Your Leader Sets Your Standard

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We need spiritual leaders and their spiritual covering over our lives.  We need pastors and teachers who inspire us to love God’s word, seek God’s kingdom and righteousness.  We need spiritual leaders who will inspire to hope and have confidence in God’s goodness when we face hardships and difficulties in this world.  We need spiritual leaders whose examples are worthy to emulate in loving God and serving people.  We need spiritual leaders in whose presence you find new level of joy and faith in following the footpath of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you have such leaders in your life? Let me share with you one example.

The other day, one of the senior pastors in the city visited my wife and mother (mother-in-law, but we don’t use the language of in-laws in our family).  My father-in-law was a wonderful man whose heart was for God’s kingdom.  During his life time, he helped many pastors and evangelists with financial assistance so that they could continue to work in God’s kingdom.  In God’s time, few years ago his journey on earth ended.  He came to this city for treatment and within ten days departed from here.  For reasons we cannot discuss here, we could not take his body back to Manipur for the burial; we buried him here with the promise that we will not leave him alone.  In the place he is buried, we shall establish a church that will last till Jesus returns was our promise.

My wife is his eldest daughter but married a Nepalese man outside the sanctity of her tribe!  Now, it is a universal knowledge that every tribe in the world thinks it is the only best tribe in the world!  It takes a great deal of humanity to believe that all men are created equal. 

Thus, this man of God visits the house of a widow who lost her loving husband just a couple of years ago and a daughter who married a Nepalese man; for him, something to despise in itself!  Being the man of God he was; he started to comfort these two women, one a widow and another married to a despicable people in his worldview.  To the widow mother he said something like this; “your husband wasn’t a good looking man, physically he was black and short” (as if physical look is what makes a person and to tell the truth, I haven’t seen as good a looking man as my father in law was in the whole of that tribe!) “and morally he was very proud and violent man” (in reality, he was the kindest man that I had ever known and the whole village that he administered as the chieftain can still testify about his kindred spirit).  His ways of comforting a grieving widow was to say “good ridden, you are a free woman now” and then he turned to my wife.  He said, “if you love your people, divorce your husband and come and live with your people”!  My wife sat there without responding him; the things is, whenever my wife is shocked, she becomes tongue-tied; does not know what to say and he thought he had her convinced to divorce her husband. 

You can imagine the mood in a family where we value each other so dearly, so deeply that brothers, sisters, brother in laws and sister in laws, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, cousin brothers and sisters of many tribes and people feel so deeply connected as a family under the headship of a man who may be absent physically but is very much alive and present by his spirit and legacy. 

We understand the mind of this man of God and don’t hold any grudge against him for insulting us but we grieve for the people.  If you are a spiritual leader, you need to know whether you have the heart of God for the people or whether you are simply driven by the desire to make a living in this world.  Any spiritual leaders who is in the ministry to make a living in this world will not be able to feed the people spiritually; he will always be talking about the things of the world such as food, clothes, name, fame, reputation, power, prestige and so forth.  Most ministers in this part of the world talk about “sponsorships”!!!  But a spiritual leader will inspire you to seek the things from above and make your life on earth much more temporary so that even if you face hardship, you know it is temporary.  One such great spiritual guide says to his believers, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Col. 3:1-2).  He knew that when the believers set their minds on earthly things, they will be discouraged and disappointed sooner or later but if they set their minds on the things from above, they will never be discouraged.  After all, our lives here on earth are for a short period of time, it is just the rehearsal for eternity.  Therefore, my brothers and sisters, follow leaders that will inspire you to live for eternity instead of this world.

Whatever I feared has come upon me!

Modern science regarding human psychology has helped us to understand the power of imagination.  A person’s sanity or insanity depends on the kind of thinking one is engaged in.  At times we are helpless to think other than what our chemicals in the brain dictate and we call that “mental illness” which is still a taboo to talk about.  So many people could have lived happily if this sickness was accepted as any other physical ailment and treated accordingly.  However, there are other times when we allow our perfect brain to take a wrong course of action in creating a thinking pattern that destroys what could otherwise have been a happy life.  A mind set on good things will see good things come its way and a mind set on bad things will also see them come the same way.  A positive and a faith filled mind almost always enjoys better quality of life than a mind filled with negativity, fear and all kind of anxious thoughts.  Job’s experience provides one such example.

