Lyle Eggleston served as a missionary for many years in a little town on the rocky coast of northern Chile. In time, the congregation grew to about eighty adults, but Eggleston was concerned that the Christians in that area didn't seem able to support their own national pastor. The people were very poor, and the church's offerings amounted to no more than six dollars a month.
One day, Eggleston brought the problem to the Lord during a definite time of prayer. A few weeks later he stopped to visit a middle-aged couple, new converts who had begun the habit of reading their Bibles every day. "What does the word tithing mean?" asked Manuel. "We ran into that in our reading, and we don't understand it." Eggleston didn't really want to answer the question, for he knew that Manuel and his wife were unemployed and on the verge of destitution. They were somehow managing to feed themselves and their twenty-five Rhode Island hens on the income from the eggs laid each day. Nevertheless they insisted he explain the concept of tithing to them, so he turned to 1 Corinthians 16 and 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 where Paul urged believers to lay aside each week a portion of their income to the Lord. The following Sunday Manuel handed Lyle an envelope and, smiling, said, "That's our tithe!" Inside were a few bills amounting to about nineteen cents. The next Sunday afternoon, the couple flagged down Lyle as he rode his bicycle past their house. They had some exciting news. The Tuesday morning after they had given their tithe, there wasn't a bite for breakfast nor any money. Their first impulse was to take the few pesos that had accumulated in their "tithe box," but on second thought they said, "No. That's God's money. We will go without breakfast this morning." There was nothing to do but tend the hens. Much to their surprise, there were eggs in the nests that had usually at that hour been empty. Later in the day, a little man came along with a pushcart wanting fertilizer, They cleaned out their hen house, and the manure brought a good price. After buying groceries, there was enough money left over for the wife to purchase a pair of shoes, so she rode the bus twelve kilometers around the bay into a larger town. There she bumped into a nephew she had not seen in five years, and who, to her utter surprise, owned a shoe store. After she had found just the pair she wanted, he wrapped them for her and handed her the package with these words, "Oh no, Aunt, I can't take your money. These shoes are a gift from me." The following week, Manuel got a job on a project that would last for two years, and soon the little couple was tithing on a much larger salary. Word got around the church, and others began experimenting with giving. Soon the church's income begin to rise dramatically, and they were able to pay their own rent and utility bills, support a national pastor who was working with Indians, and, in a short time, they were able to call and finance a pastor of their own. Lyle Eggleston and his wife were able to move to a new location and start a new work as the little church grew in numbers, size, property, and faith. "We had offered up a bit of prayer and nineteen cents," Lyle later said, "and God did the rest." (From Lyle Eggleston, "The Church That Learned to Give," in Moody Magazine, July/August, 1988.)
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By Renuka Rameshan
Through the Lord’s blessing, our ministry with the Deaf has gone from small beginnings to being spread out across the country and impacting tens of thousands of lives daily spiritually and physically. The Deaf in India have historically been one of the more ignored in the disability group. This is often because deafness can’t be seen at first glance. This can lead to them being ignored or categorized as mentally challenged; they also have fewer opportunities for employment. The work with the Deaf in India began in the 1980s in Delhi with a couple who were living there at the time with their deaf son Zion, and they began to reach out to the Deaf community there. A few years later the torch was taken up by another couple, who also felt deeply connected to this ministry, as their two-year-old daughter had lost her hearing after being diagnosed with meningitis. A couple of other people learned sign language and began to be actively involved in teaching the Deaf. The duo started the “Deaf Friendship Clubs” (DFCs), which brought a large number of the Deaf together across Delhi. Over a few years, DFCs were sprouting up all over Northern India, with many Deaf attending regular classes, as well as receiving assistance in job placements and marriages. In the early 1990s, these DFCs began to spread towards the south of India. In 1995, a DFC was established in Hyderabad, one of the largest cities in Southern India. City authorities and a number of government officials, leaders, judges, and advocates got involved in championing the cause of the Deaf. This is where I became involved with the work. With individuals following their burdens, the Deaf ministry started projects in Coimbatore, Bangalore, and Chennai. A main DFC would be set up in one of these main cities, and then smaller ones would form in the other cities in the state. The Delhi DFC itself oversaw and managed more than 30 independent DFCs. Eventually, Delhi