Jun 2, 2010
You know how some people say “you’ll either do it my way, or it’s the highway”. Well with God, it’s not quite that drastic for those who are believers, but there are certainly different things that seem similar to that.
In class, we just finished a booklet called “The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way” by K.P. Yohannan, and that certainly was a tad convicting.
A basic summary of the booklet is, through our relationship with God, and waiting on Him for wisdom and guidance in ministry, there will be lasting fruit that follows. Doesn’t that sound great?! I sure think so, but then I looked more into it, and tried applying it to my life, and boy is that hard!
Sometimes doing things in the Lord’s way means NOT doing what I think seems like the best plan of action, things that aren’t logical to me. God will take me out of my comfort zone, and direct me to do something that I never would have thought would be beneficial to anything.
However, this can also be taken in many ways. I could go to the extreme of waiting on the Lord, but not listening when He tells me to do something. I’m not saying it’s bad to wait on the Lord, but when He tells you to do something, do it! I can easily fall into the trap of waiting longer than needed because I’m afraid of what He’s telling me to do, using the excuse that I’m trying to make sure this really is what Gods wants.
There are also times when I start off right, waiting on the Lord, and doing what He tells me to do. But somewhere down the road, I start building habits. Habits are great to have, especially like reading your Bible and praying everyday. For me, I struggle with not making those habits into just going through the motions. Going through the motions of serving others, of the various tasks I have, of going through everyday life.
Just going through the motions is like being on autopilot. The things I accomplish are all in my own work, not the Lord’s. I end up not depending on the Lord for wisdom and guidance and just complete the tasks before me because I know how to. But that leads to fruit that doesn’t last.
That being said, I need to make sure I keep a balance. It’s good to build habits, and it’s good to wait on the Lord, just like it’s good to be involved with ministry. But the most important things are my motives, and getting to know the Lord more intimately and fully. Putting this first and foremost in my life will automatically overflow into ministry. But the difference is, the ministry I’m involved with will be fruitful, beneficial, and even draw me closer to the Lord.
Jun 2, 2010
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you , being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height– to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:14-19
This is my prayer for all of our brothers and sisters in India, in the Bridge of Hope centers, in my School of Discipleship class, in the people at Gospel For Asia, and for all of you reading this. That we all would learn to depend on God for everything, because He created us, and knows us and His purpose for us is more than we could ever imagine.
That we all would be rooted and grounded in love so that even if we don’t have any earthly things in common, even if we don’t speak the same language, we still have Christ’s love in us that makes us one body, we are unified in Christ.
And that we would all know the love of Christ that supersedes all knowledge, and to be filled with the fullness of God.
Jun 2, 2010
“It’s never too late”
I’m not sure if I agree with that statement. As some of you know, I just recently got back from a trip to India with my class. I learned a lot, most of which I am still processing, but there is one thing that stood out to me more than the rest. There is such a thing as too late.
While we were in India, we visited some religious worship centers. We also heard multiple testimonies from the brothers and sisters that we met. Looking at the difference between the believers and the non-believers that we met, I was hit with the realization that there certainly is a “too late”.
One true story that we heard was about a mother who sacrificed her two young children because she was told it was the only way she would find peace. So, after she had sacrificed them, watching them yell to her for help as they floated away in a river, she was met by one of our brothers. That brother shared with her the hope and peace that is found in Jesus Christ, and she started to cry. She said “why didn’t you come just a half hour sooner? If you had, I wouldn’t have sacrificed my two children, and they would still be alive.”
That poses a question. Why, when we know and can see all the poverty, and hopelessness in the world, do we just sit back and think that someone else will take care of it? For this mother, there was a too late for her children. For many, today may be the day that they need to hear about Jesus, yet, sometimes I will hesitate to share it with them. Why? Is it because I am afraid of what they may think? Am I afraid of being rejected? What should that matter if a life is changed and I can spend eternity with that person?
The Bible says that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7) So, I pose to you the challenge. Will you step out in faith today to change the lives of millions, or will you sit back and have it be too late?
Jun 2, 2010
During Christmas time I wrote something in my newsletter about how I was learning about depending on God for things that I wasn’t capable of doing on my own. This has been a constant lesson that I’m learning, so it’s great to go back and re-read all my old newsletters. : ) Here’s what I wrote:
Gospel For Asia is possibly the closest example of how the Body of Christ should be working together. We are like one gigantic family, which is what it should be like. I could go up to almost anybody here and ask them to pray for me for something, and they would do it. Or, in prayer meetings, I am comfortable praying with any one of the people here, simply because of the bond that is so evident between every believer here.
In the Volunteer Department it is spectacular, I feel so close to each of the people, here with me. Right now we are all busy with the Christmas Catalog campaign, where the managers are calling up different volunteers to send them our Christmas catalogs to pass out to others. Then, since there are not many events around Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are registering for events that we will go to next year.
God has been using registrations to get me to depend on Him more. How is He doing that? Well, I have to be more assertive, which I am not very good at, I have to call people to make sure we get the right details, I delegate and pass some work onto our volunteers that come in to the office so that I have more time to do the other jobs I have to do. All of those things combined are hard to do in a work day. So prayer and dependence on God is very much so needed. Without Him, I would be so stressed out that I would make myself sick, and soon, not be able to work at all.
So I am thankful that God is with me every step of the way, and He put amazing people in the department with me so that I can go to them with questions, and not be afraid to ask for help. We are one body, if one part is not working right, the rest will not work as well either, which is why we work together, not afraid to come to each other with our problems. God is good!!
Jun 2, 2010
It’s always a blessing when brother K.P. takes a class with the students.