The stature of Job in the Bible is no less than that of Noah or Abraham; he was a giant of a patriarch with credentials like “blameless and upright, greatest man among all the people of the East” (1:1-3).  When we read about him, we enjoy the 20/20 hindsight but he had no such luxury.  As we read him, we have to look at him with his raw feelings and emotions. 

When calamities overtook his entire existence, wiping away his entire family and fortunes; in utter despair Job confesses “what I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me” (3:25). In his relentless pursuit of remaining blameless and upright, Job had this uneasy fear about the possibility of God’s wrath coming upon his family due to some possible reckless behaviors of his children.  Every time his children would a have party, Job would rise up early in the morning and offer burnt sacrifices for each of his children thinking “perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts”(1:5).

Most likely, it was this uneasy dread that opened the door for the Devil to come through his defenses and put him through such a test.  The man however lived up to his credential in the face of unimaginable calamities; his faith in God’s goodness could not be shaken.  But the fact of the matter is that he had feared for such a day; he had in his imagination allowed the possibility of such a day and attempted to prevent it on his own by appeasing God through sacrifices.  There is no way a man can appease God’s wrath on his own, not even a righteous Job could do it.

However, in Christ, God has done away with his wrath that was sure to come upon us.  Today, after thousands of year from Job and under the foot of the Cross, we stand covered by his sacrifice and thus, we can always imagine good instead of bad.  Paul said, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things” (Phil. 4:8).  He goes on to say that “God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph. 3:20). 

Therefore, let us think on what our minds think on and if the things that our minds are dwelling upon are not in line with what God’s word has revealed; we better arrest those thoughts and bring them to the obedience of Christ.  Let us pull down the strongholds that are contrary to the promises of God (2 Cor. 10:4-5) and allow our minds to become the minds of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).  Let us imagine about the things that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him – but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” (1Cor. 2”9-10).

Sad situation of Korean Prayer Mountains

Once upon a time, many prayer centres like this in beautiful Korean countryside would be filled with noises of people either praying or singing hymns and pouring their hearts to the Lord.  With long history of persecution and suffering, Korean Christians took to the mountains and ravines to cry out to God and thus, the concept of "Prayer Mountain" came into existence.  When freedom came to Korea, when the churches began to flourish; these mountainside prayer centres also came to life.  Even in the remotest part of the country, people could be seen spending days, weeks and even months seeking God in prayer and fasting in these isolated places.  Many successful pastors and their ministries were birthed in some of these places.

Sadly, things have changed so much in so short a period of time.  Starting from the 1990s, the Church that was once no different from the church we see in the book of Acts suddenly began to enjoy the material prosperity brought forth by the industrial revolution of Korea birthed under the dictatorial leadership of strongman, President Park Chung Hee.  

Today, many of such beautiful prayer centres and once hallowed mountainsides have become so deserted.  In one place, we asked the keeper as how often their senior pastor comes to pray there; we were surprised to know that the pastor hasn't visited the place in years.  Though few people visit these places, some of the beautiful chapels are still standing but much of the real-estate has run down with no maintenance.  My wife and I often visit these places and feel the loss of Korean spirituality so deeply.  The picture you see is our last visit to such holy place before we head to India.  As we walk into these abandoned but beautiful places, we could imagine how a few decades ago, people would be crowding there for prayer; hymns would be blasting through the speakers and even people would be shouting out loud their prayers either from the inside the chapels or from the mountain tops. 