became the center for the north, and Coimbatore became the center for the south. With time, the DFC work with the Deaf made us one of the major players in the Deaf community overall. Some things we focus on are: • Job placements • Addressing communication barriers in families and society • Training teachers in Deaf schools • Providing educational centers for the Deaf in the areas of computers and English • Getting quotas for job reservations for the Deaf in certain companies • Mentoring leaders • Conducting yearly leadership camps and seminars • Workshops and Awareness Programs • Deaf Day Celebrations • Assisting with material for the needy • Educational grants and scholarships • Marriage counseling and matchmaking services We focus on empowering the Deaf to become more self-sufficient, and the work grew mightily. This has led to the ministry changing hands over the past 10 years, with many of the Deaf we have interacted with starting their own organizations. Initially, though we started in one city of Coimbatore, over the last 15 years, Deaf projects in five cities have been growing stronger. Weekly classes are held in five cities, and other gatherings include the Women’s Day celebrations, bi-monthly retreats, Deaf Day celebrations, and Christmas and New Year celebrations. With the pandemic, we have taken a new step—a digital one. Classes through Zoom are almost a daily occurrence and we’ve been able to encourage Deaf members and their families via their computers and mobile phones. The Deaf ministry has impacted thousands of lives over the past 30+ years and we feel blessed to have been part of it. In the morning I have a little devotional to start the day and often Jesus gives me a verse or some words for the day. This day He gave me these two verses:
Later in the day I went for a walk and the country that I live in there are a lot of beggars. However, I didn’t really come prepared to give. I only brought the equivalent of 10 dollars US and it was already designated for something else. So as I was walking down the street this young man was walking up the other way and had his hands full of car washing materials and asked me for a donation. He was so sweet and obviously trying to make a living but clearly poor. To my shame I totally forgot what the Lord had told me in the morning and I told him that I didn’t have any money to give him as I only had the 10 dollars which was to be used for something else and no change. He accepted that graciously and we both carried on down the street. Later I remembered the words of the Lord to give to those who ask and became very convicted that I should have just given him the whole amount. I asked the Lord to forgive me, which He did and also encouraged me that it was a test even though I failed the test that the lesson is now firmly embedded and I wouldn’t soon forget it. Here’s another story about giving, with a happier ending than mine, that I read a few days after this experience that helped reinforce the lesson I learned. When I first saw him coming down the street I was tempted to look away. He was ugly, dirty, and clearly asking for money. Maybe if I would just look the other way, he would pass me by and I wouldn’t have to deal with him. I’d had a bit of a rough day myself. I was living in France at the time, raising support for a missionary project by selling books at a market booth; but so far, after several long hours in the hot sun, I had only made a few sales. It was definitely one of those days. I had nothing else to do, so I kept on watching the man’s progress down the alley. Nobody was giving him anything and he looked utterly lost. Then I heard a still, small voice in my heart. Why don’t you give him something? But I have so little, I argued. You have a whole lot more than he does, don’t you? Suddenly I had an idea. OK, then. If anyone’s bought something by the time he passes by, I’ll give him the proceeds of that sale. I figured that would be a smart move. I didn’t know what the Lord thought of my proposal, but I had learned that He takes our promises quite seriously. I was waiting to see if anything would happen. Suddenly a man walked up to my little booth and asked what we were doing. He looked at the books and picked out the smallest little booklet on the table, with a €5 price tag. “I’ll take this one,” he said, and handed me two €10 bills. “Keep the change,” he said with a smile. “God bless you!” Then he was off. Suddenly I remembered the deal I’d just made with God. The beggar was just now passing my stall. I held out the bills with a big smile. He looked stunned. “Is that for me?” he crackled with a raspy voice. “Yes, I believe God wants you to have it!” Suddenly his face lit up. He took the money with a trembling hand and thanked me profusely. Then he was off. I saw the dirt and the poverty. But God saw something else. He saw a human being. I hope both of these stories inspire you to live the words that Jesus said, to give to those who ask.
The Reverend Dr. Denis Ball, had an angel experience thirty-nine years ago. Soon after his marriage, Denis and his wife Florence Mary were unable to find accommodation together, because of financial hardship. Denis was able to afford lodgings near his work in London, but only for a small room just large enough to fit a single bed, so Florence Mary had to go back to stay with her mother.
