The Cloud : A Visit to Gujarat

We have been praying for Gujarat for the Lord's testimony and for the ministry of the word to be made available in Gujarati. Though a plan was conceived many months ago, the right time has come only now for us to visit this state. Through some contacts we finally visited this state and landed in a city, Ahmedabad. The brothers who made the arrangement thought we were foreigners and have made the best possible arrangement; in fact, too good, for us. We were accommodated in a star hotel called "The Cloud". Indeed, we are in "the Cloud", in the Spirit, while we are here meeting a couple of believers.

As planned, it is only a two days stay, and the time we spend here are quite fruitful. On day one, we had fellowshiped with a brother who was so much helped by brother Watchman Nee's writings, first by The Normal Christian Life, many years ago, and recently, by The Overcoming Life. In fact, he initiated a translation and wrote to Living Stream Ministry, USA for permission. That's how we came to know each other.

Besides, we got to fellowship with few more translators to carry out the translation work into Gujarati. The Lord has led us to the right people, and now we are in a position to begin the literature service in Gujarati. Though we prayed much for at least one, now we have three or more, perhaps, to choose from. Praise the Lord!

The Lord's timing and ways are always the best. Apart from the literature burden, He also opened up a family for more fellowship on the matter of the church. The books the Lord inspired us to bring as a gift are also very apt and timely, The Normal Christian Church Life by Watchman Nee and The Basic Revelations in the Holy Scriptures by Witness Lee. We have gifted these books to two translators. In fact, with one of them and his family we pursued the latter book on the Church as the "Ekklesia", "The House of God" and "The Body of Christ." 

Sovereignly, a brother from Singapore who is on his business trip to the same city met with us when we visited a Christian bookstore yesterday. He joined us in a love-feast fellowship with the seeking one's family tonight. O what a blessed time we had together! The Lord's timing are perfect; and its always worth the waiting. 

Hallelujah! We are indeed in the Cloud! Not just in the hotel "The Cloud" but much more in the Cloud, in the Spirit, for His move in this city Ahmedabad and this state Gujarat!

May God bless Gujarat and His words in Gujarati.

Duplication

Recently I was so much impressed by the matter of "duplication" in our services in the Lord's work. In fact, this has been a burden in the Lord's work today. Gone are the days of "spiritual giants" where spirituality in an individualistic way was pursued as the main goal of a Christian life. In fact, I was once such. This line of belief is very dangerous for the building up of the Body of Christ; for the Body of Christ is a corporate matter with each members function according to the measure God has measured to them, not going beyond nor below, but just as the Lord, the Head of the Body, sovereignly has ordained.

In a normal Christian life in a normal church life, coordination in oneness with all members functioning is a must. For this practically to happen there must be a mutual shepherding of one another; the learned ones must train and perfect the learning ones, the senior and experienced ones must shepherd and perfect the younger and inexperienced ones. Whatever one has learned under the Lord's grace must be passed on to the next generation, and impart to the ones who have not yet learned. By this way, the building up of the Body of Christ will hasten. God is not seeking for individualistic spiritualist, but He is seek for the Body, His Bride, for Him to marry to consummate this age.

If not for the faithful brothers in the Lord's recovery today who are imparting this burden in this age, I would still be very individualistic, keeping all my learning from the Lord to myself. With this burden released I have started to serve in the way of perfecting and building up one another. What the Lord has taught me all these years must be passed on to many other saints, in a sense, I must reproduce myself in a positive sense to other saints to carry out the same work I am doing. Just as much as I learned from other saints who shepherded me, taught me and trained me, I must do the same to other saints, and that saints must in turn do the same likewise. By this way, the Lord's work of building up His Body will hasten much more. The urgent need today it "duplication" or "reproduction" of the Lord's work in us to others.

These days, the Lord blessed me with some saints whom He graced me to shepherd and have now become my vital group members. Once in a week we would serve together in prayer, visiting new ones, preaching the gospel and shepherding the new ones. So far seven solid group of contacts have been contacted. And the burden for shepherding is growing exponentially. Praise the Lord for such a grace! This all I could enjoy because of the initial shepherding the Lord graced me to carry out. We are mutually shepherding one another.

 Few days ago, we enjoyed pray-reading verses from Jeremiah 24 : 

6 And I will set My eyes upon them for good and will bring them back to this land and build them up and not tear them down, and I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 And I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am Jehovah; and they will be My people, and I will be their God; for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

We prayed these verses applying to all the ones we are praying for; we had no words of our own but the word of God itself. We enjoyed praying in this way so much; every word means so much, and after such pray-reading interceding, our burdens were released and we had the assurance that God has already answered our prayer, for it is His word that we prayed with. This kind of corporate vital group experience and enjoyment would not have happened had I not shepherded my vital members in a way of reproducing my spiritual learning from the Lord to them. 

This is the need of the Body in this age: mutual shepherding and spiritual reproduction for the perfecting of the saints unto the building up of the Body of Christ.

