75, Not Out

When I arrived at 70, I was exhilarated, because many did not enjoy the privilege of entering their seventies. I was singing, “I am seventy, going on seventy one...” I was excited that I made it to old age to experience the shifting landscapes. When I hopped out of 74 and peeped into 75 this year (2021) I was all laughter. To add to that, as I turned my Bible to Genesis 12 to prepare for the “Little Lambs” ministry we are doing, my heart pulsated loudly when I read, “Abram was 75 years old” (v4). When God called Abraham he was 75, and is He calling me too at 75? It was no coincidence. I knew I had turned a corner. So, I decided to obey God and take up my journey from 75 and beyond. Since we don’t have a crystal ball to see the future, just like Abraham followed the call not knowing where he was going, I decided to plunge into my future trusting God. Whenever I thought of my end, I would tell myself what Jesus told His disciples, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Mt 6:34). The “Therefore” is important. Five times Jesus uses the word “worry” and admonishes us not to worry, in the preceding verses. He points out to the birds and flowers and encourages us not to worry. So, I decided to live one day at a time and often commanded my mobile to sing that for me.

Journey into the unknown can be scary. But when God comes along, we can be cool. Abraham might have thought that he was no young blood to start a new project. But God did not think so. Age mattered least to Him. He just wanted someone who would believe Him or have “faith” in Him. That Abraham could guarantee - he believed God and that was enough for God. God did mighty things through him. He even went to war and won. Let’s be encouraged. As senescence sets in, none of us should think we are too old for God to use. You may not have a clear idea about what next, but you must have a clear idea of what God wants you to do with your life right now

Looking back..

Genesis:

Anyone who knew me as a child would keep his finger on his nose if he sees me today. I had a massive health problem and was not expected to live beyond ten. Some miracles are instantaneous and others are slow. I am a slow miracle. “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your Book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16).

If you are discouraged anytime, remember what God said about you: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” ( Jer 29:11).

Exodus:

I started my exodus from Egypt when I was thirteen. I left my cucumbers and onions, garlic and fish BLESSING / May 2021 10 behind and started feeding on the manna my Lord provided throughout. There were times of rebellion and longing for the garlic. The Lord sent serpents to sting me. But I always looked up to the cross and my gracious Lord always healed me of the poison.

If you fall, don’t be lying on your back like a dying cockroach. Get up and move forward like a Christian. Life is like a boxing match. The announcement that you have lost is made not when you fall down but only when you fail to get up. Even if you fall seven times, look to the cross with utter sincerity and live. “The just shall live by faith”(Rom 1:17). That is the secret of victorious Christian life. The heroes of the Bible are heroes of “faith,” not strength or wealth.

Leviticus:

Even as I did my medical course the urge to serve God was pushing me strongly like a steam engine. My Sunday School teaching experience laid the foundation. What I saw my parents do, helped build the superstructure. My parents’ principles were the bedrock of the family. I saw God’s hand gently taking my right hand and leading me step by step.

The call to serve God is for everyone. All need not become full timers but all need to serve God in some capacity. “Go,” said Jesus, so go; don’t be sitting on your hands.

Numbers:

As I started ministering as a shy and timid teenager, God started blessing me with souls. Not only my spiritual children multiplied, without my knowledge or conscious effort I was also producing soul winners. When a seed falls to the ground and dies, not only does it become a tree, it then produces other trees.

When you decide to serve God, be prepared for some death blows. Never remain single. Multiply like yeast!

Deuteronomy:

Whenever there was discouragement, I looked back at what God had done in my life and was strengthened to go ahead.

Meditate on the “Forget Not”s of the Bible; then like the crippled beggar, you will jump to your feet and run, praising God! (Acts 3:8). How right is the song, “Count your blessings name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done”!

Joshua:

The Promised Land was spread out before me. I felt like a small bird on the edge of a cliff, looking out onto a vast landscape. There were places to capture. Times of fruitfulness in other Indian States and other countries, reminded me of God’s promise to Joshua.

Never be satisfied with what you are doing for God. There is much more to be done. Keep moving onward, forward! “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” is the promise for you! (Josh 1:5).

Judges:

How wonderful! Women can lead the war too! Whenever God’s Spirit prompted me to take up a giant project, He always stood by me and did not let me be ashamed.

