Give Something Away

Here's a thought: take something that you own, one of your possessions, and give it to someone who really needs it. Seriously! In your vast arsenal of "stuff" is there something you could do without? Is there something you have multiples of, that is simply taking up space in your house?

I did this a few weeks ago. I met a young man from England who was trying to "find himself" through various eastern religions. I was able to share with him the "truth" about Jesus, and he understood, as if a light went off in his mind and heart!

In a subsequent conversation with him, I asked him if he had a Bible, to which he replied, "No." So I gave him mine. I have more Bibles. The one I gave away was one of my favorites because it was small and fit nicely in my backpack that I carry pretty much everywhere I go. Plus it had various notes and thoughts in it. But I wanted him to have it.

This is not a story about me and my wonderful sacrifice. But rather, it is about those who have needs, and we who have so much abundance. We ought to give to those who really need it. It's not much of a sacrifice if we really think about it.

By the way, the lady in the picture had me over to her home for dinner while I was in India. She gave something away: a wonderful meal from what little she had, her only chair for me to sit in so I wouldn't have to sit on the ground, and her only spoon for me to eat with so I didn't have to use my hands. Now that's humbling.

So go ahead, give something away.

Question: What can you give away to enrich someone else's life?


(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me on Twitter if you find me interesting.)

Lead Dreamer

Are you the "Lead Dreamer" in your group (family, team, work group)? Are you constantly asking yourself and others, "What if?" When you encounter a challenge do you say, "Oh no!" or do you think, "Why not?"

Do you motivate and stimulate others to dream, and to dream big? Or do you stifle the creativity of others because it doesn't fit your "plan"?

Are the people who gather around you free to dream, led by your example and motivated by your encouragement?

I believe that God was dreaming "big" when He created man. I also believe that we are created in the image of God, therefore we too should dream "big".

A father once said to his son, "If you can dream it, you can do it." Now that's pretty good advice.

Question: How are you the Lead Dreamer in your circle of influence? Share your thoughts below in responses.

(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me @Bigcloudmusic on Twitter if you find me interesting.)

India: Epilogue

If you have kept up with my posts from India, you will agree that I had an incredible trip. I am still overwhelmed with the country, the people and what God allowed me to be a part of.

The travel from Vellore to Chennai to London to the USA took all of 40 hours with layovers and delays. But, at 6:00 pm on Monday, home at last! I did miss my wife and children very much.

I know that my life has been altered by the experiences that I had in India. I also know that being on the front lines of real ministry is a difficult but exhilarating experience. I only hope that the lives of those I came in contact with are different also, because of what the Lord has done for them.

Thanks again for "going with me" on this trip. I am glad you were a part of it.

India: Day Fourteen

Today was my final day in India and my final time of ministry. I had the privilege of speaking at a church that is very mush like my home church, Immanuel’s, in its worship and style.

After a passionate time of worship, prayer, offering and even announcements, I challenged the congregation from the book of Acts. It was exciting to see the people listening and receiving the Word of God, and during the altar call there were four adults who committed their lives to Christ for the first time!

The Lord has shown Himself strong during this trip. I am privileged to have shared in what He is doing in this part of the world. I am excited that the pastors and believers here are hungry for a move of the Holy Spirit and seeking Him passionately. Thank you for sharing in this adventure with me.

India: Day Thirteen

I am seeing that the house church movement is very strategic here in India. Many of the churches that have begun here have started as home fellowships. I spoke at one this evening that had only two families attending, but they were encouraged and they encouraged me.

One man that I have met here is involved in three house churches, assisting them as they begin and grow. The desire of the people here to see their families, friends and communities won to Christ is powerful. We know that the Holy Spirit is continuing to show Himself strong here in India, and this country will see great revival and harvest.

India: Day Twelve

Today may sound like a “minor” day of ministry because my only work was speaking at a small house church. But it was far from that, as once again God’s Spirit showed Himself strong and God’s presence showed itself in a remarkable way.

The house church is a relatively new ministry that is located in the center of a community of Hindus. In fact, the twenty or so people that attend the meetings are the only Christians in the community. They have experienced much persecution in many forms. There is ridicule at school where the children attend, verbal abuse and “silent” abuse (opportunities are not given to the Christians to buy things at discount, promotions at work are not given when they are due and college scholarships are given only to Hindu students). Plus, false accusations are brought against the people to the police and to other government officials. There has been at least one instance of rocks being thrown at the believers as they have gathered to worship.

