EGM Times Jul_Aug_2023 Edition

Sincerity makes the very least person to be of more value than the most talented hypocrite.

- Charles Spurgeon

The Fellowship of His Sufferings

#OPINION

All Bible references are from New International Version, English Standard Version, New Living Translation, King James Version. EGM Times is published by Elohim Gospel Ministries, USA & India. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. EGM Times has no subscription price and is supported through contributions worldwide. Because all EGM Times editions are preplanned, we are unable to accept unsolicited manuscripts. For more information or to subscribe, visit: elohimgospelministries.com

President: Evg. Jacob Vilgi Oommen

Chief Editor: George Vilgi Oommen

Associate Editor: Gideon Pingkihan

Content Editor: Effie Ochago

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- Nikki Evanson

13

-George V Oommen

-Melicia Evans

The benefits of fellowship

Isolated Encouragement 28

LIFE IN BETWEEN

-Mindi Wroblewski

-Jacob Varghese

-Tilly Grace

-Daya Raja

Meet Our Writers

Melicia works as an art instructor, artist, and writer. She desires to see people encounter the love of Jesus. She knows that as people experience and receive more of His love, they are changed. God’s love is His superpower. In her writing she shares God’s faithfulness in our journey of life that can often be challenging. Melicia is a mother of six. She lives in the beautiful Great Plains of Kansas with wide-open skies.

Nikki Evanson is a wife and mother to two beautiful children. She has taught for many years in both classrooms and children’s ministries. For the past several years, she felt God putting a passion in her heart to turn that talent to additionally teach and encourage women to grow in their Christian walk. She writes a weekly blog at nikkievanson.com to help equip Christian women to live for Jesus by following Matthew 22:37-39. You can connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Mindi, a retired court reporter who for three decades wrote the words of others, now enjoys writing her own words and has self-published three books. Two are devotionals and one is about a special gift the Lord gave her when she and her husband Tom moved from Florida to Tennessee to live closer to family. She loves Jesus with all her heart and often shares her special gift with others, inviting them to experience the true love of the Father, who has gifts for all His children. You can follow Mindi at mindiwroblewski.com or follow her Facebook page Moments in time with Mindi.

Tilly is a reader, writer, author and speaker who loves God deeply. She spends her time balancing full-time wife and motherhood, with full-time ministry in many areas. She is passionate about women’s ministry and using her story to show other women (and men) that they are not alone in their struggles. She loves listening to worship music while snuggled up in a blanket with hot coffee.

Melicia Evans, USA Nikki Evanson, USA Mindi Wroblewski, USA Tilly Nemeth, USA

EDITORIAL

After God created Adam, He saw it was not good for Adam to be alone. So God created Eve to be with Adam. Since creation, God has been intentional in human beings having fellowship with each other. God even instructed the people of Israel to have festivals each year. These festivals were a time of fellowship with each other and with God. In the new testament time, the disciples and the early Christians gathered regularly (at least once a week!).

The following pages focus on the subject of Fellowship. Four articles in this edition focus on different aspects of the fellowship. SAFT apologetics team member is answering a question on prayer in the Confident Answers column.

As I write this, many cities around the world are facing extreme heat. Be cautious when you go out and look out for others in need. As children of God, we must take care of each other and the planet God has given us.

Happy reading. God bless you.

George Vilgi Oommen, Chief Editor

Did you know?

Assemblies of God (AG) is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world. Founded in 1914, AG has around 85 million adherents around the world.

The Fellowship of His Sufferings

-Melicia Evans

Our God is a God who answers prayers. Sometimes those answers come inside packages that we would like to exchange. I prayed for strength. He stretched me and gave me weight to carry. I prayed to know him more, and he gave me sorrow to better know the man of sorrows. He doesn’t work the same in everyone’s life, but he does promise in His Word that we will know difficulty and hardship. Sometimes he will even lead us directly into it.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. (Matt.16:24-25)

Have you ever thought about that promise in verse 25 and how we’ll ‘find it’? It’s often used as a reference to heaven. Like the death of a seed, I find new life here on earth as we take up our cross. We may first have to get through the disappointment of what we thought our lives might be like, or even what we might be like.

