The Pastor's Wife

I have just finished reading ‘The Pastor’s Wife’ in which, Sabina Wurmbrand [wife of Richard Wurmbrand] narrates her experiences under Communism and life in the Underground Church in Romania.
Here, are some quotes…if taken seriously you will never be the same after reading them…

Time and distance quench a small love, but make a great love stronger.

I remembered a sad reflection of Mihai’s, made years before, ‘Even if Father returns, he will be no more the man we knew, but a ghost, incapable of serving anybody,’ In Africa a newspaper wrote of our visit: ‘We were hit by a hurricane called Richard.’

Richard had been for years a prisoner treated with contempt, accustomed to mockery, and beatings. Now he is given adulation, which might turn another man’s head. But Richard ahs passed through the fiery furnace. He knows that the applause is not his due, that glory belongs only to God. The publicity helps those who have few other spokesmen. Fame, as well as shame, can be borne humbly.

Richard is aware of the danger. And every danger of which you are aware ceases to be a real danger.

Whenever I am away from Richard I feel fear. But if it is dangerous to do God’s work, how much more dangerous it is to leave it undone.

As the pastor’s wife, I have often told youngsters a story of the boy who stood on the shore and waved to a ship at sea. A man beside him said, “Don’t be silly. The steamer will not change its course because you wave.” But the ship turned, came to shore and picked up the boy. From the bridge he shouted, “Sir, I’m not a fool. The captain is my father.”

Maybe some day..

I am really glad that I am in the perfect Will of God serving Him where he wants me to be.
But yesterday as I said goodbye to Chandrakant as he was to leave for UK, there was a wistfulness within me of him going to the exactly same place where so many of my closest friends live and also the place that gave me some of the most unforgettable experiences of my life.
It’s strange to be away from friends so dear because though they are far away, they are always near you and yet they are physically far away which puts you in a strange place of confusion of whether to stay or go.
Maybe some days you need to stay and maybe some days you will go..

How do we [rather I] exhibit this being in Christ?

People know me as Anna because Anna has certain distinct characteristics that make her Anna.
She is short. Her hair is curly.
She can’t help laughing out loud at unusual times just because she was thinking about something funny.
She has brown eyes. She has a light wheatish complexion.
Therefore, if you find someone corresponding to these characteristics somewhere, you might want to inquire if she is Anna. Basically, it would be difficult to miss Anna if everyone noticed these characteristics immediately.
Similarly, it would be difficult to ignore or pass by somebody who is in Christ if he was exhibiting the characteristics of Christ. The first thing that we notice in the verse that I quoted in the last post,

For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. Colossians 2:9,
is fullness. FULLNESS is something you can never miss. If a well is full of water, you will immediately know it is full of water, you won’t have to peer into the darkness to ascertain if you can see some light reflected from water below. In the same way, a person exhibiting the FULLNESS that is in Christ will evidently show it.
In everyday life, he or she will be full of joy because sadness doesn’t represent fullness. This doesn’t mean the person is never sad or that he goes around with a foolish grin on his face but that he doesn’t wallow in his sadness rather he picks himself up every time and goes ahead in the Joy of the Lord! He finds his strength in God like David.
His life is full of blessings. All work that he takes at hand is done with the best of his ability and intentions. His family is blessed and happy. He knows how to enjoy himself.
There is nothing in his life which makes you scratch you head and think twice about the joy evident on his face [he is definitely not a sour face].
This is what I thought of for now. Feel free to post how you think FULLNESS would reflect in your life.

In Christ...

What does it mean to be in Christ? Is it one of those numerous intelligent sounding phrases that people use everyday but hardly anyone knows its meaning? I have been pondering on this fact for a while. If I am to live my life in Christ, what implications does it hold for my everyday life. But firstly, what does it mean anyway? If I am in Christ, I should know who Christ is. For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. Colossians 2:9 In Christ lies the fullness of the Godhead, in bodily form. Yikes!!! I hadn’t expected so much, giving complete expression of the divine nature. And we are in that Christ. We have been born anew in the life of Christ, and therefore, in Him, we have been made complete with the authority of our original purpose [Col 2:10]. What had to be achieved has already been achieved in me so all I have to do is be what I am and this being itself will have greater consequences rather than me trying to do stuff to be of support to Christ. His life in me is enough to turn the world up side down and as some of our wise teachers say, right side up. In Christ is therefore, not a doing state, it is a being state. We don’t have to struggle again and again to overcome the sinful principles of this world rather we have to be in Christ and all the struggles will have to flee as the sinful principles of this world will stand defeated and publicly displayed once again as they did on that day at Calvary. But how do we exhibit this being in Christ? Well…that’s for the next post…

