Apr 12, 2011
Gospel For Asia staff and the School of Discipleship Student were blessed to have Francis Chan share about the Love of the Father. One of our staff said “I was moved by the thought that God is the giver and sustainer and that our service to the Lord can and should always be a joy and never a burden.”
- Francis Chan with one of the School of Discipleship Students
- Hanging out with the Staff
- School of Discipleship Students Alumni (big one) with Francis Chan
- Francis Chan with the School of Discipleship Students and Alumni
Please like and share this post:
Apr 11, 2011
Gospel For Asia -supported missionary Samuel stands beside his wife. A jail term on false accusations has kept them apart for more than five years.
Jharkhand, India, is home to thousands of insurgent Naxalites fighting for communist control. After a vicious fight that left 19 policemen dead, authorities were on the lookout for the Naxalite rebels behind the attacks. They believed they found one in 2004, and this “rebel” has been serving time in jail since then. But this man wasn’t one of the Naxalites. He was Gospel for Asia-supported missionary Samuel.
When it first happened, Samuel’s leaders tried everything they could to get him released. But the police were convinced Samuel was the man they wanted. With continued appeals and court cases, time dragged into years. But Samuel has remained firm in his faith—and his calling as a missionary—the entire time.
“Many of our missionaries face extremely difficult and unexpected circumstances,” said Gospel for Asia President K.P. Yohannan. “But they know these are normal challenges for servants of God working in such unreached areas where the powers of darkness are so strong. These missionaries are willing to face these unexplainable circumstances and continue on. And God is blessing their sacrifice.”
During his time in jail, Samuel has brought his ministry there. Today he leads prayer meetings for the criminals, also worshiping with them during Sunday and Friday gatherings. The jail authorities have come to trust and appreciate Samuel, whose influence has changed many prisoners’ lives forever. Nearly 20 inmates found new hope in Christ.
“I was totally depressed in this situation, but the Lord helped me to realize He has a special plan for me to be in the prison,” Samuel wrote. “The Lord is helping me to share the love of Jesus with the prisoners. Through my ministry, I see the transformation that is happening in the lives of the prisoners.”
However, Samuel’s wife and daughter are still on the outside, waiting and praying for Samuel to return home to them. Gospel For Asia leaders are making sure his family’s needs are met during this time of separation.
“These missionaries are willing to face these unexplainable
circumstances and continue on. And God is blessing their sacrifice.”
—Dr. K.P. Yohannan
Gospel For Asia correspondent writes that the court situation seems to be turning in Samuel’s favor. They continue to hold out hope and pray for his release.
Gospel For Asia leaders and Samuel’s family request prayer that in God’s timing, his innocence will be proven and he can go home. Samuel desires to reach as many people as possible during his time in jail, and he prays the new Christians’ faith will grow strong. Samuel and his family need prayer for the Lord to be near them during these difficult years.*
I can’t imagine being thrown in jail just because I’m a missionary. Samuel’s story reminds me of Hebrews 13:3 “Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, treated, treated, treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.” Wow, I am not sure what it is like in prison or jail but it doesn’t seem very nice. There are hundreds, if not thousands of brothers and sisters around the world who are in prison and are ill-treated on a regular basis. Man I am so blessed to be in America where I can have a Bible and go to church and pray and share my faith in public. Please pray with me for our brothers and sisters around the world. Specifically pray for Brother Samuel. He has a court date at the end of this month. If the courts will hear his case, he has a good chance of being released as a free man and will be united with his wife and daughter. Also, pray for the men he has led to the Lord in the prison that their faith will grow strong.
* You can read more stories of what the Lord is doing on the mission field
Please like and share this post:
Apr 11, 2011
Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love, recently came to share at our Gospel For Asia office in Dallas. I have been so blessed in the last year by his books and messages!
He drew a thought from the story of the prodigal son with which I could really identify. When the son was hungry and tired of where his foolishness had gotten him, he decided to go back to his father as a servant. Even the pigs he was taking care of had it better than him! He knew that he had blown it as a son, there was no question about that. But just maybe his father would allow him to work for some food. What a surprise he had when his father interrupted his apology to welcome him back as a beloved son!
