Glimpses of Hope Church, June 2010

Mrs. Bhatta was able to visit our church in Kathmandu this summer and ministered there for two weeks.  These are few glimpses of her visit and ministry

But Because You Say So!

“But Because You Say So” (Luke 5:3-5)

As a professional fisherman, Peter knew how to fish, when to fish and when not to fish. But there was a night when he had caught nothing even after trying the whole night. As the morning came, people began to come to the shores of Galilee. To make matter worse, Jesus also had come along and many people were crowding to listen to his words. The worst came when Jesus chose Peter’s boat to sit and speak to the people from afloat the water so that they would not press him down to get a glimpse of him. Here was Peter and his friends, tried all night and without any fish in their boat, listening patiently to the man called Jesus of Nazareth.

As Jesus took longer than they expected, there may have come a feeling in Peter to tell Jesus to stop and go away from his boat because by nature Peter was an impatient man who could not wait for the things to happen, he was a kind of man who made things happen. But this morning, he was tired, he was disappointed of not catching any fish and now all hopes for the day were gone due to the crowd and there was no chance of any fish remaining near the shore there with that kind of noise.

Just as Peter was getting agitated and about to tell Jesus to go out of his boat, Jesus stops preaching and looks to Peter, seeing the frustration in his face asks him to put out the net into deep water for the catch. This would have really surprised Peter, not because of the catch but because of the absurdity of the command. May be there was a sarcastic smile in his face when he said “we have tried it all night”. But something in Peter made him to obey…he had been listening to Jesus just before the command came. Jesus was teaching to people and something in his teaching must have made him to think differently. That is why, when Jesus asked him to put out the net, he said “But because you say, I will put out”. Well, as he put out the net because of the words of Jesus, we know the result.

Just like Peter, many times we are also in that kind of situation. There may come a time when all our hopes are gone, when whatever we try does not work; we too become so cynical of anyone who tries to help us out. We say, what is the use of prayer, what is the use of trusting God, what is the use of going to church? What is the use of trying anymore?

Well, just like Peter, if we can listen to God’s word, if we can say like Peter, “because you say so…I will…(you can fill in the blank). Whatever situation you are facing, find out what God’s word says about it and then put that word into practice by saying “God, because you say so, I will obey, I will do”. If you can put your trust in God’s word, God will surely make your path straight. In proverbs 3:5-6 God’s word says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”.

The situation might not be turning around in a moment, but just like Peter, if you can be patient and listen to Jesus and then when he speaks to you, you obey what he says; things will change for the better. God will surely bring salvation to your way, he will bring deliverance to your way and he will bring victory over the circumstances of your life. Life is victorious when we live in obedience to God’s word!

I pray for God’s victory to come your way!

God will make a way where there seems to be no way- Don Moen

Life of faith always requires new level of faith. So far as our life in Christ is concerned, we are sure of our salvation and we know that heaven is our home for sure. But, living down here on earth requires a different kind of faith; it is a faith for small things of life, the mundane things of life. It is a kind of faith that looks to God for each new meal, for each new pair of clothes, for each new cup of water and a new ounce of oxygen for us to make one more moment ahead in this world. For those of us who are sure of heaven and life eternal, we will always have faith for the bigger challenges of life such as facing all kind of persecution and even death for Christ. But such faith becomes more wanting when it comes to meeting our smaller challenges in making through this world. Having worked so hard, you come to a place where the bills are not paid, car is broken down, roof is leaking, and the kids are outgrowing their clothes. You sit in your living room, not knowing how you are going to pay the bills, how you are going to repair the car and the roof and when you really can buy new pair of clothes for your growing children. You hate to see yourself becoming so weak and helpless. It is in times like these we also wonder if God really cares for us because you did pray, you do have some kind of prayer time in your home either at the dinner table or before the bed time, you go to church, you try to put some kind of offering and once a while you may also pay your tithes, you do read your bible often and you love God with all your heart. You won't let any sin control you because the moment you know you have made mistake, your hearts breaks before God and you beg him to forgive you of your sin and a new faith rises up in you and you begin to appreciate the cross of Christ and the grace of God more in your life.

But then, now you are sitting your living room, may be alone, and you don't have a clue whether God really cares for you. You have heard many prosperity preachers telling you how God wants to bless you financially and sometimes you tried to believe what they preached, you tried to memorize some of the famous promises of God, confessed them. You heard many people giving testimony of how God miraculously provided their needs...but when you look around your living room and every object in the house tells you that you are in deep trouble and there is no help coming out from anywhere; they are telling you that you are broke and busted. Because of such financial pressure, lately, you have not cleaned your house and many of these objects are covered with dust.