If the Korean church leadership does not wake up and begin to seek God, a very sad future awaits for the Korean church and that too very soon.  The hierarchal power structure of the society has heavily influenced the church leadership; the elders and senior pastors who control the church do not appear to be willing to lose their powerful positions by obeying God's will for the church.  They want to continue to enjoy the perks and the powers that come along with it.  Hearing God's voice is a dreadful thing for them because he might call them to relinquish their powers and positions.  Losing power and position in Korean society is a very disgraceful thing and church leadership knows no better alternative.

I wish and pray that once again, Korean Christians will be hungry for God even if their pastors and elders failed to create that hunger in them.  I wish and pray that once again these prayer mountains will be filled with people who would come there to spend the extended time with the Lord.  I wish and pray that the true Korean church we heard about in the 70s and 80s will once again be brought back and give the glory to God that duly belongs to him.

Nothing is impossible with God

Click on the picture to see the whole story!!!

Four Korean Heresies

Information about four pervasive Korean heresies

Translated from Korean language pamphlet about these heresies

1.    Salvation Sect

·         Overview of Salvation Sect: Byung Eun Yoo (1941-2014) and his father-in-law Shin Chan Kwon pastors of Evangelical Baptist Church, Yohan Lee (real name Bok Chil Lee) pastor of Life Word Mission Church, and Ok Soo Park pastor of Good News Mission Church, have become known recently because of the Sewol Ferry incident. In the aftermath of the Sewol Ferry incident, the aforementioned churches (Good News Mission and Life Word Mission in particular) claim that they are not a part of the Salvation Sect. The Korean Church, however, stipulates that they are indeed a part of the Salvation Sect. In addition, Dal Suk Seo’s Seoul Central Church, Young Suk Gu’s New Life Mission Church, and Young Su Son’s Ahava Church are also classified as a subgroup of the Salvation Sect.

घमण्डको शिकार ईसाई नेतृत्व

ईसाई जगतमा मैले २ प्रकारका अगुवाहरूको बाहुल्य देखेको छु। एउटा आत्मिक घमण्डी र अर्को भौतिक घमण्डी।  आत्मिक घमण्डीले विस्वासीको संख्‍या, मण्डलीको संख्‍या, आफुमा भएका दान-वरदानको बयान, सपना-दर्शनको बयान, अन्य-भाषा र अगम्वाणीको बयान, चंगाई र दुष्ट आत्मा निकालेको बयान, आफ्नो सम्प्रदाय वा मण्डलीको बयान गर्छ।  उसको विचारसँग (शिक्षा, शिद्धान्त) मेल नखाने सबै दोश्रो दर्जाका ख्रीष्टियानहरू हुन्; यहाँसम्म कि फेसबुकमा पनि उनिहरूसँग उ मित्र बन्न चाहाँदैन। उ मात्रै सच्चा सेवक हो। उ मात्रै एउटा यस्तो पवित्र जन हो; अन्य सम्प्रदायका विस्वासीहरूसँग घुलमिल हुँदा उसको पवित्रता विटुलो हुनसक्छ!

भौतिक घण्मडीले उसको आर्थिक, राजनैतिक, शैक्षिक र अन्तराष्ट्रिय पहुँचको बयानगर्दै र आफ्नो फाईदाको लागि मण्डली, बाइबल स्कूल, व्यक्ति, सं-संस्थाहरूको किनमेलमा बेस्त हुन्छ। उसको आर्थिक स्रोत स्वदेशी वा विदेशी हुनसक्छ जसको कारण ईसाई-नेतृत्व पंक्तिमा उसको रवाफ ठुलो हुन्छ। कतिपटक त आत्मिक घमण्डीहरू पनि लुकि-लुकि भौतिक घमण्डीको चाकरी गरिरहेका हुन्छन्।  भौतिक घमण्डीबाट आफ्नो फाईदाको लागि आत्मिक घमण्डीहरू उसको पतित चरित्रको पनि वास्ता नगरेर दशैँमा राजा र मन्त्रीको हातबाट टिका थापेझैँ स्वार्थको टिका थाप्न पुगिरहेकाहुन्छन् र भन्छन् “न्याय गर्ने परमेश्वर हुनुहुन्छ; हामीले मानिसको न्याय गर्नु हुन्न”।  तर आफुलाई मन नपर्ने, आफु भन्दा निम्न वर्गका र आफुलाई चुनौति दिनसक्नेको लागि तिनीहरू न्याय मात्रै नभएर उनिहरूलाई नरकको किरा बनाउन पछि पर्दैनन्।   