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings,” (Philippians 3:10 NKJV)

Before I had gone into a challenging time, the Lord gave me a dream. In the dream, I was given an old door with missing windows. I was sent into a room resembling one of the treasure rooms in the movie National Treasure. It was ancient and had other old doors and window replacements. There was a particular window that I was supposed to find for this door. It had to be the exact glass. It was to be restored to its origin. I was handed a stained-glass window of Jesus in Gethsemane.

I had just passed a door with a beautiful floral window. I somehow instinctively knew that this door was like a school gymnasium. It was for exercise and fun. I was hoping for something cheery and pretty like that. I was hoping for one lighter weight and that I could see through. I couldn't see through the one given to me. It was lovely but not what I wanted. It was not for me, at least not right now. I asked for a different one. I was told, “No, this one is for this door.” I took it.

“I nd that like the death of a seed, as we take up our cross, we nd new life here on earth. We may rst have to get through the disappoin ent of what we thought our lives might be like, or even what we might be like.”

I awoke with some disappointment. I had just left a difficult period. I had hopes that things would get better. Isn't that the way we are? We don't want to go through that door of suffering. We want the door with the flowers that leads to a gymnasium to run and play in.

My first thoughts were not the sweet fellowship of prayer. Instead, I imagined the work of it. I saw the pain of letting go of my will, the mental and emotional strain, and the agony Jesus endured. He gave me similar dreams and visions, telling me to embrace the cross. It wasn’t what I imagined the cross to be. It didn’t make sense to me. I didn’t see it as an invitation that it was to come closer to him. I was being invited into deeper fellowship with my Lord.

In my situation, there was much confusion. God had led me, but I couldn’t put all the pieces together. As I spent time with Jesus in my heartache, He let me know that He saw and He understood. He knew by experience. I saw His pain and He knew mine. He knew me in it, the how and why of my responses. There was no condemnation when my emotions hit full tilt. Depth, richness, and tenderness come to prayer in these times. Eventually, the confusion gave way to a solid truth that I'm his no matter what. It doesn’t matter how I saw myself, how others might see me, or how I imagined they might. I would still be his.

In the past, I would frequently withdraw from Jesus in times of difficulty. I'd often look for how to get rid of the pain more than seeking him out. He is patient. As amazing as it is, the God of all creation wants to be near us. Can you imagine? With an earth so populated with people, he chooses you and me! Wow.

Give it all to him. Pour out your heart, your tears. Let Him turn the bitter to sweet and comfort you in your sorrows. Surrender what you don’t know, for all the outcomes are in His hand. You can rest knowing that you are his. You don't have to have all the answers, even when the questions are pressing. It can be hard learning to trust when your own understanding fails. The pieces may not add up or come together. Even if you feel at the end, he is there. New bonds are built in the place of surrender.

Whether you are in that place now or find yourself there sometime in the future, there is a place with your name on it. Intimate fellowship is found at His table that He spreads out in the presence of your enemies.

“I saw the pain of let ng go of my own will, the mental and emo onal strain, and the agony that Jesus endured.”

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Most of you might have read or heard about the two words AI on the headlines since the beginning of this year. It has been the buzzword in the technology world for some time now. AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. In simple words, Artificial Intelligence is the ability of machines to do work, usually done by human beings. Some examples are… answering questions in a human language like English, writing a poem, having conversations like a human being. AI moved more into the limelight when Open AI (a company focused on AI-related technology) introduced the application ChatGPT which has AI in it. ChatGPT became a success due to its ability for human-like interactions.

Like most of the technologies in the world, AI also has the potential to influence Christianity. If harnessed correctly, we can positively use AI. AI can be a useful tool for Church administration. Churches and ministries can gain insights into their work with more efficiency. While writing this column, I thought it would be interesting to ask AI itself to get some opinions on this topic. So I took my phone and typed the question “How will AI impact Christian Faith?” in Microsoft Bing search engine app (Bing has rolled out an AI-backed beta version for some customers). Below is the answer I got (I did not change any words in it!).

That's a very interesting and complex question. Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how we interact with everything, from food to healthcare, travel and also religion. Experts say major global faiths are discussing their relationship with AI, and some are starting to incorporate this technology into their worship. For example, robot priests can recite prayers, deliver sermons, and even comfort those experiencing a spiritual crisis.