Your family may despise you, your organisation may not honour you; but God’s women are God’s instruments. Never think you are “only” a woman. You have a vital role in the Kingdom of God.

Ruth:

Can I survive the tragedies of life? Oh, yes I can! There were times when there were no stars in my sky and I thought I was not a Naomi (pleasantness) but Mara (bitterness). During those dark BLESSING / May 2021 11 days I learned that suffering need not destroy, that deep loneliness can be turned to creative solitude, that water can be turned to wine.

Have you ever wondered if God is really involved in the circumstances of your life? If so, you may wonder why life is such a struggle. Neither Ruth nor Naomi saw God or heard His voice. In our lives too God’s influence is felt as a gentle breeze, though we don’t see Him or hear His voice. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isa 43:2). Learn to keep your chin up. Each trial should help you bounce back to life with renewed zest. “My house burned down. Now I can better see the rising moon,” wrote the 17th century poet Mizuta Masahide. You can decide to start dying earlier. You see so many people do that - they just give up.

Samuels:

Here we meet the man after God’s own heart. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). From the early years onwards, this verse spoke loudly to me.

If your heart is right, you are right. So, like David spend more time with your heart (Psalm 4:4).

Kings:

Can you avoid the inevitable degradation? God’s chosen race disintegrated. But that was not God’s plan for them. “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day” (Prov 4:18). Once I put my hand on the plow, there was no turning back. I don’t remember a time in my life which I can call as backsliding.

As you grow older, you must shine brighter. If your life has gone off the rails, remember the Prodigal and run to your father’s open arms waiting for you.

Chronicles:

Chronicles is not just a rehash of other Old Testament texts. Samuels and Kings were written to a people in exile and Chronicles was written to a people returned from exile.

When you are back to God, you can still fi t into God’s plan and rewrite your history. Never give up hope. Don’t let your past strangle your present. “A bruised reed God will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out” (Isa 42:3). Every failure opens up a new vista.

Ezra:

I always saw myself as the temple of God and tried to maintain it so. Every day I spend at least ten minutes in heart-searching and confessing. I fi x even small cracks then and there.

If your temple is broken down, you need to rebuild it. It is no small task. We are a house of prayer for all nations (Isa 56:7). Let’s not make it a den of thieves. We should not give occasion for the Lord to take the whip in His hand (Mt 21:13; 1 Cor 6:19). A Japanese proverb says that the shadow of the whip is enough for a good horse.

Nehemiah:

God’s word was my compound wall. I trembled to go beyond it. I needed the strength of a giant to keep myself under control. That Giant was God. “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control” (Prov 25:28). Like Nehemiah, start building a compound wall around BLESSING / May 2021 12 you with the word of God. “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Cor 4:6). This principle will prevent us from being swept away by the floods of false teachings.

Esther:

“One” is a big number. One person who was ready to throw her life on the line, changed history forever. Climbing the hills of Saundatti in Karnataka to see the dedication of girls as devadasis was a daunting task. I took in the heartbreaking scenario. Bus loads of devotees were disgorging everywhere. A lot happened since that modest beginning. Prayer was mobilised. Work among devadasis was started. Soon the government cracked down on the practice and put an end to it. Today a church stands in Saundatti as a witness. It was up and against a monster.

You can make a difference in this world if you believe in God and yourself. All it takes is one individual to say, “This will stop.” Don’t just chase someone’s tail light, but chart your own course. Choose a life which is less ordinary, changing the world a little in the process. Do all you can, then it’s up to God.

Job:

Whenever I faced temptations and trials, I learnt to lift my eyes to see the heavenly vignette. Satan challenges God that Lilian would buckle under trial. But God laughs in his face saying she would never let Him down. That gave me the gumption to punch satan on his nose.

Never make your Lord hang His head before satan.

