VOLUME 10 ISSUE 1
Dr. Charles Mully An example of servanthood
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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 Creator: Effie Ochago Designer: John Udang Stay Connected Facebook, Instagram, Youtube elohimgospelministries.com egminspirations.com
By EGM Times tea m
By Pa mela H enkelma n
By George Vilgi Oommen
By C a rol Bevil
By Jacob Vilgi Oommen
By Daya Raja
ME E T OUR W R ITERS
Pamela Henkelman
Pamela lives in Illinois and enjoys the “empt y nest ” with her husband, a pastor. They 've been mar r ied thir t y-four years and have five grown c hildren and t wo grandc hildren. She enjoys cooking and having coffee with f r iends.
Carol Bevil
Carol is a Chr istian author and speaker. She is the founder of Fuel Your Body, Feed Your Soul, LLC – a blog and Instagram ministr y dedicated to the tr uths found in Romans 12:2 and Matthew 6:33. She has authored t wo books - You Are His: 21 Day Devotional and Break Through: 6 Weeks to Demolish Diet Cul t ure Strongholds. She ser ves as an ambassador for Sadie Rober tson Huff ’s ministr y LOsister and has a hear t for mentor ing young women. Cur rently, Carol lives in Bir mingham, Alabama with her husband Chr is of 24 years and their four c hildren.
E v g . J a c o b. V i l g i O o m m e n
Jacob is an evangelist with a vision to reac h billions of souls with the Gospel of Jesus Chr ist. He is the founder/president of Elohim Gospel Ministr ies(EGM).
Unless I had the spirit of prayer, I could do nothing. Charles Grandison Finney
Friends,
EDITORIAL
In Mark 10:21, we read the account of Jesus talking to a rich man. The rich man wants to know what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the commandments and then told a specific thing in verse 21 (NLT) - Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. It is very hard for us to let go of many material things in the world as human beings. Wealth tops the list. In this edition, we share from the life of a man who obeyed God completely. Born in a poor family, Dr. Charles Mulli experienced the favor of God and reached the pinnacle of success in his life. One day, he left all the privileges he enjoyed and started taking care of orphan street children. He became a father to thousands of children. Dr. Mulli, along with his family has been impacting the lives of many young people for the past 3 decades. We are delighted to present you the thoughts he shared with the EGM Times team about his life and ministry. While a few pages of a magazine cannot cover the depth of the life of Dr. Mully, there are plenty of resources out there to know more about Dr. Mully’s life. I am confident that knowing more about Dr. Mully’s life will inspire and impact you as it did to me. As a magazine, we are entering the 10th year of publication with a grateful heart. A big THANK YOU to all of you for the continuous support and encouragement all these years. We give all the glory and honor to God. Last but not least, happy and blessed new year to you. I pray that you will experience the favor of God in a special way this new year. Happy reading. God bless you!
George Vilgi Oommen, Chief Editor
Did you know? Moses was buried by God after his death. Deutronomy 34:5,6 (NIV) – “And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.”
Many times we judge others and thinking ourselves as saints because we look into other’s lives through the standards of Jesus and fails to do the same in our own life. Evg. Jacob Oommen
D r. C h a r l e s M ul l y An example of servanthood By: EGM Times Team
Dr. Charles Mutua Mulli is a celebrated philanthropist, entrepreneur, environmentalist and the founder of Mully Children’s Family (MCF), based in Kenya. MCF was founded in 1989. Dr. Mulli was born in Kenya to a family of ten children. He was the eldest among the ten children. His family suffered severe poverty and at the age of 6, his parents abandoned him. He spent the next twelve years as a street kid. His miserable life ended when he was accepted to work as a helper in a businessman’s house in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. At age sixteen, Mulli converted to Christianity after walking into a church and going through a divine experience that allowed him to attain salvation. Through his relentless hard work, faith in Jesus and business acumen, he became a successful entrepreneur and a multi-millionaire. His business endeavors ranged from Taxi service to petroleum distribution in the country. As part of the business, he travelled across the globe.
In 1986, Dr. Mully began to hear a call on his life to take care thousands of abandoned children he encountered on the streets of Kenya, especially as he remembered his struggles there as a child. In 1989, Charles and Esther started Mully Children’s family and began to take street orphans and vulnerable children into their home to be raised alongside their own biological children. Those numbers grew so that over the last 30 years, the
Mully Family has given their entire lives and considerable fortune to rescue, adopt, house, feed, clothe and educate well over 13,000 Kenyan orphans who have graduated from the program and an additional 3,500 in the program currently. Dr. Mulli married Esther Nthenya in 1970 and have seven biological children. Dr. Mully and his daughter was kind enough to spend some time with EGM Times team remotely to share their heart with all of us.
“In reality, thereʼs no ʻenoughʼ in life because you can be rich and keep on acquiring more wealth, and nothing can limit human desires.”
Who is the most influential person in your life? For me, it is Jesus Christ. He’s been so very influential to me in my life. I believe He is a person because He was born and He is always with us. I don’t know what else could I do if He’s not with me.