Yet the faith and resolve of this small group of believers continues! Twenty-three gathered in the living room of a businessman on Friday evening and assisted by a worship CD in a CD player, they sang, prayed and thanked God for His faithfulness. Then I shared an encouraging word to strengthen their faith and give them courage.

The presence of God was strong there. It was the strongest of any of the churches that I have met with on this trip. Many of the people asked me to pray for them, and as I did the presence of God increased and very real emotional and physical healings took place.

One young girl complained of sharp stomach pain for a week. After we prayed, she said the pain was gone! A married couple who had been trying to conceive a child for five years asked if I’d pray for them. As I prayed, I sensed that the woman’s womb was actually opening. I told them that deep in my spirit I felt that one year form now they would be holding a baby.

Another young lady asked that I pray for a husband for her. As we prayed, she began to cry a cry of release, trusting in the Lord. (She couldn’t understand what I was praying because she didn’t speak English. But her spirit understood!)

What moved me the most was the wife of the host home. She is a believer, but I was told she is very reserved and not given to emotion. She asked that I pray for pain in her shoulders and arms. As I prayed she was filled with the Holy Spirit began to cry, and continued to for quite a while. She was overjoyed with her encounter with the Lord! All were astonished at her response because it was so out of character for her.

I believe that this humble house church will become the leading edge of a revival in that community and in just a few months, the community will be known as “Christian” rather than Hindu.

India: Day Eleven

This evening I had the privilege to speak at the weekly chapel service at the most prestigious teaching hospital in all of India. What an honor it was to stand before over 500 doctors, medical staff, students, patients and family members and share the love of Christ with the again mostly Hindu audience. The place was packed, with many standing in the doorways.

After a time of worship and prayer, led by a team from a nearby church, I shared the story in John 5 of the man by the pool who was waiting to be healed for 38 years. Ramesh translated into Tamil, and together we told the people that Jesus was willing to heal them both physically and spiritually if they are willing to trust in Him and Him alone.

I gave an altar call and approximately 200 people responded to the invitation to commit their lives to Christ! What an incredible sight it was to see a hospital chapel service become a harvest of souls!

It was a fast-paced evening because as soon as I finished with the altar call, I was whisked away by motor cycle to a village outside of Vellore where I was scheduled to speak at a humble house-church, leaving Ramesh and his brother-in-law-pastor in charge of the “after-service”.

Once again I was overwhelmed with the passion and heart of the Christians who faithfully meet week after week to worship, pray and receive the Word of God amid much opposition and poverty.

The small gathering of 22 believers were gracious and receptive to the encouragement from God’s Word. After the service we prayed for each person and again saw miracles. Many asked that I pray for their families who were Hindu and needed to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord is faithful!

Thank you for continuing to lift me up as I minister here in India. We only have three more days of ministry, and I am expecting God to do even more wonders! Thank you for being part of this trip with me!

India: Day Ten

Once again the Spirit of God showed Himself strong as we ministered! I misunderstood the plan for today when I was told the night before. I thought we were going out in the remote areas again to visit the poor and pray for them. As we were driving through Vellore it became apparent in the conversation that we were going instead to a prayer meeting, and I was to bring a word.

I quickly prayed, “Lord, I have not prepared anything. Give me a word!” Well, as we walked into the small church, there were about 40 women praying. The only men were the pastor, Ramesh and my pastor-host-driver. The Lord immediately gave me a word.

I spoke to the women out of Zephaniah chapter 3, focusing on verse 17 where it says, “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

I sensed that these women, some of whom were former Hindus and the others were still Hindus, needed to know that they were loved and to feel that they were loved. So I shared the Love of God the Father with them. I was obvious in their eyes and their countenances that they were receiving the Father’s love as I spoke.

I prayed for them as a group, and then prayed for most of them individually. In the process, I led several of the Hindu women to Christ. The Love of the Father drew them to Himself! It was a beautiful and wonderful time!

One older woman said that she had lost her husband one month ago, and was very sad and starting to grow weak, wanting to give up on life. After I prayed for her, I embraced her (remember, hugging is not big in the Indian culture). As I did, she hugged me back and allowed me to hold her for several minutes. I know that the Lord was ministering to her broken heart and pouring out His love in her.

I spent the afternoon with a Sri Lankan pastor, and was able to encourage him as he encouraged me with what God was doing in his country. Then that evening, we were back at the church where I spoke on Monday.

