“To be a living sacrifice will involve all my time. God wants me to live every minute for Him in accordance with His will and purpose, sixty minutes of every hour, twenty-four hours of every day, being available to Him. No time can be considered as my own, or as "off-duty" or "free." I cannot barter with God about how much time I can give to serve Him. Whatever I am doing, be it a routine salaried job, or housework at home, be it holiday time and free, or after-work Christian youth activities, all should be undertaken for Him, to reveal His indwelling presence to those around me. The example of my life must be as telling as my preaching if He is to be honored.”
― Helen Roseveare, Living Sacrifice: Willing to Be Whittled as an Arrow
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What a great Father’s Day!! This day began by celebrating twelve people being baptized. Two of them were fathers who took the lead in making this commitment to publicly identify with the Lord Jesus. Members of their households followed them in baptism. This was a wonderful moment as we watched men step forward as a spiritual leader of their family. I could not imagine a better gift!!
God reminds us of what He thinks of spiritual fathers and leaders who take responsibility by first being an example in their inner circles. This brings praise to the Lord. Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed” (Psalm 112:1–2). ““Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord” (Jeremiah 17:7). Many more references could be sighted but let these two become your inspiration. I tell many that you will never know the blessing and rewards of being a spiritual father and leader until you make the commitment to follow the Lord Jesus in this role. He will take care of making you perfect and complete. You surrender to His authority and power by the Spirit. My thoughts turn to Sunday, June 19th, which is used in many parts of the world to celebrate fathers. A few days ago, I received a request from a local family support ministry to locate fathers who would be willing to mentor younger men who are becoming fathers for the first time. These young men have no spiritual influence in their lives.
Paul understood the difference between a natural father or tutor, one who may have children and a spiritual father because they have a close relationship with our heavenly Father. “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” (1 Corinthians 4:15–16). Paul had begotten these believers because of his love for them which included discipline. The gospel makes someone a spiritual father when he proclaims the truth that causes new birth and regeneration. James confirms this principle; “Of his own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18). To answer the dire call for spiritual fathers, we must examine our own relationship with our heavenly Father. On this Father’s Day, let us pray for an increase in godly men who step forward and fill the need. Though I did not receive any update from our team in Bangladesh today, I think of them often and pray for the Lord’s hand to be on them.
For almost fifteen years I have known my Brother Tim. His passion for missions – getting the gospel to those who have never heard, has never weakened. In fact, I think it has gained strength and momentum. This growth has come from a greater love for God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. His attitude reminds me of how Roland Allen describes this passion. “Missionary zeal is grounded in the nature and character of the Holy Spirit. It begins with an act of reception. When men (women) open their hearts to Christ and He enters in to dwell there, then enters the Spirit of missionary zeal. Missionary zeal is a form of love.” (Essential Missionary Principles, page 55). The record of the Early Church in Acts is a proof of this statement. None of the apostles would have accomplished what they did if it had not been for the indwelling and power of the Spirit in them. That same power and zeal is available to us today if we only submitted to Him! “This is the second day of training here in Dhaka. Tim spent time teaching the method of “How to Study the Bible.” This consists of four steps:
Another important topic was how to become a self-sufficient, self-supporting church that doesn't depend on the western world for financing. Day five was spent resting which was truly needed. I spent most of the day in the word with the Lord answering some questions that I've been seeking answers to for months. Tim and I talked for several hours about our walk with the Lord and really got to know each other better. What a great time of fellowship! After dinner at a friend’s home, we came back and packed for a flight out on the sixth day to Chittagong, Bangladesh. Pray for our travels, that God will gives us wisdom to know His will and courage to do it.” (James). “Day three was a great day. After a great and fruitful quiet time in Matthew 18:2-3, we had breakfast that included various curry flavored dishes for me and a cheese omelet for Tim. We traveled to a Christian housing compound where we started training with a new group. I thanked the Lord for giving me Mathew 18:2-3 as we met with 11 children who started working through God’s Plan for His Disciples (GPHD) during Tim's last visit to Dhaka. They completed the book, and a graduation was held for them where we gave them a certificate. This produced beaming smiles. I was so encouraged as we prayed for their lives to grow ever closer to Jesus and for their paths to be blessed. I found myself praying that I could be made truly be like them.