#Opinion

-George Vilgi Oommen

However, AI also poses some challenges and ethical dilemmas for Christian faith. Some Christians may say that AI doesn't fit with Christian beliefs because it is made by humans and doesn't have a soul or the ability to feel God's love. Some might say that AI can be used for doing good things, but we must ensure we use it correctly and ethically⁷. Some might even say that AI is a threat to Christianity, as it could challenge the uniqueness of human intelligence and creativity, or even replace God as the ultimate source of wisdom and authority.

There is no definitive answer to how AI will impact Christian faith, as different Christians may have different views and interpretations of AI and its implications. However, one thing is certain: AI is a reality that Christians cannot ignore or avoid. Therefore, Christians should engage with AI in a thoughtful and responsible way, seeking to understand its potential benefits and risks, and how it can serve God's purposes in the world. As one researcher said, "AI can potentially revolutionize many aspects of our lives, including ministry work. By leveraging AI, churches and ministries can gain insights into their members’ spiritual needs and provide better support."

True Heart

The of Fellowship

-Nikki Evanson

It had only been a few years since I became a Christian and started attending church. I learned about the importance of fellowship and I tried to make some Christian friends. But this proved to be very difficult, and in my attempts, I experienced hurt. This left me questioning whether I could ever experience authentic fellowship in the church.

My husband and I had recently moved to a new state, and I felt like it was a fresh start. Despite my hurt, I still wanted to try again to experience Christian fellowship to help me grow in my relationship with Jesus.

We quickly became part of a church plant near our new home. I prayed I would experience the loving Christian fellowship I desired by joining a home group where we studied God’s word together and prayed for each other. I felt accepted there and others wanted to know me.

A few months in, my husband received unexpected news about a family member being very sick and he had to fly back to his hometown to be by their side. Unfortunately, I couldn’t go with him. It was difficult for us.

I decided to share this news in our home group, hoping for support and prayer—not knowing what to expect because of my past hurtful experience in fellowship. Instead, I received warm wishes and prayers. But it wasn’t until one afternoon that I experienced the loving fellowship I desired.

I had just come home from work to an empty apartment. I felt very alone in my despair, unable to be by my husband's side. Sitting in my pain, I heard a gentle knock at the door. I didn’t know who it could be because I wasn’t expecting anyone.

When I opened the door, it was one of the ladies from our home group. She said she was on her way home from work but got off her bus early because she wanted to check in on me. I was in her heart; she was thinking about me.

I was in complete awe that someone would do this for me. I was deeply touched. I had never experienced such care and love from anyone before at the very moment that I most needed a friend.

It was just a few minutes that she had stayed, but those few minutes showed me that Jesus had authentic Christian fellowship for me and demonstrated how I could extend Christian fellowship to others. It taught me that real, authentic fellowship starts with the posture of your heart. Thus, positioning your heart to know his great love for you is essential.

Knowing the depth of Jesus’s love for you changes your heart. It softens it, making you compassionate towards others. It gives you the ability to forgive when you couldn’t before. It makes you to want to extend a hand to those in need and be there for those suffering and mourning. The more you know his love, the more you will be able to love others.

Furthermore, it allows you to show others his agape love—the greatest kind of love—by laying down your life for others like Christ did. It’s in his words in John 15:13 that we see this being the ultimate way that Jesus calls us to love others in fellowship: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (NIV)

“It taught me that real, authentic fellowship starts with the posture of your heart. Thus, positioning your heart to know his great love for you is essential.”

Jesus modeled this when he died on the cross. He loved us, despite our sins and gave his life for us. This is what real Christian fellowship looks like giving his love. It means denying yourself and being self-sacrificing. It is going out of your way to love others in order to show them the love of Jesus. It’s being the hands and feet of Jesus.

It’s not always about doing grand things for others but simply showing up when they need help, listening to them, or weeping with them, as Jesus demonstrated in His ministry. It’s showing others this Agape love so they can experience Jesus through us. When your heart is positioned correctly, knowing His love for you, you can show others this Agape love in fellowship.

Remember that Jesus loves you so much. The more you know His love for you and focus on it, the more you can have the right heart in fellowship. If you have been hurt in fellowship before, know that you can still experience authentic fellowship in the future; Jesus knows your desire. He sees you and loves you. You have fellowship in Him and He can provide it in your church for you as well.