Jun 2, 2010
Dear School of Discipleship seeker or current student,
My whole life I had planned to join the military. I thought that kind of life would have been sweet and lots of fun. I have nothing against the military, but God did completely direct my life to a new direction in life. This just goes to show that we should all be completely open to God’s leading in our life even if it means a change in our future plans.
I had folks thinking I should have gone into the military or gone to college but I wanted to serve the Lord in missions for this is what I strongly sensed our Father calling me to.
I was blessed to have most people and my parents behind me in this calling. But I did have a few folks who didn’t understand what I was doing.
My encouragement for you brothers and sisters who are seeking whether or not you should come here for a year, is to always be open to God’s leading. Don’t be afraid to give up your college and career dreams. Anyways, this is only for one year and for me it was the best year of my life!
For those of you who are just graduating from high school and are planning to go to college or are thinking of it, I’d encourage you to think about giving a year of your life to come do the Gospel For Asia School of Discipleship. Do this for one year and then go to college or wherever the Lord leads.
When you are 60 years old you will not look back at this year in regret thinking it was a wast. One year goes by quick and will be one of the most significant years of your life…it was for me!
The bottom line is, the students after one year of being here know the Lord and His ways so much more. As a result they go out and have a profound impact on those around them, wheather in college, workplace or in missions. and change it for good.
My final encouragement brothers and sisters is to pursue Christ and His leading on your life.
Come here for one year and you will be equipped spiritually to go onto the next step of your life.
You won’t regret spending a year here and at the same time you will reach many people in Asia with the Gospel through the work that you get to be part of. Also you get to visit India and meet some of our brothers and sisters there.
Never forget the precious call of Jesus on your life and what He is really asking of you.
Gospel For Asia Nepal country leader Naryan Sharm told me personally that
“It’s wise to serve the Lord when you’re young!”
Those words have stuck with me ever since and I’d like to pass that onto you too. God bless you. Jesus loves you!
Jun 2, 2010
One thing I’ve been thinking about is my call here to Gospel for Asia. Our Christian brothers and sisters in Asia lay their lives on the line for what they do. Often times they are attacked by people or groups. They could be at church, at home, or out sharing about the love of Jesus and they will be attacked. In their sacrifice how do I stand for them? Do I often cry in prayer for them? Purposely make a point even out of the office to share about their lives with others? What things take up my time I could spend better elsewhere? I could go on with tons of questions that I’ve been having.
It is easy for Christians to get caught up in the world instead of living with a focus on the things of God. Continually reassess our values.
Stay sharp.
But the awesome thing is despite how lacking I am God is so graceful. He looks at me not at where I am but where I can be and encourages me toward that, and He uses the awesome staff here at GFA a lot to do that 
But in everything I want to do it for God’s glory, whether graphic design, prayer, driving, playing soccer, playing guitar (I’ve been trying to learn), or spending time with others. I want to do it all well. There is no “spiritual task” because Christ is in me and everything is done with him, so even the simplest thing can be pleasing to him 
Jun 2, 2010
On May 16, 2010 My friend and I came up with a crazy idea. We decided to try and bake some cookies then show the love of Christ by giving them to our neigbors. Little did we know the difficulties of baking.
The first batch of cookies we decided to bake on wax paper, after filling the house with smoke, we took them out and they were all burnt. Cooking lesson: Don’t put wax paper in the oven. After many trials and errors we ended up with 2 dozen cookies (out of a possible 6) that were ready to be handed out.
With those two dozen successfully baked cookies, we were able to talk to two of our neighbors. Our plan was to tell them that we were Christians and that Jesus told us to love our neighbors. During the two fairly short conversations and, with the unwanted help of our nervousness, I don’t think our message came across too clearly. Hopefully God helped them to understand. They did take our cookies though and weather or not they ate them I do not know.
The whole experience felt silly, but after it was all said and done it felt good. Who knows maybe we will do it again some time.
Jun 1, 2010
A few months ago we went through Gayle Erwin’s “Jesus Style” series and this was a piece of advice given to us during one of the class times: “go to the mirror and create every emotion you can come up with, then find the face of grace and freeze it.”
As I went through this series with our class, it was made clear over and over that Jesus was completely “others centered.” Every attribute that was listed revolved around Jesus being a servant to everyone else in every situation. (Mark 10:45)
It is our job to become like Christ and to follow His example laid out for us during His time on earth. Philippians 2 opens with a plea for us to pursue the nature of Jesus in our lives by loving one another and valuing them above ourselves in the same way Christ valued us to the point of death on a cross that we might be reconciled with Him in heaven.
I desire to be a person so full of the love in 1 Corinthians 13 that it overwhelms me! I can’t live out that life on my own, no matter how desperately I may try. The only way I can even come close without feeling completely overwhelmed is for God to live out that love through me and to follow the example given us by His son.
I pray that as I continue to grow and seek the Lord that my heart will become more and more like His and that the people I encounter will experience His love because it is simply overwhelming me and flowing over.
I want my face to forever be a reflection of the grace I have received in Christ with no room for condemnation to others. I know I mess this up daily but its something the Lord is teaching me and I wanted to share that bit with you =)
Jun 1, 2010
In class we just recently went thought a unit on Grace. I learned about God giving us grace and about the grace that I should be giving others. We are completely being covered by God’s Grace, but this doesn’t give me the freedom to sin just because of God’s grace, Romans 6:1– What shall we say then shall we continue I sin that grace may abound? God forbid. God’s Grace is like a steady rain, that never stops flowing over you! I have learned where I have had to give myself grace to grow and when I mess up I don’t need to beat my self up about it. Where I have to give my family grace to grow in the Lord. I can’t control the decisions of my family and friends. I can control my own actions and honor the Lord with my decisions and not become legalistic. When I fail the Lord gives me grace to move on and change. When I fail the Lord gives me grace to move on and change.
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