After the graduation Tim started training with a new group. These men and women had traveled a very long distance to be a part of this training. I pray that their training would help them better understand how to study God's word, to grow closer to Him, and make disciples of others who go out and spread the gospel of Jesus to all of Bangladesh. I thank the Lord for our interpreter who is a Muslim convert and is so friendly, sincere, and has an obvious love of Jesus. Tim began with explaining that GPHD points to the Scripture and follows Paul’s model for the Early Church. No wonder Acts 17:6 says, "these men have turned the world upside down." Tim was animated, passionate, and inspiring as he explained the authority and sufficiency of God's word and a few more lessons to get them started. Join me in thanking the Lord that His word will never return void (Isaiah 55:11).” (James) Due to internet problems, this blog was posted later than usual. We apologize.
It is wonderful to get news from the front lines as events are taking place. Yesterday I gave a very short introduction to the ten-day visit to Bangladesh. Tim and James are sending back news that I must pass on to you and trust it will encourage you as much as it does me. “We visited the home of a family and discovered that this was the inauguration of a house church. It was amazing. The mother's Bible was beautiful, well-worn and a marked up treasure which she held close to her chest as if it was a baby. Obviously, God’s Word was very precious to her. We then visited several other homes before driving out to the country to pray over a lot of land a friend was asking God for direction. We ended up at a local church service where we worshipped, and Tim delivered a message on Joshua 1. Because of the schedule up to this point, I don't think I ever remember being so tired. We had been up since 4 a.m. and it was now 8:30 p.m. when the entire church met downstairs for a meal. There is an interesting contrast between prayer in America and in Bangladesh. In the USA, people say, “pray for me” and we might remember to pray later, but here when someone asks you to pray, they mean right then. This was a common occurrence when leaving the church, a stranger would introduce themselves and then ask us to lay hands on them to pray. This fellowship was so sweet! When we returned to the hotel, there was little else I could do then sleep, and what a great sleep it was.” (James) Though this blog is shorter than most, I want to give a brief update on current events that have just happened. This report comes from Tim and James in Bangladesh. During the previous visit (January), God’s Plan for His Disciples was introduced. In just a few months, students at the Kumudini Boys Home completed this course and graduated this past Sunday (picture). They are becoming leaders in a country that is less than 0.5% Evangelical Christian. Please pray for them. I have often explained the thrill we have as God’s Plan for Young Disciples (GPYD) is translated and introduced in various languages. Just this afternoon I received an update from Nicaragua where the vision for this book started. These pictures show that more children and young people are being trained using GPYD. Each time news of another group of children and young people being taught God’s Word comes to our attention, my excitement grows. I think of the long-range impact this is having on following generations. They are becoming faithful disciples who will teach their peers and others to be faithful and learn to be guided by God’s Word. Join us in celebrating what God is doing. As Tim and James are in Bangladesh, we anxiously wait for news of what God is doing. In a country wedged between India and Myanmar (Burma), there are 311 people groups and 289 of them have not been reached with the gospel. The total population is 167 million people. We long to equip passionate leaders in whom God has placed a commitment to see someone saved in each group. Thankfully, God is answering our desire by training pastors and young people with God’s Word so they become established in the gospel of grace. Tomorrow (Sunday, June 12th) a group of young people in the Kumudini Boys Home will graduate who completed God’s Plan for His Disciples in the Bengali language (see picture). This gives us many reasons to praise the Lord for what He is doing. Can you imagine what God will do through a new generation of energetic witnesses of the gospel? They already know the language and culture, and now with the power of God’s Word in their hearts and the Holy Spirit, they will be equipped to reach the unreached. Please pray for them! |
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