Friend of Sinners

Friend of Sinners- Matthew 11:19

Yesterday night I was introduced to a friend for the first time. I had no idea who this friend was until I met him and listened to him for over an hour. The scene at his house was of a party atmosphere where a couple of youth walked in and out freely with their nightly activities. Since the Lord brought me there I believed in the Lord's sovereign arrangement and focused on this friend with his colleagues as our gospel candidates.

What struck me first was how the Lord Himself was dubbed as "Friend of sinners" when He freely mingled with the sinners to save them. Today the Lord is not physically on the earth any more, but we are there physically for the Lord to save them. I took courage and prayed within to minister something divine into these friends. The initial lesson I went through was listening to whatever he had to say, from religions to philosophy to lifestyles and opinions. Though I tried to interject something from the Bible in between, the response was not positive. So I decided to silently prayer within and listen to him. 

The more I listened the more light I got concerning him and finally when the opportune time came, I spoke something that impressed him deeply and subdued him concerning his need for God. Thus, the ice breaking session was done and we became friends. One very impressive thing was that this friend had a lot of friends, a very good friends circle, I believe, for the Lord.

After I came and read my Bible, the Lord gave me these verses concerning these friends. 

Jeremiah 24 

6 And I will set My eyes upon them for good and will bring them back to this land and build them up and not tear them down, and I will plant them and not uproot them.

7 And I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am Jehovah; and they will be My people, and I will be their God; for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

Immediately I texted these verses to my vital group members and asked them to pray for their salvation and recovery, and follow up on this group of friends with a virtual banner "Friends of Sinners". They all need to be saved.

This matter burdened me a lot and I prayed for them. Something that dawned on me was to pray for them daily, establish a good friendship and start a group meeting in his home on a weekly basis, and shepherd them to the Lord Jesus Christ. I had a very bright hope within as I prayed for them, in spite of the outward situation of sins. The more I thought about it the more hope I have that one day, sooner than latter, they all will be pillar for the Lord's testimony here in Gurgaon.

Jesus, the Friend of sinners, makes us friends of sinners.

Quality

As a serving one in one of the entities of the Lord's move here in India, I have witnessed many works and things done out of commission. Sometimes, things were done for it must be done without much care for the quality of the work done. Even in the secular world, there are big corporates who focussed mostly on quality products, which makes them a big time corporates and yet there are multitudes too with duplicates at a very sub-standard quality, of the same kind. However, time is the best test to validate who is who and what is what. And the whole world acknowledges both.

These days too, the Lord impressed me so much on "quality" work. I loath to do a sub-standard work any longer. I hate to compromise on quality of works. In fact, in our official daily prayer, one of my prayer points has always been for the Lord to uplift the standard of our work and uplift our skill and quality in all the matter we handle or are under our responsibility. No doubt, quality always come with a higher price tag. But ultimately in the longer run, it pays off for the price it was paid for. 

This is the reason why I insisted so much on higher or even the highest quality of the ministry books to be produced. In fact, I have tied up with the best printing company in the world for the printing of the highest truth. Even everything done, as God graces on, will be focused on quality. 

When it came to my notice some of the substandard quality of works done in the past, I literally prayed within to the Lord to grant me the grace and bless me to improve in all my works. These days, as I was designing for the yearly calendar as a part of the company's promotional item, I prayed and considered a lot. I hate to produce yet another mundane product from any designer and printer with the excuse that that is a mere calendar and it hardly matter at all. I would pay any price to personally research on what kind of products to produce, and I personally designed the calendar myself. Still to discover how imperfect I am. 

As I presented my design to the saints coordinating with me in the office, I was so enlightened to discover my own shortage. So I literally had to redesign the whole thing. And lo and behold, the design after the saints coordination is much better. I gradually learned that in myself I am fully of imperfection. I, as an individual, has only two eyes and one mind to discern things; however, in coordination, effective suggestion sprang forth. When I acknowledge in humility my shortage and accept the Body's fellowship, I found out, what came out was much better.

Quality in what we do is a must, but this must be done in coordination especially that concerns the Lord's work. The Body's feeling is much better than an individual's feeling. What a precious lesson! Though this way is painstaking and time consuming, or rather much slower and harder, but always better and worthy of all the price behind it.

Even as I applied for a certain scholastic program, I chose a topic "Quality and Efficiency" to learn as much as I can, and as much as the Lord grace me, to be person of quality for the Lord's sake. 

My principle of service to the Lord is to offer the best to the Lord at all cost. Yes, even to break my alabaster flask of ointment, of a very costly nard to anoint the Lord, as a noble deed; a waste to the world, a worth to the Lord.

Lord, grant me Your grace to be so...

Journey On

The Lord's speaking through the ministry of the word has impressed me so much these days. From the life of Jacob, a supplanter, who eventually was dealt with, broken, transformed and matured to be become Israel, the prince of God, a man who blessed and blessed, the Lord infused into me the burden for journeying on in my Christian in the church life. 