यि २ घमण्डी नेतृत्वको कारण ईसाई विस्वसीहरूमा जुनप्रकारको आत्मिक आशिष आउनुपर्नेहो त्यो प्रशस्त मात्रामा आउन सकेको हुँदैन। विस्वासीहरू पनि अधिकाङ्स जनता जस्तै भ्रष्ट नेतृत्वको सही मुल्याङ्कन गर्न सकिरहेका हुँदैनन्। दुःखको कुरा, यदि समयमै हामीले घमण्डलाई त्यागेनौ भने यसले हामीलाई र हाम्रो ईसाई समाजलाई नै ठुलो क्षेति गर्छ। घमण्ड सबै पापको जरा हो; यो भन्दा परमेश्वरले सहन नसक्ने अरू पापै छैन। घमण्डीले आफैलाई परमेश्वर ठान्छ।

यहूदामा सबै भन्दा लामो समय राज्य गर्ने र सबै भन्दा दुष्ट राजा मनश्शे थियो। परमेश्वरले उसलाई धेरै पटक पश्चताप गर्ने मौका दिनुभएको थियो तर उसले ती मौकाहरूलाई स्वीकार गरेन। २ इतिहाँस ३३:१०-१३ मा मनश्शेको वारेमा यसरि लेखिएको छ; “मनश्शे र तिनका मानिसहरूसित परमप्रभु बोल्नुभयो, तर तिनीहरूले वास्ता गरेनन्। यसैकारण परमप्रभुले तिनीहरूका विरूद्दमा अश्शूरका राजाका सेनापतिहरू ल्याउनुभयो। उनीहरूले मनश्शेलाई पक्रे, तिनको नाकमा बल्छी लगाए, र तिनलाई काँसाका साङ्लाले बाँधेर बेबिलोनमा ल्याए। आफ्नो कष्टमा तिनले परमप्रभु आफ्ना परमेश्वरको निगाह खोजे, अनि आफ्ना पुर्खाहरूका परमेश्वरकहाँ विनम्र भएर झुके। जब तिनले प्रार्थना गरे, तब परमेश्वरले तिनको अर्ज-बिन्ती सुनेर तिनको प्रार्थना ग्रहण गर्नुभयो। उहाँले तिनलाई यरूशलेममा फेरि फर्काएर ल्याउनुभयो, र तिनलाई राजगद्‍दीमा बसाल्नुभयो। तब मनश्शेलाई परमप्रभु नै परमेश्वर हुनुहुँदोरहेछ भन्ने थाहा भयो”।

यो दुष्ट राजाले पनि घमण्डलाई ल्यागेर जब आफुलाई नम्र बनायो तब परमेश्वरले उसलाई अर्को मौका दिनुभयो कारण नम्रहरूलाई परमेश्वर अनुग्रह गर्नुहुन्छ तर घमण्डिको विरोध।

घमण्डको सट्ट हामीले आफैलाई नम्र तुल्यायौँ भने अवस्य पनि परमेश्वरले हामीलाई उहाँको महिमाको लागि चलाउनु हुनेछ तर घमण्डी भैरह्यौँ भने एक दिन परमेश्वरबाट तिरष्कृत भएर मानिसको साम्नेमा पनि अपहेलित जीवन विताउनुपर्ने छ।

सायँद तपाईँलाई लाग्छ “म, न त भौतिक न आत्मिक घमण्डी” भनेर। तर एकपटक आफुलाई केलाएर हेर्नुहोस त; “म घमण्डी छैन” भन्नु नै घमण्डको प्रमाण हो।

