God is good all the time. He has certainly been gracious to me, both personally and also to our church as well. God has been answering our prayers as a church. He is indeed a prayer-answering God. I have been encouraged at seeing Him build His church.
For example, one of our former church members Dave, who is now a member of a faithful member of a church in Hyderabad, recently got engaged to Annie. The beauty of this wedding is that both Dave and Annie come from different caste backgrounds, and yet, they want to show the world that it is the gospel that unites people from different castes. This may not be a headliner if you live outside of India, or in a major city, but it is certainly in our village. On the day of their engagement, both Dave and Annie stood united and spoke about how the Lord rescued them from their sins before their Hindu relatives unashamedly. Dave faced a lot of harsh criticism and mockery from his family for doing this, and because he decided to marry a girl from a different caste. The world sees things differently, but we as children of God should see things differently. Please pray that the Lord may bless their wedding and use it for his glory.
Another example of the Lord’s care for His people can be seen in the life of brother Ben. He was severely unwell and was admitted to the hospital a few days ago. He fell and had a severe head injury. Initially, we all thought he was not going to make it. I personally am not in a position to take it, as we experienced a death recently in our congregation just a couple of months ago. But we went to the Lord and begged Him for His mercy. God heard, and it pleased Him to heal him, and within a span of a single day brother Ben recovered. God answered our feeble prayers. Hallelujah! Both brother Ben and his wife have suffered greatly over the last few years. His wife still suffers from cancer, but the Lord has given them grace to continue as disciples.
It is in these moments, that when I see my church members growing stronger in their faith in spite of many problems they face, I am greatly encouraged in my faith. I must tell you, I am greatly encouraged by brother Ben and his wife’s faith. Please pray for Ben and his wife, that the Lord may keep them, heal them, and use them for his glory!
A couple of years ago, we had a man named Zach show up at the church. When he came to us, he was following a false preacher in our state, one who denies the deity of Christ. When he heard our preaching, he had never experienced something like that before. My pastoral assistant and I had long conversations with him over many doctrinal issues. Initially, he was very hesitant, but as time went forward, he opened up to the reality of the Scriptures. The Word of God gripped him and made him uncomfortable within his own conscience. He repented of his sin of not esteeming Christ as God and now trusts him as his Saviour. He now faces a lot of heat from his family for abandoning all the false doctrines and pursuing Reformed Theology.
Just a few days ago, as I heard him preach the gospel to a group of villagers, my heart was filled with joy. He truly expounded the gospel with great clarity and simplicity. Please pray for Zach and his family as he is planting a church in our village.
Please pray as we are gathering as a church again physically- that the Lord would protect us from any virus. Please pray that God would grant us His wisdom, as it is sometimes very difficult to minister to people in these strange times.
