How are u all? How are things back home? Are u all settled?
Am doing great here... life's fine.. back home... quite settled... So... did u have any experiences on the way home?
Well I did... By God's grace, I shared the salvation story with 3 people...
As I was waiting in the immigration at bangkok airport, a lady came up and asked me where I was going and things like that, so we started talking... and she asked me what I was doing in Bangkok, so I said I had come for a Christian Youth Program! And this was her reply: "Christian Program? Well, then u must be able to explain my dream to me... "... and I was like... er... ok just a sec... and I ran to Anu, Gibin chettan and Sok Na who were standing by the glass separation... and asked them to pray for her... Well... she was a Hindu, but with a partial faith in Christ.
Well... this was her dream... she saw the crucified Jesus crying, and she looked into His eyes.. she felt compassion on Him and cupped her hands and gave him some water to drink, after which he smiled at her... she woke up after that... well... I was a bit worried if the interpretation may not be true... but suddenly I remembered the scene in Passion Of christ, where Veronica gives Jesus water to drink, and I explained it to her.... and then another word of God rushed into my mind, "If u give a glass of water to the least of these children, it shall be counted as given to me"... as I finsihed saying it she said... "phew... that sheds some light on mind, its a big relief... "... then she said she had another dream... in which she saw jessu robed in brown, and seated on a chair, His hands were straight, and He was twisting the palm of His hands, or turning his palsm... er... Well... I didnt know the interpretaion.. but fortunately I took her email ID, and said I would contact her soon...
And then, on flight, I talked to this Geography Teacher in UK, who shared that he believed in death and rebirth... - A Buddhist concept of life..... and I explained to him that it was all human interpretations of some incidents in life, and then I shared my encounters with God, I explained the purpose fo Christ's coming, the authenticity of the Bible (Thanx to our Archbishop's session)... and in the end, I believe he left with a question mark in his mind, and desiring to know more...
Then on my journey from Bahrain to Sana'a (capital of Yemen), about 8 Muslim Religious Leaders came and sat in the seats around me... and there 2 people seated next to me... the guy on the 3rd seat started saying some verse from the Quran to me, and I was like... er... are u talking to me... and he said yes... well... he was from Pakistan, and he spoke in Hindi... It was a wonderful oppurtunity God have me to share Jesus... and I asked him to speak slowly... then initially he spoke some common philosophies... to which I agreed. then he asked me... is Jesus the son of God? I said YES... and he laughed at it... then he said some incident where a Christian Leader became a muslim because he couldnt find anywhere in the bible where Jesus said "I AM THE SON OF GOD"..... I was a bit tensed about what I am gonna reply to him, and suddenly the Holy Spirit gave me the words to speak... I qouted the place where Jesus asks Peter, who do u say I am... and when I told him this verse, and that it said "nobody can confess that Jesus is the Son of God, unless the Father reveals it to them." and he became silent, and stopped trying to explain Quran... rather he started asking questions.. and I spoke with such confidence, and such wisdom (and that too in Hindi, in which am not so good at), that he coudlnt find a single falut with my explanations... neither could he contradict it with the Quran, nor find a trouble with it... I explained to him that Jesus the second person in the trinity was God became Man... etc... and amny many things.... In the end, he didnt have any points to say that my faith had mistakes... etc.. As we were leaving the flight he said,.... I am sorry if by my words I might have hurt u, and I too said the same thing.... I patted him on the back... and I felt wierd... for the first time in life, I had a spark of love for a Muslim Religious Leader.......
Well... May God have mercy on me, if I have exalted myself, I acknowledge it was all his doing, and I was only a pen moving as His hands led me!! Thank you Holy Spirit!
I guess all of us have some experience... please do share it! We would love to hear from all.. it would be inspiring, and also we maybe able to share it with others, and it could also teach us many things... !
PLease do pray for me! I am weak at heart, and wont stand without your prayers! May God bless u all!!
And thanks for all the love, care and concern that u extended to me, and for being there for me all throughout the training!
