficient time to finish recording my experiences and also gave me enough time to enjoy dinner at the airport lounge. Even in little things, the Lord was sovereign over all! Praise Him!

Lord, raise up Your testimony in Kolkata!

Minstry of the Word to Durgapur

When I ventured out for this ministry journey to West Bengal, one of the burdens the Lord gave me was to find a good and proper Bengali translator. I just trusted the Lord that in time He will reveal one. Just as expected, while we were in Asansol the Lord gave us a contact whose father was a Bengali translator. As we came to visit this brother, I marvelled at the specific way the Lord led us to him at the right time. He was one of the best Bengali translators with decades of experience and have already translated over 200 title books. Besides, he is a dear brother in the Lord. With him, we spent a couple of hours fellowshipping. I was so thankful to the Lord for this discovery and worshipped the Lord for the way He led us to him. I do believe the Lord will open up the entire Bengali population to the healthy teaching of the ministry of the word.

After this, we went to Durgapur to attend a yearly meeting of all the Christians in the city. The coordinator of the program gave us time to introduce the ministry literature to all the people present. The meeting was recorded and also live-streamed. In just one evening, the Lord opened the door for the spread of the ministry in Durgapur. A good number of seekers came and purchased the ministry books in addition to receiving the free Bengali books. This was yet another unique experience the Lord blessed us with. 

In traveling to all these places with heavy luggages filled with ministry books, the Lord also graced us to the extend that the joy of bringing the truth to the people overshadowed the little hardship and physical suffering we bore for a while. On that day, we did not have time to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But we did not feel hungry even. Though my body suffered a little bit due to dust and cold, I had been sneezing and coughing, yet, it was not a big deal. The joy of the presence of the Lord in introducing and distributing the ministry of the word filled me inwardly. I could only call upon the Lord again and again and praise Him!

Lord, bless Your move in Durgapur and gain the Bengali populace with the availability of the ministry of the word in Bengali soon.

West Bengal for Christ and the church!

Ministry of the Word to Asansol

The first time I visited Asansol was when visited a brother and his family for spiritual fellowship. It was then that helped them with the truth concerning salvation and also baptised them. That was a great deliverance for the entire family from the darkness of idolatry and the bandages of the devil through superstition amd many deception of the devil. The family since then have been fully brought to enjoy the Christ as their life. After three years, I have come again to visit this family with a brother. 

This time, in addition to fellowshopping with the family, we also visited other Christian leaders and groups in the city for the introduction and distribution of the ministry literature. Though we could not do much, we could at least visit few Christian leaders whom the Lord sovereignly led us to, people whom He already prepared to receive the ministry. 

In one of the biggest congregations, we were initially told that no "big pastor" would give time as they all have their own teachings and ministries. But we simply went to visit, by faith, one of the biggest groups without any preappointment. Both the groups received us warmly, received our fellowship, and also the books we introduced. In fact, in one group that also owns a theological school, all the Bible teachers gathered together to hear us out and they all purchased the Holy Bible Recovery Version!

We were also invited to minister the word in one of the congregations here on the Lord’s day, which we did. The Lord led us to minister on helping the believers to know that they were vessels created by God to contain God. As such, the meaning of the human life is to contain God and express God. For this, there is the need to confess our sins and apply the precious blood of the Lamb whenever we are defiled. The cleansed vessel may then be filled with God Himself by calling upon the Lord’s name and receiving the word of God by reading and praying. We also encouraged them to read the Bible daily which they all agreed to do so; to read the Bible daily that they all can complete reading the whole Bible at least once in a year.

Besides these, we also enjoyed a time of fellowship with a seeking brother concerning the problem that he has been going through. Our only solution is, first of all, pray. Then, as we were about to leave, a family came for fellowship an urgent fellowship. The son had just met an accident, the wife just left him, and the family has been deeply grieved. As we all prayed, the father of the family broke into tears. We consoled him by sharing the gospel and also ministering the truth concerning baptism as he has been praying for his own baptism. In this way, we all accomplished the burden the Lord gave us for this visit to Asansol this time.

As we spent time with our host during meal time, we also fellowship with the father of the family concerning his need to deny himself, take up the cross, and follow the Lord. We shepherded him to exercise his spirit and turn to the Lord in every situation. Especially, to take the Lord’s grace in forgiving the people who have hurt him a lot. We also helped him to get into the ministry by reading the Bible with the help of the footnotes, listen to the ministry speaking online, and pursue lessons for new believers.