In your understanding, why did God choose Dr. Mully for this mission? Could you please list three reasons? Grace, Love, and Divine Revelation. Without Grace and Love, these children will be left out in the streets. I want them to experience that God’s grace and love is sufficient. By choosing me, God wanted to show that He could use somebody, and He can transform someone from nothing into something. What are the top three challenges you faced in this mission? Rejection, Family, Money. When I started this ministry thirty two years ago, I experienced rejection from our church. The second one is with my family. Some of my biological children were being conformed to worldly doings. It became one of the biggest challenges for me because I did not know what to do. But I continuously pray for them for their redemption. And He did it. They now became helpers of the MCF. The next one is money. My wife came one evening and said that we were running out of food. But I told her, “Go and ask God.” And from nowhere, God provided us with what we needed.
You were a successful businessman and then left all the wealth to take care of the orphan children. How much is ‘enough’ in life? I left all the wealth that I accumulated during my time in business. In reality, there’s no ‘enough’ in life because you can be rich and keep on acquiring more wealth, and nothing can limit human desires. Every day, you wanted more and more. But for me, enough is enough. When I was crying, God spoke to me and said, “You’re going to be My servant. You are going to be the father to the fatherless.” I refused and said, “It’s not me, Lord.” But He said, “I gave you this mission.” So I said, Lord, I will let it go. Enough is enough, and I will follow what You are instructing me. The value of enough is realized only when you value God and fellow human beings. In that, we can say that He is more than enough in our life. I stopped doing business in 1989 and started to follow God’s will in my life.
“God will bless everyone who helps the poor.”
How do you want the world to know you and remember you? I will leave a legacy. The legacy that I served God and transformed the lives of many children in Kenya and Africa. I would like to be known as someone who encourages and motivates people. What does it take to see more ‘Mullys’ in the world? It involves life. What I see, by God’s grace, my family will be used by God in a mighty way. Over the years, I have been praying. God will build mighty men for the operation of the ministry and my children knows how I love this ministry. They will share this vision with the rest of the world to follow Jesus. Where do you see the Mully’s Children Family in the next decades? I see a bright future of millions of young people to share good things here. My business now is to train them to be models and have firm foundations in Lord Jesus. Christ. By this, I hope and see more Mullys in the world. How can people be part of MCF? Prayer. Pray for the Mully Ministry that there will be more progress in the transformation of the young people. The second is to pray for financial support. Everyone ar welcome to give whatever they feel for the ministry.
Any final words of wisdom? I ask anybody reading this interview to join together to make this world a better place where there’s equal love between the rich and poor, as well as with the orphans and street children. Because if we extend our prayers and financial support to these poor children, we have done something great to the Lord. Because God says in Proverbs 19:17, whoever gives to poor, gives to the Lord. And the Lord will never forget what you have done in serving these poor people. God will bless everyone who helps the poor. Dr. Mulli also shared some of his ‘favorites’ with us. Favorite Song – The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. Favorite verse in the Bible – Philippians 4:13 Favorite Place – Israel Favorite Character in the Bible – King David Most memorable moment in MCF History – The time when I cried to God for water. The big miracle that God gave us is the water from a land that is very dry. You can view the documentary on the inspirational life of Dr. Mulli at https://mcfus.org/mullymovie/ Below books were also written based on the life of Dr. Mulli Father to the Fatherless; Hope for the Hopeless; My Journey of Faith; The Biggest Family in the World; Christian Heroes: Then and Now.
Dealing with Anger By – Pamela Henkelman
“God invites us to be honest with Him about our hearts.”
I was wrung out and the day had barely started. Searing pain in my neck, coupled with restless sleep and an overwhelming ‘to do’ list had gotten me in a bad place. I pulled my weary body to my comfy chair and caught a whiff of my Caribou blend coffee. Bible and journal in my lap, I needed to talk to Papa, but anger was simmering just below the surface. What’s the point of prayer anyways, I wondered? I thumbed through my Bible and found a tattered blue card. I clutched this card for a decade: “31 Biblical Virtues to Pray for Your Kids.” I had cried buckets and poured out endless petitions for my five kids. Somehow, I had believed praying through this list was going to be the insurance I needed for my kids to stay close to God. I prayed for them, brought them to church, and talked about God as we walked through our days. They’d had tender hearts towards God as children, yet a couple of them were now far away from Him. My greatest fear was that they would walk away from Him. Would this reflect on who I was as a mother? Would this prove I didn’t measure up or do it right? Would this mean I had failed? As I dug deeper, I was aware of the bitterness growing towards God. My attitude revealed annoyance and disappointment. My heart was growing cold. I wanted to shred the piece of paper and wail, “It didn’t work for all of them God! I prayed, but it didn’t work!!” There, admitted it! I was mad at God! My prayers weren’t answered! My kids weren’t making choices I approved! Those years of training and showing them God’s love was for naught! Other pastors’ kids were still walking with God! I felt like a failure! Shame was my constant companion! I was powerless to change any of it!
