Jul 22, 2013
Today I got to visit a Bridge of Hope center in a slum. I walked into a room full of kids nicely studying. That ended pretty quickly when I got my camera out. I was swarmed and surrounded. Laughing off language barriers, we became friends quickly.
Despite their background of poverty and slum life, the children are now receiving education, medical attention, nutritious food and school supplies through Bridge of Hope. They learn a new English word every day at the Bridge of Hope center. And soon they started practicing the language on me.
One of their phrases was “What is your favorite…?” We discussed favorite colors, countries, cricketers and more. When they found out I was from America, they started telling me excitedly, “My sponsor’s in America. His name is so and so,” or “My sponsor’s from Canada and her name is such and such.”
I was reminded of just how meaningful it is to sponsor a child like this. These kids are experiencing the love of Christ because of people halfway across the world. The children have never met their sponsors, but they know their names. They correspond. They connect.
What a beautiful relationship.
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Jul 17, 2013
Desiring godliness is one thing, living it is a whole different story! In his book “Touching Godliness” Bro. K.P. does a marvelous job at breaking this subject down in a way that is easy to understand. He captures your attention with both Biblical examples and stories as well as with true to life occurrences from his own life. The message this book gives has been so long forgotten that anyone who truly grasps the message that is portrayed within its pages will, with God’s help, be able to enjoy a life that is lived in the very center of God’s will.
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Jul 17, 2013
Touching Godliness by K.P. Yohannan was a blessing to me. Some might think that it’s a scary subject, but it really opened my eyes to how the Lord sees submission.
One of the things that I learned was that submission is a matter of the heart. I can do the motions and obey my delegated authorities, but that is not submission, it is obedience. Submission is the attitude towards my authority, whereas obedience is an action.When it is done this way, our Lord is pleased. I would encourage you, please read this book. There is so many things in it that will deepen your relationship with the Lord. May the Lord bless you.
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Jun 21, 2013
The Lord has definitely been trying to teach me different things since I have been in Stoney Creek serving as a student for Gospel for Asia. The staff people had said that I (as a student), would have to learn to die to myself but I didn’t really think a whole lot about it until I was actually into the program. It was then that I noticed that God wanted me to give up everything! My plans, my ways of doing things, and my will is what I needed to learn to totally submit to God. Praise the Lord that He is working in my life in that area, not that I have achieved everything but I am getting there!
God has been teaching me that I need to pray more. I need to be a person that is totally devoted to praying for others and not just me. I need to be praying for the nations around me and for those in other countries. I want to have more of a passion and a burden for the lost souls around me. I never realized until I came to Gospel For Asia that there was so many people that have never heard the Gospel of Jesus being preached. They have never even heard of His Name! That’s something that was very shocking to me! I really appreciate at Gospel For Asia that they have so many prayer times together. They take the time to pray and stand in the gap for these nations. They are definitely a praying people! “Lord, help me to be more of a prayer warrior.”
Another thing that God wants to teach me is to be more encouraging to people. I have been a fairly negative person in the past but I am seeking to change that. By God’s grace I will seek to encourage others in their walk with the Lord instead of putting them down. I want others to lift me up especially when I am struggling and so I need to do that for others as well.
I believe that the Lord has so much more that He wants to teach me this year while I’m at the School of Discipleship here at Gospel for Asia. Please pray for me that I will be open to the Spirit’s leading and that He will work marvelously in my life. Pray that I will go home a changed person (for the better) and that I will become the man of God that He wants me to be.
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Jun 21, 2013
There are SO many different types, or facets, of fear…there’s the fear that comes to me when I see a spider crawling towards me, the fear that grips me when I know I’ve done something wrong and must suffer the consequencs, the fear when I know I need to do something but I’m scared of what will happen after…the fear of losing someone I love, or of leaving someone or something that I love, the fear of change and fear of the unknown.
This year I’ve been faced with my fears in those areas and more – and let me tell you, my knee-jerk reaction is to curl up in a corner and plug my ears and shut my eyes and wait till things are “better” again…even if means avoiding and prolonging the inevitable. But the Lord has shown me that not only is that EXTREMELY unhealthy for my sanity and sense of reality, it’s dangerous to my spiritual growth and my relationship with Him.
You see, when I choose to allow the strong emotion of fear to creep up my backbone, it means I’m not trusting God. I’m not trusting the Creator who made me with brown eyes and brown hair and size 7.5 feet. Who knows every hair on my head. Who has kept track of every tear I’ve ever cried. Who has written the story of my life and knows how it (and I) will end.
Okay, yeah yeah, we’ve all heard this…do not fear, trust in God. But it isn’t easy, is it? When you’re in the moment, it’s insanely easy to accept that fear without thinking twice about it. It’s naturaly to us. Because we are naturally fearful and untrusting creatures. And that’s where Christ comes in!! Because of His death on the cross for our sins, He delivered us from sin and that includes the sin giving into fleshly fears and not trusting God. As believers with the Spirit of God living within us, we HAVE the power to not fear. We have the power to choose to trust God.
I’m reminded of Ruth. I just love her story! She chose to enter a life full of unknowns and potential uh-oh’s, and she did it boldly. Yeah, maybe she was nervous, but I don’t think she was fearful, at least not from what the Bible says. She put her trust in the Lord, and He pulled through for her. Because He’s God…He isn’t like a mischievous sibling who says he’s going to catch you when you jump off the steps and then backs up and lets you fall at the last second. Yet we act like He’s that way all the time.
So, next time you’re in a situation where fear is threatening to cloud your mind and overcome you with stress and doubts and what-if’s, hold onto the promises of the Lord – hold on to TRUTH when the enemy wants you to believe lies. Truths like He will never leave you or forsake you (Deut. 31:8) (Heb 13:5), and Psalm 139, where David talks about how intimately the Lord knows us and protects us. Psalm 23 – our good Shepherd is with us even in the valley of the shadow of death. It takes a conscious effort on our part, for sure! But it is possible to live a life free from fear. Except, of course, when it comes to spiders…in my case at least. 😛
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