Whatever u do, make sure, u r doing it because u want more of Jesus in you!! not because I told u, or because u wanted to try, etc... because when u do it in the love for Jesus, he will take over, and u will renounce more and more!! until one day you would feel like ur body can no longer hold your soul... u would want to break out... that's what happened with St. Clair.... she heard the sermons of Saint Francis saint, inspired by them, she started renouncing.... and one day she runs to the little cottage where St. Francis was staying with his brothers... Read the attachment... it is an extract from Saint Francis by Nikos Kazantzakis... the story is written as though narrated by one of the friars of St. Francis, named Br. Leo...... Dont read the full book, but just the extract... because his other writings are not very divinely inspired.... The extract is quite long, so take your time and read... dont be in a hurry!
Well, that is true renoucning... You will know if u have renounced everything, when u look into yourself and see that you are in need of nothing, and nothing is going to be a cause for you to slower your pace to Jesus, or to hinder the love of Jesus! Your heart is all happy, and you are looking for nothing more! But do it for Jesus, or else you will be totally empty...!
Imagine you are running your way towards home... and you want to reach home as fast as you can... what would you do? You would run and run... you wouldnt look at the flowers around, the houses around, the wild animals around, you wont think about any danger, but your focus is just to reach home... and your speed depends on how much you are free...
Imagine yourself running holding a bag full of gold... you will slow down, you wont reach... and Do you know when the wild animals find it best to attack their victims...???.... it is when the victims slow down.... So, if you think u can run fast holding too many things in your hand, then you wont gain speed... but you will slow down, and get attacked by wild animals (devil).... so drop those things which you dont want... RENOUNCE your WANTS... keep your NEEDS!!!
You know what am sayin?? right? lol... you know what I meant... RENOUNCE!! SLOW AND STEADY!! Dont throw everything at once and say... fine I dont need home I am going to stay on the streets, I dont need food, I will beg... I dont need clothes, I will wear sack!! achho!!! Dont horrify the youngsters following you!!! hahahaha!!!!
Give what the world is asking for... but not the way they want it, but in the way you should be giving it!! When they ask wealth, give them a Kingdom... (of God)... when they ask for food... give them the bread of life... when they ask for love... give them Jesus...
dont worry if people call you stupid... listen not to the WORLDY advices... discern the voice of God... the world will tell you many things, so will the Holy Spirit through many people... and learn to recognize the voice of God... and when will u be able to hear it...??? Answer: when u constantly speak to him... Imagine if I call you at night 2am, wont u say...ah! Hi Joby... !! Imagine if someone else, like George Bush calls you, you would certainly ask "may I know who is speaking"... You have heard Bush speaking a hundred times, but u fail to recognize him, but you have spoken to me only a few days, and you would easily recognize me... the difference is familiarity and personal relation... This is what you need... be very personal with Jesus, let him know everything in you... and you will be familiar with his voice...
In the book of samuel, God calls Samuel when he was a child under Eli, and the boy samuel runs to Eli, becasue he did not know it was God who was calling, but God had certainly provided Eli, so that ELi can help him recognize the voice of God... similary iny your life, when you fail to recognize the voice of God, God will provide someone who will help you to... but remember: it is only in the initial stages... once you get familiar with Him you wont need this person!!
So yeh... get personal with Jesus, let him know everything in you... dont make him try and guess whats in you, but rather go unto him and tell him everything "Jesus, here I am, this is me, I am feeling like this, I want this... I want that... " Say it with your heart, not with your speech... The Holy Spirit once inspired me: Live as though Jesus knows everything about you, and pray as though He knows nothing about you... Tell him everything, and trust him in everything you do
Just as a baby would cry all its feelings to its mother, so should you... The best way to learn to pray is to look at how a child behaves with its mother, and behave similary with JESUS! But remember again... be child-like, not childish! Childish is foolishness, stubborness, ! its not real, but child-like is the innocence that you have with Jesus...
In bangalore I am busy working with the professional campus ministry... we are a small group started for all the engineering students. I am planning to take them for trekking on September 21st... After we reach the top of the hill, we will celebrate the Eucharist!!! Small sharing, fellowship meal etc... and then we will wind up... We are planning to meet once in every month...
We are thinking of having a long bike expedition all around Bangalore... visiting a shrine on the outskirts, visiting the Bangalore college campuses on the way, and praying for that college...
WE also will be having a movie night + sharing + outreach some day...
We are planning for a DTP during the month of January- February and for the next July- August we are thinking of a mission trip to the professional college campuses in the neighbouring cities of Bangalore...
Keep all these iniatives in your prayers!!!!
God Bless you all,
With love and prayers, Melvin - Show quoted text -
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Express yourself
Dearest brothers and sisters,
How are u all? How are things back home? Are u all settled?