Psalms:

My wristwatch is no more my master. Whenever my heart races, I tell myself, “Calm down baby, calm down, what’s the hurry?” I have stopped burning the candles on both ends. No deadlines and I am learning to relax. 2020 was not all doom and gloom. I wanted to brush up my piano lessons of yore. I just couldn’t turn off this ambition. So, my husband gifted me a keyboard when lockdown started. I was beside myself with excitement. I plinked and plonked and now playing and singing. It lifts me up to the clouds and brings me unbidden joy. I have completely forgotten to be depressed. I forget the world around me and feel, “I am like a green olive tree flourishing in the house of God” (Psalm 52:8,9). The words of old-time hymn writers help me touch my Lord and I catch myself singing in the kitchen. I also read my Hindi and Oriya Bibles and memorize verses to give a pat to my brain. I walk for 40 minutes and exercise my joints for one hour and forty minutes a day to keep my arthritic body moving. My small garden fi lls my dreams with colours. To top it all my husband made a swing for me in the terrace. Even though my to-do list never really shrank so much as recycled itself, I take the time to swing.

Never lose your personal touch with the Lord. “A quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success, bound with constant unrest,” said Albert Einstein, German physicist. Be ambitious, but don’t be blinded by ambition. It’s almost never too late to do, on some scale, what you’ve always wanted to do. The key is to move forward, to make changes. You must add to your life. Don’t hesitate to try something new. Subtract activities you don’t enjoy anymore. Make old age as happy as possible.

The Preacher:

I hear preachers and read lot of sermons and books. But my principle has always been to look for fruit in the preachers (Mt 7:16). For me what they are is more than what they do, what I am is more than what I do. If I find no fruit in them, I do what they say but do not do what they do (Mt 23:1-3).

Let, Joshua 1:8 take deep root in you. “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to DO everything written on it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Song of Solomon:

All couples aspire to be Romeo and Juliet; but life has its own sinister twists and turns. The rustic love here brings to my memory a jingle for men and women –

Some marry the man they love,

But my prayer would somewhat vary,

I pray to the heaven above,

That I love the man I marry

Why bother whether marriages are made in heaven or not; let’s concentrate on making a heaven in our marriage.

Prophets:

Prophets give me hope and help me stay upbeat all the time. They throw open a window that will never close. They speak of a glorious future and a wonderful land. That makes me throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles me, and run with perseverance the race marked out for me, fixing my eyes on Jesus! (Heb 12:1-3).

Life is a race; keep running till you reach your goal. A crown awaits you.

Gospels:

The Gospels have always been my favourite Books. They teach me the principles of life. I learnt to produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Mt 3:8). I started shedding my viper nature gradually.

You might have had a spiritual experience; but you must show it in your life. Don’t think your baptism will shield you from God’s anger.

Acts:

This Book is an assurance for me that nothing is happening to me that had not happened to the disciples. All the problems and hindrances that happen in my ministry happened to the apostles, only in a larger proportion. If they could do it to green trees, how about me, a dry wood! So, I brace myself as my Captain goes before me.

Never be discouraged in ministry. Keep going, keep on going like a bulldozer, let come what may. Having kept your hand on the plow, never look back.

Epistles:

These letters to an assortment of people are full of street smart advice. They are like letters written to me by well-meaning friends. They chided me, encouraged me, warned me, fed me, helped me develop salutary habits and kicked me forward. When doubts assailed me, they encouraged me saying: The God who makes a plant bloom, will He not make your life bloom?

Friends BLESSING / May 2021 14 and extended family twinkled in my dark sky. The Mission has been my home and missionaries my family. Like a top that spins and slows and lies down, I’ve slowed down and am ready to lie down. “I will lie down and sleep in peace” (Psalm 4:8). “After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. I Myself will see Him with my own eyes - I and not another. How my heart yearns within me” (Job 19:26,27).

So enter every day with enthusiasm. You can fill your days with nothing or smiles. You can laugh and keep life’s worries at bay. You have a choice. Happiness is the best cosmetic for old age, isn’t it? Gospels are not the end of your spiritual journey. There is much more. Listen to the advice of these epistle friends and become a presentable pure virgin for Christ (2 Cor 11:2).

Revelation:

George Washington Carver said: It is not ‘When am I going to die’ but ‘How much can I do while I am alive.’ As I am nearing the fi nish line, the call of the Spirit and the bride saying “Come” rings louder in my ears. It is drowning the noises of the world. I fi nd myself responding, “Amen, come Lord Jesus!”

Behold, He stands at the door and knocks. The time of His coming is not far off. Get ready. Don’t be slack and be found sleeping. In spite of Noah’s warning many people missed the boat. Let it not happen to you. Be absolutely ready!