Just so with our Father. “Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” (Galatians 4:7) Like the prodigal son, we sometimes think “I messed up this son/daughter thing, maybe if I’m offer myself as a slave, He’ll take me back.” We try to prove something to God, trying to be holy for a couple of weeks before being intimate with Him. But I’m not a slave. I’m His girl! I don’t need to beg! He’s just waiting to lavish his love on me! What a Father!
Please like and share this post:
Mar 23, 2011
Some of the School of Discipleship students had the chance to man a Gospel For Asia Table at a church in Wellsprings Texas. The students are awesome!
Please like and share this post:
Mar 21, 2011
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he left us with the command to “be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). That wasn’t just a suggestion for the 12 disciples to attempt, that proclamation was the mission statement for all adopted sons and daughters that would be brought into the Kingdom from that day forward to give their lives to.
Overwhelming when looked at from a logical standpoint, sure. But the first part of that verse states, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” So we know that this isn’t to be done in our own strength; that would be impossible. God gave us the command to spread His name around the world, but He also said that He is going to be with us.
Therefore, my job is to be obedient in stepping out on this. The only reason I was even saved in the first place was because a camp counselor in Virginia was obedient to God in telling people about Him. How could I be okay with doing any less?
So how does my life fit into God’s plan for world evangelism? It’s my entire reason for being here on earth. However, what that looks like specifically will probably change throughout my life. In high school, it was to be a witness for him and to tell the people at my school about His love and salvation. I didn’t do a great job at fulfilling that, but I did help lead my best friend to the Lord. For right now, it means serving in the office of Gospel for Asia and doing anything I can to help bring the Gospel to the most unreached people in the world.
Beyond that though, there is a lot I can be doing. If it is true that I can only help fulfill the Great Commission with the help of the Holy Spirit, which I irrefutably believe is the case, then I must learn what it is like to be led by the Holy Spirit. God isn’t just going to take control of my body and do everything He wants done on earth, although I often think that would be a much easier way to go. No, He is going to always give us the option to follow Him or to follow the world.
Therefore it is absolutely crucial that I develop and maintain time every single day to spend with the Lord, seeking His face and learning His heart. I am naive to think I can even make it through a normal day at the office and be in anyway effective without total dependence on the Lord.
Paul was obedient to the Lord’s direction even when it meant he was walking to his own death. He had no care for himself or his own life, his only concern was to see the lost saved and to glorify the Lord.
I need to have that mindset that I am not my own; not my body, not my time, not even my thoughts or emotions. I have no rights; and this is a wonderful and merciful thing! Living for what I want in the past has ended in confusion and angst and dissatisfaction. Living with no thought to what I want has brought me only peace and contentment and joy because I am no longer looking at myself. I have no reason to be concerned about anything because my life is in God’s hands and if He wants it to be easy then it will be easy, and if he wants it to be hard then it will be hard. The peace comes from knowing that it’s no longer my concern or in my control.
But this is not easy. It’s not even close.
It’s completely unnatural to not try and plan out my future and stress and wonder how things are going to get done. It’s unnatural not to look at myself and see all these issues and wonder how I can fix things and get consumed in creating solutions. Yet that just brings us back again to how crucial it is that this life is not lived on our own strength, but rather through surrender to the Holy Spirit. I can’t even desire to follow the Holy Spirit without His help!
Prayer, fasting, meditation, studying scripture; these spiritual disciplines are now realized as more than something for my own personal benefit. While they do have significant impact on my life, personal improvement is not always enough motivation for me to dutifully practice each one. But it’s so much more than that. Doing each of the things above brings me into a deeper relationship with God which in turn allows me to be more sensitive the Holy Spirit and therefore more able to be used by God to fulfill the Great Commission.
It’s not just working at a computer at Gospel For Asia that helps to plant churches. If I neglect my relationship with the Lord, I won’t make it here. The way I spend my time and guard my thoughts are just as important so that I remain close to the Lord and able to be used by Him to save people from an eternity in Hell.
Please like and share this post:
Recent Comments