In fact, I may not be "Israel" as yet, or perhaps, I may be in the midst of being dealt with or learning to be broken, I must in no way be discouraged at my situation. I rather must focus on the goal God has set for me, to be ultimately be matured for and according to His divine purpose.

If I were to look at myself or introspect, I could mostly see my failures, shortcomings and even sinnings, in many aspects. However, the sufficient grace of the Lord keeps me going on, in spite of all the odds on my uphill journey of life, even as a walking in the valley of the shadow of death. Trusting in the Lord's grace, I must journey on and on...from Shechem to Bethel, and onto Hebron; from one degree of the experience of God to a higher degree, from individual to corporate and even unto a full fellowship with the Lord with fellow members in the Body of Christ. This is the driving "engine" in my Christian life, the grace of God to journey on and on.

The prophesying of the saints on the Lord's day meeting was full of life-giving encouragement for me. Many saints who prophesied were on "journeying on" from stage to stage. I received so much supply from the saints' prophesying; it supplied life to me and encouraged me to journey on. Hallelujah!

Help Meet

And Jehovah God said, It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper as his counterpart. Genesis 2:18

The word "help meet" is used in some other translation, while "helper" here. Both means the same thing, some one who helps. Upon careful study and research I discovered that the Hebrew words used are  "ezer" and the word "k’enegdo". The former means "to save" or "to be strong" and the later, "meet for" or "fit for", or a related meaning is "against", or as mirror image "in front of". Paraphrasing it would mean, a woman is intended to be "the savior, to make him strong, to match him". This to me is very much true in my experience of a marriage life for eight years and still going on.

Every time I have to make a decision, be it big or small, more important or less important, the Lord graced me to fellowship with my help-meet, my wife, first, and only after we both have the oneness and one-accord, everything we decided upon is a great blessing. Of course there were times I escaped from this marital bliss and found myself in utter failure. And overtime, I have learned this lesson. My wife is my "savior" indeed, in many aspects of our family life.

Recently, in one of our home meetings, the Lord led me to minister on this line of "help meet" in relation to "Christ and the Church" and the consummation in an eternal marital oneness in the New Jerusalem. This is a good picture of every believers' spiritual destiny as ordained by God. The practice of this marital bliss is a key to the Lord's blessing in our family life, and even in my personal life as a husband.

Today I was on the verge of getting a credit card which I have been considering for months now. But in fellowship with my wife, I sensed a "no no" and that made me stop going ahead. Though I have my own good reasons for getting one, in fact, I have been offered by a bank at no cost at all with many assured gifts in return. However, when I decided to deny my own self interest which was devoid of my better half's smile, I discovered that I actually "saved" myself from being an unnecessary creditor; and the very work for which I thought I needed the credit card for, was today proven wrong, for I found a better solution of meeting what I needed the card for.

This has been my experience all along. All that I do in oneness with my wife have always turned out to be a blessing, even a very great blessing. For a normal marriage life is a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church. Learning from this, there is an urgent need for all the believers, as the church, the members of the Body of Christ to be one with Christ Himself, our one and only unique Husband.

O the wisdom of God in creating a man and building a woman out of him to be his help meet! This help meet in a true sense is also "a savior", "to make him strong" and "to match him exactly as a mirror image." Praise the Lord for my help meet!

Brother Doctor

Ten years ago when I first came to Delhi I met a brother whose brother was a doctor in the most famous medical university in India, AIIMS. It was not a very pleasant relationship then, as naive and immature I was in contacting people. Nevertheless, our relationship went on. Now and then, we would meet exchanging religious "Hi-Byes". 

Few years later, that brother doctor would frequent the church meetings with some home fellowships. But, being from a "Pentecostal" affluence some matter of the local church meeting he would deem incomplete. Undoubtedly because we do not practice nor pay too much attention to minute and peripheral things, our full focus is on Christ and His church only. With this little lack, as he felt, we lost touch for years altogether.

However, his name was somehow listed on my prayer list. For I maintain a record of all those whom the Lord burdened me to pray for. Though some of these are "hopeless" cases to me, because of the Lord's burden in me, I preserve the record and prays for them now and then.

Two weeks ago, this brother gave me a surprise call, and that call led to an appointment to meet him, and we did meet the following week. O things were so different now....

Brother himself testified of the lack among believers in knowing and practicing the Body life. His own statement repeated over and over again was, "Everything else were there, except the Body-consciousness." This statement is purely out of so many years of experiences of his Christian life in the denomination. Now the Lord has brought us together again to fellowship as members of the Body. The Lord burdened me to fellowship on Ephesian 2:15 and Colossians 3:11 concerning the "One New Man." 

After the fellowship, the prayer we offered and the attitude of our brother was so positive and touching. We fellowshipped to meet again and that he would also visit the brothers in Delhi for more fellowship. Later, when I came back home and discovered that his name was indeed on my prayer list, I was so encouraged at the faithfulness of the Lord.

May the Lord fully recover this brother and his whole family into the Body-life as he has been so much burdened for.