“You live only once, but if you do it right, once is enough” - Mae West

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75, Not Out

When I arrived at 70, I was exhilarated, because many did not enjoy the privilege of entering their seventies. I was singing, “I am seventy, going on seventy one...” I was excited that I made it to old age to experience the shifting landscapes. When I hopped out of 74 and peeped into 75 this year (2021) I was all laughter. To add to that, as I turned my Bible to Genesis 12 to prepare for the “Little Lambs” ministry we are doing, my heart pulsated loudly when I read, “Abram was 75 years old” (v4). When God called Abraham he was 75, and is He calling me too at 75? It was no coincidence. I knew I had turned a corner. So, I decided to obey God and take up my journey from 75 and beyond. Since we don’t have a crystal ball to see the future, just like Abraham followed the call not knowing where he was going, I decided to plunge into my future trusting God. Whenever I thought of my end, I would tell myself what Jesus told His disciples, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Mt 6:34). The “Therefore” is important. Five times Jesus uses the word “worry” and admonishes us not to worry, in the preceding verses. He points out to the birds and flowers and encourages us not to worry. So, I decided to live one day at a time and often commanded my mobile to sing that for me.

Journey into the unknown can be scary. But when God comes along, we can be cool. Abraham might have thought that he was no young blood to start a new project. But God did not think so. Age mattered least to Him. He just wanted someone who would believe Him or have “faith” in Him. That Abraham could guarantee - he believed God and that was enough for God. God did mighty things through him. He even went to war and won. Let’s be encouraged. As senescence sets in, none of us should think we are too old for God to use. You may not have a clear idea about what next, but you must have a clear idea of what God wants you to do with your life right now

Looking back..

Genesis:

Anyone who knew me as a child would keep his finger on his nose if he sees me today. I had a massive health problem and was not expected to live beyond ten. Some miracles are instantaneous and others are slow. I am a slow miracle. “Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your Book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16).

If you are discouraged anytime, remember what God said about you: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” ( Jer 29:11).

Exodus:

I started my exodus from Egypt when I was thirteen. I left my cucumbers and onions, garlic and fish BLESSING / May 2021 10 behind and started feeding on the manna my Lord provided throughout. There were times of rebellion and longing for the garlic. The Lord sent serpents to sting me. But I always looked up to the cross and my gracious Lord always healed me of the poison.

If you fall, don’t be lying on your back like a dying cockroach. Get up and move forward like a Christian. Life is like a boxing match. The announcement that you have lost is made not when you fall down but only when you fail to get up. Even if you fall seven times, look to the cross with utter sincerity and live. “The just shall live by faith”(Rom 1:17). That is the secret of victorious Christian life. The heroes of the Bible are heroes of “faith,” not strength or wealth.

Leviticus:

Even as I did my medical course the urge to serve God was pushing me strongly like a steam engine. My Sunday School teaching experience laid the foundation. What I saw my parents do, helped build the superstructure. My parents’ principles were the bedrock of the family. I saw God’s hand gently taking my right hand and leading me step by step.

The call to serve God is for everyone. All need not become full timers but all need to serve God in some capacity. “Go,” said Jesus, so go; don’t be sitting on your hands.

Numbers:

As I started ministering as a shy and timid teenager, God started blessing me with souls. Not only my spiritual children multiplied, without my knowledge or conscious effort I was also producing soul winners. When a seed falls to the ground and dies, not only does it become a tree, it then produces other trees.

When you decide to serve God, be prepared for some death blows. Never remain single. Multiply like yeast!

Deuteronomy:

Whenever there was discouragement, I looked back at what God had done in my life and was strengthened to go ahead.

Meditate on the “Forget Not”s of the Bible; then like the crippled beggar, you will jump to your feet and run, praising God! (Acts 3:8). How right is the song, “Count your blessings name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done”!

Joshua:

The Promised Land was spread out before me. I felt like a small bird on the edge of a cliff, looking out onto a vast landscape. There were places to capture. Times of fruitfulness in other Indian States and other countries, reminded me of God’s promise to Joshua.

Never be satisfied with what you are doing for God. There is much more to be done. Keep moving onward, forward! “I will never leave you nor forsake you,” is the promise for you! (Josh 1:5).

Judges:

How wonderful! Women can lead the war too! Whenever God’s Spirit prompted me to take up a giant project, He always stood by me and did not let me be ashamed.