I personally have the faith in the Lord that the Lord has been preparing His vessels for His testimony. Step by step He led us and layer by layer He unveiled His heart's desire for this city.

Lord, raise up Your testimony in Asansol soon!

Life Lesson: Taking Fellowship

In one of our weekly fellowships, the need for providing a healthy and daily spiritual food to the saints speaking Kokborok in Tripura in the form of HWMR was brought up. According to that fellowship, the serving ones in the literature service would bear the responsibility to find some potential translators. Since then, I have been considering the proper time to go visit the saints in their localities and find out the way to get proper serving ones. Last week, that fellowship was carried out. A brother and I spent three and a half days to visit Tripura and introduced and distributed the ministry literature among the local Christian leaders besides fellowshipping with the saints and also seeking for some potential translators. Finally, we concluded with four potential translators in Kokborok, two of them have been translating and checking already, and the other two were MA in Kokborok, one of them still pursuing the degree, to whom we imparted the burden for translation. The Lord led us and honored the burden for which we came to the state this time for. May the Lord continue to preserve these ones to be faithful and useful vessels unto Him.

About a year ago, one of the leading brothers in the North East called and informed be about a brother in Tripura who had coordinated with me in my past visit five years ago. I took the brother's fellowship and did not make any further contact with that one. I had no idea of the actual situation of that brother but I trust the brother's word as he would not mention things to me if it were not serious. So when I came to visit the state this time, I honored the brother's fellowship and did not contact him at all. Later, through the local brothers I came to learn of the facts and confirmed what a brother warned me of. The two main reasons were, first, the matter of purity in the Lord’s recovery and second, the matter of holiness in contacting the saints. As I was informed, it was thus confirmed. And I was glad that I was able to take the brother's fellowship. Though I had no personal problem with him, I should not put my natural love against the fellowship. Since I could not visit him, I, at least, could pray for the Lord to purify his heart, heal, and recover him back to the fellowship of the Body. In fact, I took the initiative to pray for this brother's healing and recovery with the local brothers. I do believe, one day, the Lord will fully recover him into the fellowship of the Body again.

Though the visit to Tripura was not in my plan at all, when a brother called me, I realized it was of the Lord. I took it to prayer and fellowshipped with my brothers and also with my wife for all practical arrangement. At times, I would be led, and other times, I must follow the Lord's leading through a member of His Body. Either way, it was the Lord’s leading. And I was blessed to be able to amen the proposal. Therefore, I also received the blessing and enjoyed the Lord’s working in me again through this ministry of the word literature journey this time.

Ministry of the Word to Malda, West Bengal

Malda, one of the cities in West Bengal, popped up in one of the meetings we had with a brother in Bokaro. We thought that he had a good contact here, therefore, we planned to visit this city for the distribution of the ministry literature in Bengali. But as we planned and was about to come, he could not be contacted and we were left with no contact. A serving brother tried his best to find seeking contacts in Malda but to no avail. Since we already planned our trip to this city, I was told to find some contacts somehow. That being the case, I searched for "Christians in Malda" on Google. As I Google searched, one contact via facebook gained my attention. So I called the number right away. It so happened that it was the same person contacted by another person, but he backed down to meet with us citing his busy schedule. When as I spoke to him, he finally agreed to meet on the same day we arrive Malda after his Bible studies, about 8:30 pm. By the way, we arrived Malda at about 7:30 pm. Besides, on his suggestion I also booked a hotel room online.

The moment we arrived Malda, we went straight to our hotel room. Once we settled down and was ready, I called the contact I got over the net the day before. He turned up and met us. We did our best to introduce the ministry to him. Though he did not show much interest in it, he touched something of the Lord and changed his mind after meeting with us. As we fellowshipped a while and prayed, he gave us an impromptu invitation to join with him the next day to his group of leaders meeting some 25 kms away from the city. We readily agreed to it. At our first meeting, he did not show any interest in the ministry literature as he claimed to be already very occupied  

The next day, we went along with him to his leaders meeting. On his request, we shared the word of God for an hour. I specifically ministered the word on the need to grow in life unto full maturity by feeding on the gutless milk of the word. I began with 1 Timothy 2:4, and connected the need for the coming to the full knowleged of the truth with Romans 8:29, "conformed to the image of His (Firstborn) Son" and Ephesians 4:13 "the full grown man". I emphasized the need for "eating Jesus" using the relevant verses in John 6:32, 33, 35, 41, 48, 50, 51, 57, 58, 63 along with Matthew 4:4, and 2 Timothy 3:16, 17. Initially, I was not sure what to minister, but when the time came, the Lord just released the word, verse by verse. Then the 300 set of free BXL 1,2,3 in Bengali were all distributed to the 30 leaders who attended the meeting. Though the key brother was not very interest in the printed books, he became a channel through whom these books could be distributed.