We had a glorious time of praise and the Lord was anointing His Word as I spoke from Psalm 115 (see verse 1 below). Great boldness rose up from the people as we ministered at the end of the service. We also saw two people have their sight restored as they were prayed for.

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness.”

India: Day Nine

Imagine a successful fruit and vegetable business, buying fresh products at wholesale and then selling them to consumers who frequent the stores to purchase the products. Imagine the owners in their beautiful home, driving expensive cars, and living the American Dream. We see it everyday.

Now imagine a family of five in India, with a modest fruit stand along a main street in a small village, selling the few pieces of fruit that the father could afford to buy at the fruit market in the city and carrying on his bicycle. Then imagine a four-foot-by-six-foot hut right behind the fruit stand, right there on the street where all five of the family sleep every night because it is their home.

Today I stopped and prayed for this very family described above (see pic also). They are one of the few families of believers in this predominately Hindu town. They are seeking to be a light in this very dark part of the world, living with much joy amidst such challenging poverty.

After we prayed, they gave me their only watermelon they had for sale (probably 1/5 of their profit for the day). I had to take it, so as not to offend them. I silently prayed that the Lord would bless them one-hundred fold.

I gave the watermelon away to another family. After receiving it, the mother thanked the Lord, and told me this story: Just this morning they had bought a much smaller watermelon but some monkeys stole it and ate it, leaving them with none. Now, they had an even bigger watermelon! Isn’t the Lord good?

The morning and afternoon was spent visiting poor people in a farming and shepherding area. We went from house to house, field to field and prayed for people, encouraging them and sharing the love of Jesus. At one place, 13 women had gathered to pass the lunch hour in the shade of a big tree. Only one was a Christian, the rest were Hindu. Right then and there we had an evangelistic meeting and I shared the Gospel, and several gave their hearts to the Lord!

In the evening I spoke at a prayer meeting in a small rural church with just over 60 people present. They worshipped with passion, they prayed with fervor, and they received God’s Word with grace. They are hungry for God’s Word and His Spirit. God is doing great wonders here, but it is a difficult life for the people.

India: Day Eight

This has been an overwhelming day for me. I saw things today that I had only heard about or read about. Today God allowed me to see the part of His Kingdom that He loves the most, what most Americans don’t get to see.

Let me tell you about this evening first. I had the privilege of being in one of the first meetings of a new church plant outside of Vellore, in one of the remote areas. The people are celebrating the construction of their new building, a modest one-room concrete block structure with openings in the walls for the breeze to blow through. Wednesday they are having their official dedication (I have been asked to speak).

The people (a little over 50) worshipped with passion, led by the two pastors (Ramesh was on keyboard). The exuberance of these Christians is inspiring. They sing, they shout, they dance, they lift their hands and they clap. They know how to worship.

I spoke on the presence of God, and after another time of praise and calling for the glory of God, we prayed for people. Once again God was faithful and we saw healings and delivered prophetic words. I am looking forward to going back on Wednesday.

OK, now to what shook my soul. In the morning, I accompanied a local pastor (the pastor of the aforementioned church) to a very poor area that had a settlement for crippled people. We stopped and spoke with people who had all kinds of physical limitations – twisted limbs, turned feet – sharing the love of God and then asking if we could pray for them. Just about everyone is Hindu, and the concept of a savior who not only could save but also heal was very foreign.

A few hundred meters away from there is a leaper colony that we went to next. We would walk along, stopping to speak to people, and groups would form. The pastor would share the Gospel, and then I would lay hands on and pray for the leapers. My heart was so moved with compassion as I saw these outcasts, whom no one loved or wanted to be near.

After I had prayed for the first person, I heard the Lord say, “Hold him.” And so I wrapped my arms around the man and held him for a few minutes. I did this for all of the leapers that I prayed for. (The Indian culture isn’t big on hugging anyway, so this was doubly-different for them.) Add to this that they are leapers, and who knows how many years it has been since they were held?

As we were walking back to the car a leprous man came out to the road, hobbling on a stick he could hardly hold. He had heard that we were praying for people. He said, “Pray for me!” I did, and as I held him he put his head on my shoulder and began to cry.

Understand?

(If you like this post, please re-post it or Twittter it to your followers. Follow me on Twitter if you find me interesting.)

India: Day Seven

Today was Sunday. Three different messages in three different churches. The Word of God produced fruit. The Spirit of God brought healing. The presence of God brought freedom. The Lord was exalted!

Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to Your Name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness. (Psalm 115:1)

I’m tired! Goodnite!