Your family may despise you, your organisation may not honour you; but God’s women are God’s instruments. Never think you are “only” a woman. You have a vital role in the Kingdom of God.

Ruth:

Can I survive the tragedies of life? Oh, yes I can! There were times when there were no stars in my sky and I thought I was not a Naomi (pleasantness) but Mara (bitterness). During those dark BLESSING / May 2021 11 days I learned that suffering need not destroy, that deep loneliness can be turned to creative solitude, that water can be turned to wine.

Have you ever wondered if God is really involved in the circumstances of your life? If so, you may wonder why life is such a struggle. Neither Ruth nor Naomi saw God or heard His voice. In our lives too God’s influence is felt as a gentle breeze, though we don’t see Him or hear His voice. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isa 43:2). Learn to keep your chin up. Each trial should help you bounce back to life with renewed zest. “My house burned down. Now I can better see the rising moon,” wrote the 17th century poet Mizuta Masahide. You can decide to start dying earlier. You see so many people do that - they just give up.

Samuels:

Here we meet the man after God’s own heart. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). From the early years onwards, this verse spoke loudly to me.

If your heart is right, you are right. So, like David spend more time with your heart (Psalm 4:4).

Kings:

Can you avoid the inevitable degradation? God’s chosen race disintegrated. But that was not God’s plan for them. “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day” (Prov 4:18). Once I put my hand on the plow, there was no turning back. I don’t remember a time in my life which I can call as backsliding.

As you grow older, you must shine brighter. If your life has gone off the rails, remember the Prodigal and run to your father’s open arms waiting for you.

Chronicles:

Chronicles is not just a rehash of other Old Testament texts. Samuels and Kings were written to a people in exile and Chronicles was written to a people returned from exile.

When you are back to God, you can still fi t into God’s plan and rewrite your history. Never give up hope. Don’t let your past strangle your present. “A bruised reed God will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out” (Isa 42:3). Every failure opens up a new vista.

Ezra:

I always saw myself as the temple of God and tried to maintain it so. Every day I spend at least ten minutes in heart-searching and confessing. I fi x even small cracks then and there.

If your temple is broken down, you need to rebuild it. It is no small task. We are a house of prayer for all nations (Isa 56:7). Let’s not make it a den of thieves. We should not give occasion for the Lord to take the whip in His hand (Mt 21:13; 1 Cor 6:19). A Japanese proverb says that the shadow of the whip is enough for a good horse.

Nehemiah:

God’s word was my compound wall. I trembled to go beyond it. I needed the strength of a giant to keep myself under control. That Giant was God. “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control” (Prov 25:28). Like Nehemiah, start building a compound wall around BLESSING / May 2021 12 you with the word of God. “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Cor 4:6). This principle will prevent us from being swept away by the floods of false teachings.

Esther:

“One” is a big number. One person who was ready to throw her life on the line, changed history forever. Climbing the hills of Saundatti in Karnataka to see the dedication of girls as devadasis was a daunting task. I took in the heartbreaking scenario. Bus loads of devotees were disgorging everywhere. A lot happened since that modest beginning. Prayer was mobilised. Work among devadasis was started. Soon the government cracked down on the practice and put an end to it. Today a church stands in Saundatti as a witness. It was up and against a monster.

You can make a difference in this world if you believe in God and yourself. All it takes is one individual to say, “This will stop.” Don’t just chase someone’s tail light, but chart your own course. Choose a life which is less ordinary, changing the world a little in the process. Do all you can, then it’s up to God.

Job:

Whenever I faced temptations and trials, I learnt to lift my eyes to see the heavenly vignette. Satan challenges God that Lilian would buckle under trial. But God laughs in his face saying she would never let Him down. That gave me the gumption to punch satan on his nose.

Never make your Lord hang His head before satan.