Am doing great here... life's fine.. back home... quite settled... So... did u have any experiences on the way home?
Well I did... By God's grace, I shared the salvation story with 3 people...
As I was waiting in the immigration at bangkok airport, a lady came up and asked me where I was going and things like that, so we started talking... and she asked me what I was doing in Bangkok, so I said I had come for a Christian Youth Program! And this was her reply: "Christian Program? Well, then u must be able to explain my dream to me... "... and I was like... er... ok just a sec... and I ran to Anu, Gibin chettan and Sok Na who were standing by the glass separation... and asked them to pray for her... Well... she was a Hindu, but with a partial faith in Christ.
Well... this was her dream... she saw the crucified Jesus crying, and she looked into His eyes.. she felt compassion on Him and cupped her hands and gave him some water to drink, after which he smiled at her... she woke up after that... well... I was a bit worried if the interpretation may not be true... but suddenly I remembered the scene in Passion Of christ, where Veronica gives Jesus water to drink, and I explained it to her.... and then another word of God rushed into my mind, "If u give a glass of water to the least of these children, it shall be counted as given to me"... as I finsihed saying it she said... "phew... that sheds some light on mind, its a big relief... "... then she said she had another dream... in which she saw jessu robed in brown, and seated on a chair, His hands were straight, and He was twisting the palm of His hands, or turning his palsm... er... Well... I didnt know the interpretaion.. but fortunately I took her email ID, and said I would contact her soon...
And then, on flight, I talked to this Geography Teacher in UK, who shared that he believed in death and rebirth... - A Buddhist concept of life..... and I explained to him that it was all human interpretations of some incidents in life, and then I shared my encounters with God, I explained the purpose fo Christ's coming, the authenticity of the Bible (Thanx to our Archbishop's session)... and in the end, I believe he left with a question mark in his mind, and desiring to know more...
Then on my journey from Bahrain to Sana'a (capital of Yemen), about 8 Muslim Religious Leaders came and sat in the seats around me... and there 2 people seated next to me... the guy on the 3rd seat started saying some verse from the Quran to me, and I was like... er... are u talking to me... and he said yes... well... he was from Pakistan, and he spoke in Hindi... It was a wonderful oppurtunity God have me to share Jesus... and I asked him to speak slowly... then initially he spoke some common philosophies... to which I agreed. then he asked me... is Jesus the son of God? I said YES... and he laughed at it... then he said some incident where a Christian Leader became a muslim because he couldnt find anywhere in the bible where Jesus said "I AM THE SON OF GOD"..... I was a bit tensed about what I am gonna reply to him, and suddenly the Holy Spirit gave me the words to speak... I qouted the place where Jesus asks Peter, who do u say I am... and when I told him this verse, and that it said "nobody can confess that Jesus is the Son of God, unless the Father reveals it to them." and he became silent, and stopped trying to explain Quran... rather he started asking questions.. and I spoke with such confidence, and such wisdom (and that too in Hindi, in which am not so good at), that he coudlnt find a single falut with my explanations... neither could he contradict it with the Quran, nor find a trouble with it... I explained to him that Jesus the second person in the trinity was God became Man... etc... and amny many things.... In the end, he didnt have any points to say that my faith had mistakes... etc.. As we were leaving the flight he said,.... I am sorry if by my words I might have hurt u, and I too said the same thing.... I patted him on the back... and I felt wierd... for the first time in life, I had a spark of love for a Muslim Religious Leader.......
Well... May God have mercy on me, if I have exalted myself, I acknowledge it was all his doing, and I was only a pen moving as His hands led me!! Thank you Holy Spirit!
I guess all of us have some experience... please do share it! We would love to hear from all.. it would be inspiring, and also we maybe able to share it with others, and it could also teach us many things... !
PLease do pray for me! I am weak at heart, and wont stand without your prayers! May God bless u all!!
And thanks for all the love, care and concern that u extended to me, and for being there for me all throughout the training!
Love u all!!!!!!!!!