PSALM 18…PREACHING…IN CHRIST…

He brought me forth also into a broad place;
He rescued me, because He delighted in me.
Psalm 18:19

I have been meditating on Psalm 18 since a long time now. Every verse that has been composed by the psalmist and inspired by the Holy Spirit speaks tons to our everyday life.
Just few days ago, I was to preach at our church. I got a bit uncertain on the previous night. And on the morning of the preaching, I got literally physically ill due to the same nerves. But at that time, again Psalm 18 was a rescue in the midst of this calamity. I read Psalm 18:19 and asked God to bring me in to a broad place. Another version says You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. I kept asking God that he would broaden my path that day and indeed, faithful as he is, he did broaden my path.
In spite of the power cut, people were actually listening in the very warm [I should rather say ‘boiling’] day!
And many of them did say they were blessed by it.
What I had preached on was that, the fact that we are ‘in Christ’ should be an energizer for us to live out our Kingdom life with greater excellence and diligence everyday. My life is real life but if no one can see any life in me, it is useless. Therefore, I was encouraging the congregation that because we are in Christ, we can do amazing feats for the Kingdom, because we are in Christ, we can wake up in the morning without cursing the coming day, because we are in Christ we can be a source of encouragement and zeal for the rest of our colleagues at work.
The fact that the Maker of Heaven and Earth has business on earth, makes me want to run to Him and never lose a chance of being able to dwell in communion with Him. It is important that we know, God isn’t in the business of pursuing us and pleading us to be of support to Him, rather we should be the ones pursuing the Sovereign Lord of this Universe with all our might so that on that last day we enter his eternal glory filled with the joy of His Son.

Hallelujah!!

Yesterday I stood preaching in front of the congregation of the local church that I am committed to.
Amongst the congregation sat the apostle of our church and his wife. And as I was preaching, he sat there and smiled!
For all of you who know Chandrakant, I think you will understand when I say ‘Hallelujah!!’

ps. not that he is some kind of a bore or something for all of you who dont know him but he always has high standards of proving.

The day began as usual…

I woke up at 4:45 am, brushed my teeth, got myself presentable, and woke up everyone in the hostel at 5 am. As soon as one of the girls opened one of the back doors, moonlight deluged that entire corridor. I was quite startled at this and I went out to witness a beautiful full moon in full regalia.
Immediately, I grabbed the keys of the first floor and went upstairs, unlocked the doors and went up the stairs to the terrace where I spent the next half an hour simply singing in the Spirit and praising God for who He was and that He was the worthy one. What an amazing time, the Spirit awarded me!
What a beautiful time as I stood there surrounded by natural beauty all around me, in the midst of a beautiful transition between the deluging moonlight and the calm light of the dawning morn, with my heart full of warmth and love and security that only a Real Redeemer can bring.
What a wonderful opportunity when we can steal such wonderful dates with the Bridegroom whom we await!

I know its been ages since my last post but well….

Yesterday, I had a fun but gruelling day at work, fun because my dad and sister had come up for some time and I had a great lunch with them and gruelling because I had to work really hard apart from taking a lecture at the Bible college here. I am doing mission of the church right now and I was talking about it in relation to the Church being a sent Body. The whole afternoon was spent in front of the laptop typing away legal letters and really cool preaching notes. My head was reeling by the end of my work day but as soon as my boss, our apostle left and I was about to leave I was suddenly filled anew with the joy of the Lord. It was amazing!! I simply put of some worship music and sang away with all my heart!! Honestly, being in the will of God is great. If he commissions us to do anything, he strengthens us to do the same and now as I sit, tired as I am, I couldn’t be happier in any other place. Praise God, home is where the will of God is and rest is where the will of God is!!