Denis was unhappy with this arrangement, so one evening after the rest of the household had gone to bed he decided to spend time on his knees before God, seeking a solution. Denis describes the scene: “I knelt in the center of the room, resting my elbows on a wooden chair. The bare light above me gave the room a clinical look and I closed my eyes to shut it out. I felt very alone and wondered why my wife and I had to go through this time of confusion. “‘What are You doing with us, Lord?’ I cried. The words had no sooner left my mouth when I became conscious of being surrounded. If someone were to relate to me this incident that I am describing, I would ask a multitude of questions. As a matter of fact, I did ask many that night. Who are these magnificent beings? Are they real or imaginary? Why have they come—to me? Denis continues, “As I silently sought for answers, it dawned on me that I was not at all afraid—astonished, intrigued, but not afraid. My eyes were still closed; I had not thought of opening them. But now I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes. They were there—angels! I could actually see them. There must have been ten or twelve of them all around me in a regular circle. The room had grown in size, for their circle was reasonably large, but they were in no way confined. In height they were nearly seven feet, and each stood in an attitude of utmost confidence and rest, hands clasped at the front and faces looking down on me kneeling there. “They were such beautiful and dignified beings, and the only way I can describe their faces is to say that they glowed with a golden sheen which radiated the wisdom and the knowledge of the ages. They were timeless. As I gazed into their eyes, I had a distinct feeling that I was looking into another world. I cannot even adequately describe their robes, for they were much more than coverings for the body; rather, they seemed to be expressions of their character, vibrating with life and purpose. Indeed, the whole company of them gathered there that night transformed the kitchen into a powerhouse. “I seemed to absorb the peace of these wonderful beings; I was protected. Then, quite suddenly, I found myself outside the circle as an observer. I could see myself still kneeling with my arms resting on the chair, while the angels stood guard around me. I remembered that ‘angels are sent to serve those who will inherit salvation’ (Hebrews 1:14). “As I continued to watch, another change took place. An almost impenetrable darkness was seen to cover the angels, but this darkness could not draw nearer, nor could it penetrate an invisible dome-shaped canopy suspended over them. Darkness had met with light, but darkness could not overcome it (John 1:5). At this stage I could see nothing of what the darkness held, but I could feel it in my spirit as a dark, hideous deception that sought to devastate me and to divert me from the course approved by God. “Gradually I perceived their grotesque forms and I noticed that some were darkly beautiful: They were more devious in their attack. But I took courage, and hope rose within me, as I noticed that at no time were the angels distracted from their task of watching over me. “Not a tremor shook them as these powers of darkness sought access to my kneeling form through the circle of protection. Florence Mary and I were safe; no matter what trials and tribulations would come our way, such as finding a place to live or making ends meet, we could be assured that if we walked God’s perfect way in His strength, no powers of darkness could touch us.” (Excerpts from the book Angels —True Stories of How They Touch Our Lives by Hope Price.) Verse of the day:
Think about it: Another important aspect of this is that we can and should celebrate other people’s successes rather than feel threatened by them. George Eliot said in the book Middlemarch, “What do we live for if not to make life less difficult for each other?” Jesus basically said the same thing when He said, It can sometimes go against our human nature to put others first when we naturally want to put ourselves and our wants and needs first. In a world where people fight and struggle and there is backstabbing, gossip, and cheating to get ahead, it can be really tough to be kind, generous, and fair. It can seem almost impossible to take a step back and let others go first. But as Saint Francis’ prayer so beautifully reflects, when you’re surrounded by the negative, the positive is that much more needed and shines that much brighter, if we’re going to “let our light so shine before others” so that they can see it and recognize it as coming from our Father in heaven.7 Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy.—Tina Kapp Even though this miracle happened a long time ago the principle of God’s help still applies. Hearing about what God has done for others in their time of need often helps us to have faith that He will take care of us as well.