Whatever u do, make sure, u r doing it because u want more of Jesus in you!! not because I told u, or because u wanted to try, etc... because when u do it in the love for Jesus, he will take over, and u will renounce more and more!! until one day you would feel like ur body can no longer hold your soul... u would want to break out... that's what happened with St. Clair.... she heard the sermons of Saint Francis saint, inspired by them, she started renouncing.... and one day she runs to the little cottage where St. Francis was staying with his brothers... Read the attachment... it is an extract from Saint Francis by Nikos Kazantzakis... the story is written as though narrated by one of the friars of St. Francis, named Br. Leo...... Dont read the full book, but just the extract... because his other writings are not very divinely inspired.... The extract is quite long, so take your time and read... dont be in a hurry!
Well, that is true renoucning... You will know if u have renounced everything, when u look into yourself and see that you are in need of nothing, and nothing is going to be a cause for you to slower your pace to Jesus, or to hinder the love of Jesus! Your heart is all happy, and you are looking for nothing more! But do it for Jesus, or else you will be totally empty...!
Imagine you are running your way towards home... and you want to reach home as fast as you can... what would you do? You would run and run... you wouldnt look at the flowers around, the houses around, the wild animals around, you wont think about any danger, but your focus is just to reach home... and your speed depends on how much you are free...
Imagine yourself running holding a bag full of gold... you will slow down, you wont reach... and Do you know when the wild animals find it best to attack their victims...???.... it is when the victims slow down.... So, if you think u can run fast holding too many things in your hand, then you wont gain speed... but you will slow down, and get attacked by wild animals (devil).... so drop those things which you dont want... RENOUNCE your WANTS... keep your NEEDS!!!
You know what am sayin?? right? lol... you know what I meant... RENOUNCE!! SLOW AND STEADY!! Dont throw everything at once and say... fine I dont need home I am going to stay on the streets, I dont need food, I will beg... I dont need clothes, I will wear sack!! achho!!! Dont horrify the youngsters following you!!! hahahaha!!!!
Give what the world is asking for... but not the way they want it, but in the way you should be giving it!! When they ask wealth, give them a Kingdom... (of God)... when they ask for food... give them the bread of life... when they ask for love... give them Jesus...
dont worry if people call you stupid... listen not to the WORLDY advices... discern the voice of God... the world will tell you many things, so will the Holy Spirit through many people... and learn to recognize the voice of God... and when will u be able to hear it...??? Answer: when u constantly speak to him... Imagine if I call you at night 2am, wont u say...ah! Hi Joby... !! Imagine if someone else, like George Bush calls you, you would certainly ask "may I know who is speaking"... You have heard Bush speaking a hundred times, but u fail to recognize him, but you have spoken to me only a few days, and you would easily recognize me... the difference is familiarity and personal relation... This is what you need... be very personal with Jesus, let him know everything in you... and you will be familiar with his voice...
In the book of samuel, God calls Samuel when he was a child under Eli, and the boy samuel runs to Eli, becasue he did not know it was God who was calling, but God had certainly provided Eli, so that ELi can help him recognize the voice of God... similary iny your life, when you fail to recognize the voice of God, God will provide someone who will help you to... but remember: it is only in the initial stages... once you get familiar with Him you wont need this person!!
So yeh... get personal with Jesus, let him know everything in you... dont make him try and guess whats in you, but rather go unto him and tell him everything "Jesus, here I am, this is me, I am feeling like this, I want this... I want that... " Say it with your heart, not with your speech... The Holy Spirit once inspired me: Live as though Jesus knows everything about you, and pray as though He knows nothing about you... Tell him everything, and trust him in everything you do
Just as a baby would cry all its feelings to its mother, so should you... The best way to learn to pray is to look at how a child behaves with its mother, and behave similary with JESUS! But remember again... be child-like, not childish! Childish is foolishness, stubborness, ! its not real, but child-like is the innocence that you have with Jesus...
In bangalore I am busy working with the professional campus ministry... we are a small group started for all the engineering students. I am planning to take them for trekking on September 21st... After we reach the top of the hill, we will celebrate the Eucharist!!! Small sharing, fellowship meal etc... and then we will wind up... We are planning to meet once in every month...
We are thinking of having a long bike expedition all around Bangalore... visiting a shrine on the outskirts, visiting the Bangalore college campuses on the way, and praying for that college...
WE also will be having a movie night + sharing + outreach some day...
We are planning for a DTP during the month of January- February and for the next July- August we are thinking of a mission trip to the professional college campuses in the neighbouring cities of Bangalore...
Keep all these iniatives in your prayers!!!!
God Bless you all,
With love and prayers,
Melvin
- Show quoted text -
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