मेरो ख्रिष्टियन जीवनको सुरूवात त्यति रहरलाग्दो थिएन। दुर्गम जील्ला डोटीमा मेरो जन्म भयो तर घरबाट वाल्यकाल देखि नै तिरस्कृत, मैले विस्वास गरेको मण्डलीबाट पवित्र आत्माको बप्तिस्मा र मण्डलीको जाग्गाको कारण बहिस्कृत र शिक्षण पेशाबाट सुसमाचार प्रचारको कारण निस्कासित भएर धनगढीको ए.जी. मण्डलीले मलाई शरण दिएको थियो। जीवनको यात्राको दौरानमा धेरै पास्टर, अगुवाको हेपाई, हेलाँ र हप्काई खाइयो। कति त कारणै विना शत्रु बने। कतिले त ज्यानै मार्ने धम्कि दिए र कति पास्टर कहलिनेहरू अँझै पनि धम्कि दिइरहेका छन्।  तर यि सबैमा मैले एउटा पाठ सिकेको छु; जब म आफुलाई “म पनि कोहि हुँ” भनेर आफ्नो बाचावटको लागि अधि सर्छु तब मेरो विरूद्दमा आउनेहरुको जीत हुन्छ। तर जब म आफैलाई उनिहरूको हाँसोको पात्र बन्नदिन्छु, आफैलाई हारको पात्र बन्न दिन्छु र परमेश्वरतिर फर्किन्छु, तब मेरा शत्रु कहलाउँदाहरूको पतन विस्वासै गर्न नसकिने तरिकाले उनिहरूमाथि खनिएको देख्‍छु। आज जहाँ छु, जे छु र जसरि परमेश्वरले चलाई रहनुभएको छ, यो केवल उहाँको दया र अनुग्रहले हो। झण्डै २३ बर्ष पहिला मलाई आक्रमण गर्न एकजना नेपालका वरिष्ट पास्टर एउटा विदेशी मिसिनरिका साथ मेरो डेरामा आउनुभएको थियो। उहाँलाई चिनेको दिन देखी उहाँले मलाई बोलाउँदा सधैँ “तपाईँ” वा “भाई” भनेर बोलाउनु हुन्थ्यो। तर त्यो दिन “तँ” भनेर निकै गालि गर्नुभयो। त्यो दिन उहाँमा देखिएको घमण्डको कारण मेरो मनमा उहाँप्रति दया र डर लागेको थियो र नभन्दै त्यो समय देखि उहाँको सेवामा यति गिरावट आयो कि आजसम्म पनि उहाँ पहिलेको स्थानमा आउनसक्नु भएको छैन। म सँग यस्ता थुप्रै उदाहरणहरू छन् जहाँ घमण्डको कारण हुनुहार विस्वासी, पास्टर, अगुवाले जीवनमा धेरै गुवाएका छन्।

मित्र, साँयद तपाईँसँग भौतिक र आत्मिक तागत होला तर यदि समयमै त्यसको श्रय परमेश्वरलाई नदिएर घमण्ड गर्न थाल्नुभयो भने तपाईँको अन्त्य दर्दानाक हुनसक्छ। त्यसकारण आफैलाई नम्र बनाउनुहोस। जब नम्रतामा तपाईँले प्रभुको सेवागर्नु हुनेछ तब तपाईँको सेवाबाट मानिसले आशिषा पाउनेछन्।

My last sermon to Daejeon Onnuri English Ministry

Goodbye OEM!

Longing for a loving community

Christianity is rarely in danger from the outside; the danger lies within.  It even lasted 1400 years of severe persecution under the Islamic rule.  The current danger for its eradication from the Muslim lands has still got to do with its problem from within; i.e. the advent of modern mission movement with its heavy emphasis on financial support for those who serve in these countries.  Such financial incentives from the outside world have created jealousy, friction, and hate filled competition for the dollars among the Christian workers that result in bitter division.  A church divided is by definition is no church at all.  Bitter competitions open up the door for the Devil (Eph. 4:27), and the non-Christian population naturally becomes cynical toward the church.   