Think about it: Olga Kristensen spent forty years in China as a humanitarian worker. One night toward the end of her stay, she and her co-workers received news that a gang of bandits was heading toward their centre, burning, killing, and pillaging. Before long, they heard shots being fired at the end of their street. Ms. Kristensen later recounted that night: "I went into my room and asked God for a word to calm me and the others, and a passage I had often read before came to me: When you lie down, you will not be afraid; yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes; for the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught (Proverbs 3:24-26). "I shared that message with the others there and told them to go get some rest. Then I went off to bed myself and slept soundly. "The next morning, bodies lay in the street outside our premises. There had been fighting and murder, but no one had so much as knocked on our door." By Marie Story
The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien, tells the story of Bilbo Baggins, a comfort-loving hobbit, who is thrust into an unwanted quest for dragon treasure with a group of dwarves. He faces all manner of hardships, from orcs to hostile elves to giant spiders. Finally, the group of adventurers reaches their destination: the mountain lair of Smaug the Dragon. Bilbo enters the dragon’s lair through a secret door in the mountainside. All the dwarves are waiting outside, and Bilbo has to face the dragon alone. As he makes his way through the dark tunnel, he hears what sounds like a kettle bubbling on the stove. That sound grows into what sounds like a giant cat purring. Suddenly Bilbo realizes that he’s hearing the sound of the dragon snoring deep in the cave. Bilbo is petrified. He wants nothing more than to turn back, and he nearly does; but then he decides to go on. Tolkien writes, “Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterward were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait.” Have you ever faced a challenge like this? A challenge that seemed so big and scary that you wanted to run away from it before you even assessed its enormity and level of difficulty? We all reach these points in our lives when we say to ourselves, “I’m too small to tackle what’s ahead.” Dealing with dragons (or other scary challenges) isn’t easy. It takes a whole lot of courage. These scary challenges—these “dragons”—won’t always seem like a big deal to anyone but you. Perhaps you’re struggling with a moral dilemma. Perhaps you deal with excessive shyness. Perhaps you need to forgive someone who has wronged you. These personal challenges can require just as much courage as facing down a real dragon. C. S. Lewis wrote, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at its testing point.” Bilbo’s testing point came in the tunnel, before he ever saw the dragon. He had to face his own fear. He had to face his own self-doubt. To me, courage is simply this: refusing to let yourself defeat yourself. Before you can ever win great victories, before you can ever achieve great success, you first have to face down your own self. Sometimes our success is hampered by outside circumstances, and honestly, it’s easier to blame our failings on outside stuff. If we can blame others, we can sit back and wait for them to change. The truth is that far more often we’re defeated by our own negative habits, attitudes, mindsets, or simply the fear of the unknown. Courage is the guts to deal with whatever is holding you back. It’s realizing that you are responsible for you, and refusing to give yourself room to wiggle out of doing what’s right. That’s why courage is “every virtue at its testing point.” If you’re anything like me, then you’re probably feeling that having this kind of courage is nearly impossible. As strong as we are, or try to be, we often lack the courage that we need. So where can we find the courage to face life’s challenges?
Are you starting to see the trend here? You can have courage because God is with you. He doesn’t send you out to face your dragons alone. He’s right there with you, backing you up, not only ready to give you the strength and courage that you need, but also promising to meet you there and carry you through. Acts 1:8 promises that “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” God is ready to give us the courage we need as soon as we ask Him for it. Once you’ve asked God for courage, you have to choose to use it, even if you don’t feel courageous. It will be there for you as you step out and believe God has the answer. And to do so is an ongoing choice. It’s not a one-time thing that will last the rest of your life. Florence Nightingale said, “Courage is the common currency of all those who choose to do the right thing.” Courage begins as a decision and grows as you consistently use it. Often courage is simply putting one foot in front of the other, taking small, sometimes even tiny, steps forward. Every time you make a brave choice—even if it’s a little one—you’re strengthening your courage. Then, when bigger challenges come, you’ll have the courage to tackle them. So choose to face your dragons boldly and with courage. By Kalyani, for the Chennai Team, India