You have thought about sharing your situation with some friends, but somehow there is a sense of shame and loss of dignity...honestly, you have no other way out of your situation.

Finally, one more time, you gather the courage and instead of going to your friends or relatives for help, you begin to look to heaven, you begin to pick up your Bible and you begin to turn to pages that you had read many times over and with heavy heart, you start reading verses like Matthew 6:33; 7:7; 17:20; 21;21-22, Mark 9:23, John 15:7, 16 and many more from the Old Testament; specially from Psalms and Proverbs, a new kind of faith begins to take shape in your heart. You begin to really believe that God's word is true and if you allow it to rule your thinking, it will produce the kind of fruit it says it can. You begin to speak to your bills to be paid, you begin to your car and roof to be repaired and begin to speak for your children's clothes to come in existence not because you think that is right but because you have taken God's word very seriously; you have taken Jesus' words in Matthew 6 very seriously and are convinced that God does care for you, he cars for your bills, he cares for your car and roof, he cares for your children; he cares for you. A holy boldness wells up within your heart and you begin to look to God with a different attitude knowing that he is a father who delights in giving good things to his children and from Romans 8:32 you realized that he did not spare his only begotten son, then why would he spare any other good things from you...your faith for the daily living begins to come to the fore and you jump from your chair, start praising God, start singing, knowing that God will make a way where there seems to be no way.

Now, you are not concentrating on paying the bills, but on God meeting your need, you are not concentrating on what is broken but what God can do for you...you also begin to remember about the past...you remember in time past as how God had met your need miraculously!

Instead of gloom, there comes a smile in your face, instead of depression, you begin to rejoice for the fact that God in heaven cares for you and he has promised in his word to take care of all you need and with Paul, you begin to say that my God will supply all my needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus!

For the first time, you begin to take God's word very seriously, not because some prosperity preachers told you but because you read in the Holy Book and the Spirit of God quickened your heart and granted you faith to overcome your daily, mundane and ordinary needs of life...and to your amazement, you begin to see answer coming to you in many forms. Long before you shared you needs with anyone, someone comes to you with new pair of clothes for your children, some even can approach to you with hard cash, not knowing why you need them for! As such evidences begin to flood you, you begin to move beyond the shadow of doubt that God does care for you...the reason people come to your aid is not because you were poor but because when you looked up to God and trusted his word, he also began to speak to the people about you...God always uses people to meet his children's need (of course he can miraculously drop help from the sky, but he chooses people to be his instrument). When God begins to meet your need, don't feel humiliated, but rather praise God and pray for those individuals...and when you have experienced such provisions, then, it is your time to be sensitive to the voice of God about the needs of people who might be around you. When God begins to show you, prompt you or direct you, be obedient to him to be his agent of blessing to some one because in this way, your life of faith takes a new heights and you are no longer afraid of the small challenges in your life! God will make a way either for big or small things in our lives!!

He Will Carry You - Jonathan Moore

This is one of those classic songs that would instantly minister to our spirit when we feel bogged down by the problems of this world.  God does care for us!  Sometimes when things get tough in life, it is natural to wonder if God really cares for us? But then, when we stop and look around, we soon realize that if it was not the care of God, we couldn't have made even that far.  So, if you are feeling down today, I want you to look over your shoulder and know that God is watching over you; he cares for you so much that he gave his only begotten son.  There is nothing God would spare to give you and thats why Romans 8:32 says, "he will not withhold any good things from us".  

If you are facing a mountain today, just know that God has the ability to take you over that mountain.  Believe in his goodness for he will surely come to your rescue.  As a loving father, he does not take pleasure in your suffering, Jesus has suffered all for us and he has redeemed us from the curse that kept us in the bondage.  Jesus took upon himself all our infirmities and sickness and by his stripes we are healed.  Jesus because poor for us so that through him we might become rich in every way so that we can become generous in every opportunity.  He bore our shame and sin so that we might not be ashamed and have life.  No, my friend, God does not take delight in your sorrow and pain, he sorrows with you, he suffers with you and soon he will take you out of this suffering and sorrow because he is God and he has already overcome the power of sin and death.

Even if there is no one to give you a shoulder to cry, know that Jesus stands tall beside you in the power of his Spirit.  His love is so deep that we cannot comprehend, he is am amazing and loving father.  So, just as Jesus said, if anyone is heavy and burdened, let him come to me and I will give you rest.  Right now, you can come to him, pour out your heart to him with trust and gratitude and you will be amazed to see how he will be so real to you in times of your troubles and difficulties.  He will never let you be there for too long.  The sooner you come to him the quicker your problems will be solved.