The native missionaries are thus caught up in the game of pleasing their donors while the foreign missionaries are busy in building their own profiles by any means.  In fact, 99.9% of foreign missionaries have 0% of respect toward their native counterparts because they look at these natives as hirelings.  I have had several encounters with such foreign missionaries who blatantly claim "We can buy a pastor like you with a hundred dollars a month"!

Because of such leadership of the church, the church is being killed from within without the Christ like character ever evolving either in the life of the leaders or the believers.  Any church that lacks love will eventually die down.  The above video message is one such longing to have a church where there would be love and respect for fellow believers whether we are native or foreigner in any given nation on this earth.

Don't Underestimate the Power of Your Faith in God

Have you ever wondered why some people get answers to their prayers so frequently while others continue to struggle in life?  Some live in victories and others in perpetual defeat?  One simple difference can be found in their attitude toward God.  Do they come to God in faith or fear/worry?  Worry never gets what it worries about while faith always gets what it believes for!  Throughout human history, God has always honored those who exhibit unswerving faith and trust in Him.  This we see recorded in Hebrews 11 where the writer, with personal experience and the examples of others, states that “without faith it is impossible to please God and those who come to him must believe that He is and that He rewards those who seek Him diligently” (11:6).  

The first part of the foundation of our faith has to do with the person and the being of God – “that he is”.  He is Yahweh, the God who says “I am that I am”.  He is the God who says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end”.   God was known to the children of Israel as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  But when Moses asked his name, He said, “I am that I am”, I am “Yahweh” and “I will be with you”.  For the first time God revealed his nature and being to Moses; an ever present God.  When Moses went to Egypt, he had this real sense of God’s presence with him – “that God is”.  Long after Egypt, and in wilderness God told Moses to lead the people by himself.  Moses once again begs and says “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here” (Ex. 33:15).  Thus, the writer of Hebrews knows the necessity of one’s faith in God’s nature, his person and his presence. 

The second part of the foundation of our faith is the character of God “that he rewards those who seek him diligently”.  God is a good God who delights in answering our prayers, “How much more will your father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt. 7:11).  When we come to God, we must have this unswerving faith in the goodness of God.  Jesus said “Everything is possible for him who believes” (Mk. 9:23), “Ask anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14).  David said, “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will fulfill the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4).  God loves to answer the prayer of faith! 

Rev. William Haslam, in his autobiography Yet Not I, talks about a couple he met in 1862.  Husband was known as Happy Peter.  They both had terrible case of rheumatism that made them invalid toward the latter part of their life.  As they needed someone to take care of them, there came a time when they were about to be separated in different social institutions.  Happy Peter and wife asked the Lord to stop such separation.  They were deeply in love with each other and devoutly faithful to God.  In an amazing twist of tale, a well off and benevolent lady heard of their plight.  She decided to rent a room for them and provide for the upkeep so long as they would live.  Happy Peter and wife lived in that room and when many years had gone by, Rev. Haslam came to town as their new Parson.  He was greatly encouraged by witnessing their unswerving faith in the goodness of God; even in their suffering and pain, they always found reasons to praise God and wore the countenance of unending happiness; thus Happy Peter!

One day while Rev. Haslam was reading the paper, he was startled by the news of sudden death of that precious lady who took care of Happy Peter and wife.  Greatly worried about their fate, he gently broke the news to them.  They listened with eerie silence and after a pause, Peter’s wife said “Thank God for all the kindness that dear good lady did to us; and thank God, He is not dead”.  Yes, their human benefactress was dead but the God who moved her heart to take care of them was still alive.  What a faith!  Amazingly, Happy Peter and his wife lived their days on earth without a care as God moved others’ hearts in their behalf.  God honors his children’s trust in him.