Psalms:

My wristwatch is no more my master. Whenever my heart races, I tell myself, “Calm down baby, calm down, what’s the hurry?” I have stopped burning the candles on both ends. No deadlines and I am learning to relax. 2020 was not all doom and gloom. I wanted to brush up my piano lessons of yore. I just couldn’t turn off this ambition. So, my husband gifted me a keyboard when lockdown started. I was beside myself with excitement. I plinked and plonked and now playing and singing. It lifts me up to the clouds and brings me unbidden joy. I have completely forgotten to be depressed. I forget the world around me and feel, “I am like a green olive tree flourishing in the house of God” (Psalm 52:8,9). The words of old-time hymn writers help me touch my Lord and I catch myself singing in the kitchen. I also read my Hindi and Oriya Bibles and memorize verses to give a pat to my brain. I walk for 40 minutes and exercise my joints for one hour and forty minutes a day to keep my arthritic body moving. My small garden fi lls my dreams with colours. To top it all my husband made a swing for me in the terrace. Even though my to-do list never really shrank so much as recycled itself, I take the time to swing.

Never lose your personal touch with the Lord. “A quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success, bound with constant unrest,” said Albert Einstein, German physicist. Be ambitious, but don’t be blinded by ambition. It’s almost never too late to do, on some scale, what you’ve always wanted to do. The key is to move forward, to make changes. You must add to your life. Don’t hesitate to try something new. Subtract activities you don’t enjoy anymore. Make old age as happy as possible.

The Preacher:

I hear preachers and read lot of sermons and books. But my principle has always been to look for fruit in the preachers (Mt 7:16). For me what they are is more than what they do, what I am is more than what I do. If I find no fruit in them, I do what they say but do not do what they do (Mt 23:1-3).

Let, Joshua 1:8 take deep root in you. “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to DO everything written on it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

Song of Solomon:

All couples aspire to be Romeo and Juliet; but life has its own sinister twists and turns. The rustic love here brings to my memory a jingle for men and women –

Some marry the man they love,

But my prayer would somewhat vary,

I pray to the heaven above,

That I love the man I marry

Why bother whether marriages are made in heaven or not; let’s concentrate on making a heaven in our marriage.

Prophets:

Prophets give me hope and help me stay upbeat all the time. They throw open a window that will never close. They speak of a glorious future and a wonderful land. That makes me throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles me, and run with perseverance the race marked out for me, fixing my eyes on Jesus! (Heb 12:1-3).

Life is a race; keep running till you reach your goal. A crown awaits you.

Gospels:

The Gospels have always been my favourite Books. They teach me the principles of life. I learnt to produce fruit in keeping with repentance (Mt 3:8). I started shedding my viper nature gradually.

You might have had a spiritual experience; but you must show it in your life. Don’t think your baptism will shield you from God’s anger.

Acts:

This Book is an assurance for me that nothing is happening to me that had not happened to the disciples. All the problems and hindrances that happen in my ministry happened to the apostles, only in a larger proportion. If they could do it to green trees, how about me, a dry wood! So, I brace myself as my Captain goes before me.

Never be discouraged in ministry. Keep going, keep on going like a bulldozer, let come what may. Having kept your hand on the plow, never look back.

Epistles:

These letters to an assortment of people are full of street smart advice. They are like letters written to me by well-meaning friends. They chided me, encouraged me, warned me, fed me, helped me develop salutary habits and kicked me forward. When doubts assailed me, they encouraged me saying: The God who makes a plant bloom, will He not make your life bloom?

Friends BLESSING / May 2021 14 and extended family twinkled in my dark sky. The Mission has been my home and missionaries my family. Like a top that spins and slows and lies down, I’ve slowed down and am ready to lie down. “I will lie down and sleep in peace” (Psalm 4:8). “After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. I Myself will see Him with my own eyes - I and not another. How my heart yearns within me” (Job 19:26,27).

So enter every day with enthusiasm. You can fill your days with nothing or smiles. You can laugh and keep life’s worries at bay. You have a choice. Happiness is the best cosmetic for old age, isn’t it? Gospels are not the end of your spiritual journey. There is much more. Listen to the advice of these epistle friends and become a presentable pure virgin for Christ (2 Cor 11:2).

Revelation:

George Washington Carver said: It is not ‘When am I going to die’ but ‘How much can I do while I am alive.’ As I am nearing the fi nish line, the call of the Spirit and the bride saying “Come” rings louder in my ears. It is drowning the noises of the world. I fi nd myself responding, “Amen, come Lord Jesus!”

Behold, He stands at the door and knocks. The time of His coming is not far off. Get ready. Don’t be slack and be found sleeping. In spite of Noah’s warning many people missed the boat. Let it not happen to you. Be absolutely ready!

“You live only once, but if you do it right, once is enough” - Mae West

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