Focus on being a good friend to others in the church by having the right heart posture and knowing how much He loves you. Keep putting yourself out there and make sure you are striving to show others the love of Christ. Your community is out there.

“Remember that Jesus loves you so much. The more you know His love for you and focus on it, the more you can have the right heart in fellowship.”

CONFIDENT ANSWERS

I am glad you sent in this question Elizabeth. I resonate with your realisation, and I believe so do the readers. The rat races we find ourselves ensnared in squeezes prayer out and if it doesn’t do that, we often let our complacency get the better of us and let prayer slide out. I’m guilty of the latter on many occasions. I am glad you are confronting your challenge and seeking answers to remedy it.

R C Sproul commented, “Prayer is not simply a soliloquy, a mere exercise in therapeutic self-analysis, or a religious recitation. Prayer is a discourse with the personal God Himself.”(1) Probing the relevance and efficacy of prayer in the face of an all-knowing and sovereign God often stems from a distorted understanding of what is meant by ‘prayer’ and what prayer can do. John Piper, after examining the underlying conflict that you have raised, exclaimed that prayer is “simply a staggeringly awesome privilege”(2). We do not add a single bit of information to God’s knowledge by prayer. Yet God commands us to pray across many instances (James 5:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Luke 22:40, Luke 18:1, Luke 6:28, Matthew 6:9, Romans 12:12, Philippians 4:6, Ephesians, Colossians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, John 16:24 etc.) So why is it that God commands us to pray?

Jonathan Edwards in his sermon ‘The Most High, a Prayer-Hearing God’ (3) bifurcates prayer as it concerns God and as it concerns us. Concerning the former he said “prayer is but a sensible acknowledgement of our dependence on him to his glory. As he hath made all things for his own glory, so he will be glorified and acknowledged by his creatures; and it is fit that he should require this of those who would be subjects of his mercy”. Concerning the latter he said “Our prayer to God may excite in us a suitable sense and consideration of our dependence on God for the mercy we ask, and a suitable exercise of faith in God’s sufficiency, so that we may be prepared to glorify his name when the mercy is received.”

Here we see that prayer isn’t a mere recitation of phrases set down by strangers or persons distinct from our experience. It isn’t engaged in to relay information to God (of which He has no need). It is when we consider prayer to be merely a means to carry information that we miss the mark. If you, the reader, is married, follow along with this analogy. Your husband/wife knows that you love him/her. Yet that is no sound excuse for you to relinquish yourself from ever saying ‘I love you’! By saying those three words you aren’t aimed at relaying information to which they are no stranger but rather you are aimed at engaging in a deep personal bonding. Your communication (prayer) with God brings about the same effect of personal bonding. As communication is indicative of the nature of the relationship, the presence or lack of prayer is similarly indicative of our relationship with God precisely because of its nature as demarcated above. Hence prayer opens up us as a person before God, laying bare our vulnerabilities before Him. As we speak out loud or call to mind our needs, wants, desires and praise through prayer, we get to reflect on what is within our innermost core and turn to God in doing so.

John Calvin remarked on the importance of prayer when he said “Still it is very important for us to call upon him: First, that our hearts may be fired with a zealous and burning desire ever to seek, love, and serve him, while we become accustomed in every need to flee to him as to a sacred anchor. Secondly, that there may enter our hearts no desire and no wish at all of which we should be ashamed to make him a witness, while we learn to set all our wishes before his eyes, and even to pour out our whole hearts. Thirdly, that we be prepared to receive his benefits with true gratitude of heart and thanksgiving, benefits that our prayer reminds us come from his hand.”

Prayer is quite effective because through prayer God invites us to be “co-workers”(4) in His divinely ordained plan of the world. James 4:2 says, “You do not have, because you do not ask”. James 5:16 says “A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much.” James goes to mention Elijah and his prayer. Prayer then is not just a command to be obeyed, a privilege to be cherished and an overlap of interaction of the mortal with the divine; it is the domain through which we work with God to bring about His will on earth. Much can be said about how God through His middle knowledge (knowledge of counterfactuals) of our free choices brings about a world wherein He has already taken into account my prayers or their lack thereof. Luis de Molina’s excursion into the intersection of divine sovereignty and human freedom showed that our prayers play their role in affecting real outcomes in the real world.