Thank you for helping us during these trying times. When 2020 started, none of us knew about the Covid pandemic to come or that India would reach very high numbers of cases, which would result in prolonged lockdowns. With your help, we were able to help six institutions and 180 families. Thank you! When it was already a struggle for the people, the business and shop owners then raised the price of every necessary item. We had made a budget for our project, based on the prices we had paid previously in April and May, but we were shocked to see that the price of everything had increased! But that didn’t deter us. We evaluated each and every food item, as well as the sanitary supplies. We found that every store had something which was cheaper than the other stores. We made a final list of the needed supplies and where we would get the best prices. Then we approached a new store, and the manager there saw the best prices given by other stores and he reduced the prices further and made the entire list available for us. We had to wait for several days, as the delivery truck was not able to make it to our area. We got a few more items from a local vendor, who gave them to us at the farmer’s price. Our goal was to get as much of a discount as possible so we could procure more items and help more people. Once we completed acquiring the stock, it was again another struggle to get the products to the institutions and families. There were a lot of restrictions and roadblocks. The home for the elderly, where we stored the groceries to be put together for the families, didn’t want to let us in due to fear of our contracting the Coronavirus. Then we prayed with the Reverend Mother and she made sure none of the elderly residents came near us, and we were given a room where Sundeep, my third son, and I prepared the food packages for 50 families. We took precautions when delivering the food to the people. We prayed with them and then gave them the food package. Each and every one who got the food supplies was so very thankful; some thanked us many times with tears in their eyes. Whenever we prayed for them, they in turn prayed for our family, our health, our supplies and our children. We cannot wait to start regular character-building and faith-building classes with these dear village people. One woman sent a sweet audio message to me. She didn’t know my name, so she sent it to the Reverend Mother and she passed it on to me. Once again, thank you. Whatever blessings people gave us don’t belong to us alone. Without your help it wouldn’t have been possible for us to have undertaken this task. We pray together with those poor and needy we reached that the Lord will supply in abundance for you from His heavenly resources, so more and more can be reached during this pandemic. Some degree of color blindness affects around 8% of men and less than 1% of women. The degree of disability ranges from mild inability to differentiate between certain colors to achromatopsia or total color blindness. This means that there are some people among us that cannot enjoy the full spectrum of beautiful colors that God has splashed into His creation.
Recently, however, many of these people have been able to see colors for the first time in their lives with the aid of a new type of glasses produced by a company called EnChroma. These glasses work by selectively filtering out wavelengths of light at the precise point where confusion or excessive overlap of color sensitivity occurs, allowing the wearer to see colors more accurately or even for the first time. While for some users the difference is not so stark, many users report life-changing improvements in their color vision. I recently came across a series of videos of color-blind people being presented with a pair of these amazing glasses. In most cases the glasses were given as a gift by relatives or friends, and in settings surrounded by other loved ones and vividly colored items like balloons and flowers. Many of them were overcome with emotion and burst into tears at seeing some colors for the very first time. Some excitedly pointed at various objects, asking in wonderment things like, “Is that purple?” “Is that orange?” Others were so overwhelmed that they simply sat down. Observing these reactions reminded me of the verse, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” We live in an amazingly beautiful world, and our spirits inhabit equally amazing bodies by which we can enjoy many wonderful experiences. But these experiences are not completely perfect. Unfortunately, right now, like the color-blind person, we are limited in our ability to fully enjoy God’s creation and the beauty of nature. Take a walk in a beautiful forest and you might have to contend with the bugs or foul weather. Do you love snow? Careful you don’t get frostbite. Love food? Don’t overeat or eat something that doesn’t agree with you or get food poisoning. Neither are our bodies perfect. We get tired, we get sick, and some even suffer debilitating chronic conditions. There is so much that is good and beautiful to enjoy in this life, but along with it, there always seems to be some sort of obstacle to that enjoyment as well. But that will change the day we enter heaven! The impediments to our ability to enjoy beauty and nature will be completely removed. On that day we, like the wearers of the EnChroma glasses, will be overwhelmed by the beauty we behold. Those who have had near-death experiences report that they visited a place of indescribable beauty. A land that is very similar to our world as it is, but so much more beautiful. They say that the flowers and trees are so much more vivid in color. Some claim to have seen colors and heard sounds not known to us now. Some described the music and sound as so much more beautiful and harmonic than anything they’ve ever heard. C. S. Lewis in his famous book Mere Christianity said that the pleasures we enjoy on this earth are mere copies, echoes, or mirages of their true realities in heaven:
Every believer will one day be catapulted from this life, where we “see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror,”4 to the heavenly realm, where we will see God face to face and finally be able to see and experience His creation in all its magnificent color and glory. Like the first-time wearers of the EnChroma glasses, I have no doubt we will be overcome with the euphoric exhilaration of the moment. (By George Sosich) |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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