From my personal life, the pictures below are examples of God’s faithfulness in answering our prayers for our ministry in Nepal.  My wife and I were married in January 10, 1993 while serving in a church in Kathmandu pioneered by an American missionary sister who had come to Nepal nearly two decades earlier.  Few months into that pastorate, I had serious disagreement with this dear lady who had already developed such a dictatorial method of ministry in which Nepalese were not worthy of any respect and eventually in the summer of that year, we moved out of that church.  We moved out of her ministry leaving her furious for not being able to punish us; we found, prior to us, she had other victims too.  By the fall of that same year, my wife and I and 8 other victims started to gather for prayer in our living room and eventually decided to turn that prayer meeting into weekly church fellowship. 

But alas!  Such news of us starting a church made her more indignant.  She being the “Boss” of largest denomination in Nepal, demanded her faithful pawns in the committee to do everything possible to destroy us while she went on to demonize us in the eyes of all foreign missionaries in and outside of Nepal.  I was physically attacked by one of her missionary friends known as Michael (forgot his last name), and verbally insulted from the pulpits by another couple who were then leading Operation Mobilization (OM) in Nepal. 

The Nepalese brothers who made their living under her mantle came with full fury to silence us and our ministry forever in the guise of their denominational authority.  Our crime was; we refused to be mistreated and abused by this precious anointed American missionary sister!  But they refused to listen to us and demanded absolute surrender to ladyship.  They demanded us to apologize for questioning her treatment of Nepalese and her ways of handling finances that came in the name of ministry.  No Nepalese could or can ask her how she handles the money that comes for the ministry.  She is the final authority!  Of course that is how all “missionaries” handle the money in every developing nation. The natives have no rights to question the expat missionary! 

We refused to surrender to such an abusive leadership, but they wouldn't leave us alone. They found better ways of destroying us without firing a bullet.  My wife and I were teaching in different bible schools so that we could sustain ourselves and also support the new church plant.  Our precious missionary lady and her obedient pawns began a campaign to stop us from getting any teaching jobs in any of the bible schools in Kathmandu.  Married just about a year before, having a newborn son, pioneering a church in one of the most heathen cities of the world without anyone supporting us, and with no technical education except theology; teaching in a bible school was our only means of surviving.  

She knew we had no other means of survival in Kathmandu; just before we had moved out of her property, she had visited us with one of her pawns and demanded to know if we were receiving foreign donations.  Her pawn was more abusive to us on that day as this was his opportunity to show her how faithful he was to his ladyship. My wife and I told them that God did not call us to hunt for foreign donations as they were doing, He called us to serve him.  So, she knew we had no other source of making a living except teaching, and this precious anointed Pentecostal missionary sister in Christ along with her tongues speaking Nepalese followers called upon the heads of these bible schools (we were teaching in two places at that time) and demanded them to fire us.  But the heads of these two bible schools refused to bow-down.  They took the bullet for us and refused to fire, and for that we will be forever grateful to them!  This was the first sign that God was not finished with us. 

Then, she and her company started to pronounce curses on us from their pulpits.  They commanded their leaders and believers to shun us; never to speak or greet us even when they meet us on the way and till today, some of the faithful followers have been keeping this promise.  When they see us, they do not know which way to turn their heads!

But we never doubted the presence of God with us and by 1996, our little fellowship had taken the shape of a church. We were miraculously protected, provided, and preserved against all odds in the face of such a merciless physical and spiritual attack.  The picture above was taken in 1999; Pastor Ganesh I are standing in the piece of property that we were able to purchase for the church.  It was an amazing work of God how this property was provided.  It will take another chapter to recall the whole story.  The picture below is of our current church in that property.  Time permitting, I shall indulge in letting my readers to go through the miraculous workings of God in meeting our needs, keeping us in Kathmandu and sustaining us in spite of a powerful opposition from a powerful missionary along with her powerful denomination in Nepal. 

The thing is; never doubt the power of God’s grace to a person who dares to believe in his presence and character.  Mark 9:23 has been my guiding verse over the years and every time I remember our experience in Kathmandu from 1993-1996, I cringe within myself and ask, “How could we survive?” such a merciless attack from so many anointing brothers and sisters in Christ! Like Joseph’s brothers, these brothers and sisters of mine in Christ were determined to destroy us but today, the Lord has been our banner and our provider!