To quote R C Sproul, "One might pray and not be a Christian but one cannot be a Christian and not pray"

So Elizabeth, your prayer is an astounding privilege extended by God for you to engage in close personal relationship with your maker as He invites you to partake in being a game changer to bring about His will on earth through your malleable heart rendered in submission to His voice. And I pray that you will experience deep joy and fulfilment when you return to prayer before your Father in heaven.

By, Jacob Varghese, Founder-Director, SAFT Apologetics

SAFT Apologetics is a web-based Indian Christian initiative that aims to equip the believer defend their faith so that they may effectively evangelise. We work towards fulfilling our Vision to break the language and accessibility barrier and make apologetics resources within easy reach for all communities in India and beyond. We live out our Vision through our podcast, conferences, blog, YouTube channel and live speaking sessions. In short, we are creating an online library with an invitation to all to seek answers so that they may find the truth.

(1) Sproul. (2020, April 22). If God is sovereign, why pray? Ligonier Ministries. Retrieved August 3, 2023, from https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/if-god-sovereign-why-pray

(2) Piper, J. (2014, October 8). Three motivations to pray. Desiring God. Retrieved August 3, 2023, from https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/three-motivations-to-pray

(3) The Works of Jonathan Edwards [Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth Trust, 1974], 2:116.

(4) Craig, W. L. (2021, February 1). The Evangelical Problem of Prayer. Reasonable Faith. Retrieved August 3, 2023, from https://www.reasonablefaith.org/media/reasonable-faith-podcast/the-evangelical-problem-of-prayer

BUT IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT, AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT, WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS HIS SON CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN.

-1 JOHN 1:7

The benefits of fellowship

Do you remember where you were the moment you received word that your nation was on lockdown; that we were to remain home and only venture out when absolutely necessary? I was driving a neighbor to pick up her prescription. I waited in the car while she went inside CVS. When she came out, she was visibly shaken and troubled. “That was the weirdest experience,” she spoke softly as she buckled her seatbelt. “No customers were in the store, only one clerk and a pharmacist. The phone was ringing off the hook and the pharmacist was unable to help me.” She turned to look at me, her eyes misty with tears, and asked, “Aren’t you afraid?” My quick response was, “No,” and I meant it because the One in charge of everything tells us not to fear (Isaiah 41:10).

Our homes became our refuge and even going to the grocery store was a major undertaking. We were prisoners to an unseen virus that made us fearful of touching one another. A feeling of dread and doom permeated the air. Churches were closed, which felt like someone had taken an axe and chopped off our lifeline to fellowship. The place where people often flock in time of need was not available to bring a sense of comfort and, most important, hope. Hope that God Almighty was and still is on His throne.

Time has passed and life has gotten somewhat back to normal, but as our pastor often says, “We can never again take for granted the gathering together of God’s people.” I believe that with all my heart. I pray that our church doors always remain open. It’s very difficult to show love to someone when you’re on a Zoom call or watching a sermon online. It reminds me of my young life when at times, even when others surrounded me, I felt so very alone because there was no real fellowship.

-Mindi Wroblewski

My family attended Catholic Church. On Sundays, we crossed ourselves with holy water as we entered the sanctuary, genuflected at the pew, sat down, and quietly waited for the mass to begin. So when a friend invited me to attend the Assembly of God church she was a part of, I was caught off guard the moment I walked through the doors. The service had not yet started and there were groups of people scattered around the sanctuary. They were hugging each other and laughing. Some were holding hands with their heads bowed. It was a joyful and inviting atmosphere, nothing like the solemnness of my upbringing.

“What’s going on?” I asked excitedly.

“It’s fellowship, my friend! This is what it’s like to be with God’s people.”

After the service, I went to the altar and gave my heart to Jesus. I didn’t realize it then, but that was the start of a new way of life. It’s not that I haven’t had those lonely and isolated feelings through the years, but I have learned that true fellowship comes from an intimate relationship with Jesus. He in turn fills us with His love and purpose, which enables those who believe in Him to be in fellowship with each other (1 John 1:6-7)

What does fellowship look like to you? Are you someone who would rather be left alone, or does being with others help you grow in your faith? I love being with God’s people. It gives me a sense of belonging. It lifts me up and fills me with joy. It also helps me know I am not alone in my struggles, or in my triumphs.