Later, on our way back, we went for sight seeing to three historical sites and took an afternoon nap. Though, the key brother said he was too busy to meet us again, at the last minute he agreed to come and meet us again at our hotel room. When he did come, he finally asked to see the ministry books we brought. Though he still insisted that he did not have time to read, as we introduce the ministry books, he got interested and expressed his desire to get some books. In fact, he literally asked for some books, Messages for Building Up New Believers, and Song of Songs. Deep within me, I felt the burden to give him three books, The Normal Christian Church Life, The Genuine Ground of Oneness, and The Orthodoxy of the Church, as he shared his understanding of the local churches meeting at homes and the need for oneness among the believers today. Finally, when he left, he thanked us for the gifts. The one who said he was not interested in books as "he reads only the word of God directly and that he has no time for books" finally ended up receiving seven ministry books that can help him see the Lord’s heart's desire as revealed in the Bible concerning the Christian life and the church life. Praise the Lord that the Lord indeed has His way of distributing His ministry among His chosen remnants.

After one day visit to Malda city not knowing, the Lord has accomplished His purpose again! 

May the Lord open the eyes of His chosen ones to hunger and thirst for the word of God and receive help from the ministry of the word.

Lord, gain Your remnants in Malda unto the raising up of Your testimony one day!

Seeking for Kokborok Translators

Five years ago, I came to Tripura for the introduction and distribution of the ministry literature to the Christian leaders in Agartala and nearby localities. A brother coordinated with me at that time. Wherever we went, whomever we met, the Lord blessed the distribution. We had a good sales too. This time, the main burden was to seek out proper translators to bring the ministry literature into Kokborok, the main language read and spoken by the native people. This was our prayers and fellowship with the brothers for this visit to Tripura this time. Though I got the phone numbers of the two best Kokborok translators, they were fully occupied with the projects they are presently engaged in. In fact, they could not be met even. However, the Lord had the best plan for who the translators would be for thr ministry literature.

Through the three and half days visit, the Lord in fellowship manifested four potential translators for Kokborok. Two of them are the ones who coordinated in the past for translating HWMRs and some hymns. Due to certain situations, they were not able to continue regularly. But now, the Lord has been working on them and they also received a fresh burden. They both have agreed to continue the translation service to meet the present need of the saints.

Besides, the Lord also manifested two brothers for the translation. One brother who is currently pursuing Master's degree in Kokborok will involve more in the translation even as he received a fresh burden concerning his education, life, and the present need of the saints. He was very much encouraged when we helped him to see why the Lord led him to study MA in Kokborok and that his life is for the Lord with all the education the Lord has been imparting him with. We also met another brother who has a double degree in MA, one of which is Kokborok. Besides, he has been translating the PM of India's Mann Ki Baat, a monthly radio program. As we fellowshipped with him concerning the Christian life and our usefulness to the Lord, he seriously considered to give his time to bring out the ministry books into Kokborok that will benefit some fourteen lakhs native speakers in Tripura. Though, these two brothers have come forward to do the translation gradually, they also will need the prayers of the Body to uphold them. As this is the Lord’s move, it is also a spiritual battle that must be fought only in the Body with the Body. The leading brothers in the local churches also were revived through all our fellowship to seriously follow up on bringing the ministry materials into their native language, not only for the saints under their shepherding care, but also for all the believers speaking the language. 

After meeting and fellowshiping with these brothers, I deeply thanked the Lord for leading us this time with this specific burden and that has now been accomplished. May the Lord bring to fruition what has been initiated concerning the Kokborok translation service.

Besides, we were also sovereignly led to meet with the top leadership of the main Christian group in the state. On the last day, we had a time of introduction of the ministry literature to the top leadership in the home of a brother who once was the founding president of a prevalent tribal organization. We had a time of love feast fellowship and even stayed at his resident. After all these, with a deep sense of gratitude to the Lord for His leading and guiding, we left the city today morning for another distribution trip to another state, West Bengal.

Lord, bless Your move in Tripura!