We find hope in fellowship with other believers knowing that Jesus has conquered the grave by His death and resurrection. And we need not fear anything, for when we approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, he gives us mercy and helps us find grace in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

If you are feeling alone, pick up the phone and call a friend. Pray together and/or sing a joyful song of praise to the Lord. Go out and greet someone with a smile. Help a neighbor who might be experiencing loneliness. Bake some cookies or take someone a meal. No matter what, though, let us not give up meeting together…but let us encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25), for there is nothing like the gathering together of like-minded people to lift each other up in prayer and rejoice together in fellowship.

Isolated

Encouragement

“And let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching.”

Hebrews 10:24-25 (AMP)

I believe encouragement and fellowship go hand in hand. Fellowship with other believers should be about edifying each other and encouraging our growth in our walks with Christ. We have all been created with a purpose, but the world tries to snuff out that God-given assignment more than we realize. This is exactly why fellowship with other believers and fellowship with our Creator are necessary in our journey to becoming who God has called us to be.

Who we surround ourselves with matters. What we listen to and whose voice we listen to matters.

Growing up, I lived in a home where no one spoke about God. No one prayed, ever, and no one spoke about our purpose in God’s kingdom. It was there that I learned to keep my thoughts and feelings to myself. It was in that home, with my childhood family, that I learned that my voice didn’t matter. It was known to me that I was just one of the kids, nobody significant and that my place was never to speak up about anything, especially not to my dad. I learned quite early in life that emotions are bad, and that I was causing trouble by crying, not to mention annoying my father in the process.

And for a long time, I let that be the voice I listened to and believed.

-Tilly Grace

“God did not intend to let me stay in that awful mindset I had been taught, and He even did something about it.”

But God. He is just so good, isn’t He?

God did not intend to let me stay in that awful mindset I had been taught, and He even did something about it. He gave me Christ-like people to learn from. He knew it would be the thing I needed to truly understand my purpose. The interesting thing is that I don’t attend their classes or sit down with them and have theological discussions about God in every interaction with them. I’m not saying those things are necessarily bad, but they are not exactly personal and intimate. The things I do with the people God has given me are deeper than that. I eat dinner and laugh with them. We talk about life, emotions, and even the things that make us angry. We serve in ministry together, and we spend time with one another.

We fellowship. We encourage. We do life with one another.

Fellowship is essential to my life as a Christ follower. I would not be who I am today if God did not bring people into my life who encouraged me to say yes to God and His will for my life. These people speak life into me, build me up, and champion me in ways that matter. They pray over me, hug me, and love me for who God has made me to be, emotions and all. Not only that, but they lead by example. Doing life together gives me, and us, a front-row seat to watching God work in ways unimagined. And that, my friends, gives us hope. Hope that we can do what God has called us to do and that He will see us through, no matter what we are up against. That’s the kind of encouragement we need as believers so that we can walk out our God-given purpose with confidence.

If I did not fellowship with other believers, it would be all too easy to slip back into the world and listen to the voice of the enemy tell me that I matter to no one. That’s right where Satan wants us to be, isolated and all alone in our negative feelings, thinking that we don’t need anyone. That’s a lie. He is, after all, the father of lies.

The truth is, we need fellowship. We need community. We need to be surrounded by other believers.

There is a confidence that comes from having a community of believers in your life. We love differently in God’s kingdom. We pray, we encourage, we edify and build in this place. We apply scripture to our lives and watch them change as a result. It’s a place where peace beyond all understanding is available, no matter the circumstances.

Fellowship is where we, as a body of believers, connect with each other and with God. It’s where God gets the glory as we do life together.

Believers, let’s do life together.

Let’s fellowship. Let’s encourage.

Let’s show the world by our example, that God never designed us to do life isolated.

“There is a con dence that comes om having a communi of believers in your life. We love di erently in God’s kingdom.”

“HE WHO KNEELS THE MOST, STANDS THE BEST.”

Guarding

our minds with active

Resistance

-Daya Raja

When something unsettling happens, I used to be the kind of person who switched to heavy thinking mode. This phase lasted for days and even weeks at a stretch. This behavior not only reduced my interactions with people around me but also rendered me sleepless at times. However, I knew as Christians, we are expected to rejoice, pray and be at peace at all times. Such a sea of difference between what was expected out of me versus what I was dealing with!

I was familiar with verses such as, ‘People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don't quit. Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing.’ (Isaiah 26: 3,4 ) and ‘I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.’ (Psalms 16: 8). But my experience of dealing with uncomfortable things was not steady nor peaceful. However, the scriptures seem to suggest that having peace in storms is the way of life for God’s children. Books of the Bible also give us the account of the life experiences of Daniel, who could sleep in a lion’s den; Paul and Silas who could worship God in prison and many other heroes of faith who could face adversity head on and continue praising and trusting in God.

So then, naturally, there was something wrong with the way I was approaching these verses and life at large. Though I knew some of these verses and the beautiful promises God has for his children, I couldn’t somehow apply it. And the problem with issues like overthinking, losing hope etc, is, it is very much an internal struggle.

But when God took my attention to 2 Corinthians 10: 4-5, (‘For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.’) I could slowly begin to make sense of what needed to be done.

“So then, naturally, there was something wrong in the way I was approaching these verses and life at large. Though I knew some of these verses and the beautiful promises God has for his children, I couldn’t somehow apply it.”

Our minds are battlefields. For every situation and every argument, there is a Godly perspective and a worldly perspective, and these two ideologies are at war with each other, all the time.

In my case, my repeated ways of thinking created patterns which eventually created strongholds in my mind. So every time an uncomfortable situation happened, my mind went into a spiral without much of an effort, since it already is entrenched in my neural pathways. And, I found myself in a space which was rather unpleasant. So my way out was to begin to pay attention to what I was thinking and ask myself, if it aligned to God’s word or not. As expected, often, it did not.

The verse is very clear on what needs to be done with such thoughts- bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Now how do we do that? Place a filter on every thought. If a thought does not align with God’s word, it is inconsequential and we do not need to dwell on it. But we all know that our minds cannot be practically empty. We need to think about daily happenings, people, work, politics etc. So then, how do we think about something that is pestering us? Look up what God’s word says about the particular theme and think about it. If needed, write it down, pray it aloud, share with someone. Thanks to technology, it is quite easy now. In fact, you’d be surprised that God has something to say about everything on our mind and our tiny little lives!

This is active resistance, almost like stationing soldiers to guard the territory. And it is not a quick solution. Just like worldly ways of thinking took years to form and take root in us, it takes time for God’s word to become our go to framework and filter. And it requires consistency. This is why God’s word says, ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind.’ (Romans 12: 2) However, God sees when we make efforts to obey him and be close to Him and we can be rest assured that ‘he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.’ (Philippians 1:6)

God bless!

Daya Raja, Bangalore

Daya thinks it’s absolutely cool to be known by Jesus. She deeply appreciates nature, art and silence. Her dream is to fall in love with Jesus and humanity every day. Daya can be reached at dayaraja95@gmail.com

Final Word

Dear friend,

Thank you for making it to the end of this edition. We hope you learned more about fellowship from this edition.

If you are reading this and have not experienced the love and power of God, we encourage you to embrace His love – offered as salvation through Jesus Christ. In His unending affection for us, God has a lot in store for your life and longs to have you as part of His family. We also encourage you to rededicate your life to God if you were born again but drifted away from the call. Make the following prayer and accept Jesus as your savior:

“Lord Jesus, I come before you today. I acknowledge that I am a sinner, and my sins have separated me from you. Today, I believe that you are the son of God and that you had me in mind when you got crucified and died. I believe that you are resurrected and seated at the right hand of the Father. I accept you today as my Lord and savior. Thank you for paying the price for my eternal redemption. I am now the righteousness of God in Christ. I now ask you to fill me with your spirit. Amen.”

Congratulations on surrendering or rededicating your life to God. You are now a new creation in Christ. We encourage you to join a family of believers (church) in your area, and we pray that you get established in your faith through studying the word by the grace of God.

We at EGM Times team love you and would like to hear from you. Send your feedback, comments, and constructive criticism to egmtimes@elohimgospelministries.com. See you in the next edition.

God bless you!!!

Team EGM Times

memory lane

On October 2019, Elohim Gospel Ministries conducted the “Arise Manipur” gospel crusade in Manipur, India. The above photo was captured from the crusade.