I felt cheated, abandoned and angry. Hot tears fell, shame envelopes me and I didn’t know what to do. Papa and I were going to have a long talk. What do we do when anger rises towards God, our adult children, or ourselves? Have you ever been mad at God because of how things turned out with your grown kids? Are you angry at yourself because you feel like you’ve failed your kids? Do you feel guilty because you’re mad about the choices they make? “That’s now how I raised them,” we beg, pleading with God, fists in the air, saying, “it’s not supposed to be like this!” But here we are, wondering how we got here. It’s easy to allow bitterness to creep in as we become frustrated with God. It’s normal to feel anger, and it doesn’t make us bad moms when we do. Lysa Terkeurst says, “Feelings are indicators.” (Lysa Terkeurst, Unglued, Zondervan, 2008) It tells us something is going on inside and we should pay attention. It’s an invitation to have a conversation with God before it turns to bitterness and a distancing away from our Maker. God invites us to be honest with Him about our heart. As Christian women, we’ve often learned to deny or stuff our pain. We stay busy or zone out on Netflix. We try harder and serve more to appease the monster inside. When we ignore our hurts, they fester below the surface and corrupt our view of God. We rehearse our pain and eventually, the Enemy convinces us we are abandoned or that God truly doesn’t care about us. Sometimes our pain comes out in angry words towards our adult kids, which makes matters worse. There must be a healthy way to process this intensity. God has brilliantly given us examples of how two Biblical heroes handled their complex feelings. First, we have the sufferer, Job. We love to run to the book of Job as we languish in our despair. We compare and relate, though I’m sure most of us haven’t suffered to the depth Job had, losing his wealth, health, and family. Surely, he had every right to be angry with God.
King David was considered to be a man after God’s heart (1 Samuel 3:14). He was the lowly, unlikely shepherd boy, anointed to be king. He wrestled with sin, being selfish and cruel as he had Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, killed in war, covering up his infidelity with Bathsheba. He had big feelings!! And He had a lot of big feelings!! In Psalms, we get a bird’s eye view of how raw and transparent David was with God. He was even a little dramatic at times. In Psalms, we see a model for how David dealt with his emotions, neither stuffing them nor denying them, instead bringing them into the light of God’s presence and having a conversation about his deepest, darkest insecurities. “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” Psalm 22:1-3(NLT) “How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? Rescue me from their fierce attacks. Protect my life from these lions! Then I will thank you in front of the great assembly. I will praise you before all the people.” Psalm 35:17-18 ’O God, my rock,’ I cry, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I wander around in grief, oppressed by my enemies?’ Their taunts break my bones. They scoff, ‘Where is this God of yours?’ Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again-my Savior and my God!” Psalm 42:9-11(NLT) “Why is life given to those with no future, those God has surrounded with difficulties? I cannot eat for sighing; my groans pour out like water. What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true. I have no peace, no quietness. I have no rest; only trouble comes” Job 3:23-26
What can we learn from these two suffering saints? David and Job didn’t hold back their pain; they unleashed it before God because they knew He was trustworthy. They understood God wouldn’t abandon them in their anguish or anger. They recognized His compassion towards the sufferer, and they acknowledged He covered their shame. David took a transformational step after he poured out his pain: each time he returned His thoughts to God. He would say, “but, you God…” then recount the admirable qualities of God. He wanted to remember who God was in this painful moment. He didn’t stay in his pain. He acknowledges it in the presence of God; then he returned to thinking about how mighty and good God is. When we forget to take this last step with our pain, we are blocking God’s presence in our midst. When we rehearse our pain and stay there, it often leads to depression or inwardly turned anger. We’re left wallowing in a pit with no way to get out. When David turns his face to God and remembers who He is, he can get past the pain. Isn’t that what we want the most? We want to be heard by God and want relief from our emotional pain. We never need to fear being honest with God about the anguish we carry surrounding our adult kids. It’s safe to talk to God about where your heart is, however, God does not want us to stay angry. The Bible says, “in your anger do not sin.” (Ephesians 4:26 NIV) God is clear about sinful anger. It’s safe to acknowledge it, but our anger is not a license to lash out at our offspring, our Maker, or ourselves. It’s helpful to understand that we are never chastised for experiencing anger. In moving close to God with this honest conversation, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is felt more powerful. Through this great exchange, we can trade our anger for the fruit of love. It seems impossible, but this is the power of God working in us. HEART CHECK: Where do you hold anger towards your child or God? What honest conversation could you have with God about your anger? How could your relationship grow if you practiced unconditional love for your child?
Living in a world of
algorithms By – George Vilgi Oommen
#OPINION I recently heard a sermon by Rev. Tim Hill (He is the General Overseer of Church of God) where he talks about reducing his time listening to news and social media. He then encouraged spending more time on the word of God. It is a very relevant message for today. For the past decade, the influence of social media on our society has been increasing at a rapid pace. Access to smart devices made us easy to use social media and news. Increased use of smartphones also made the technology companies track all our actions without much effort. In many ways, human beings are controlled by algorithms written by the programmers of technology companies.
#opinion
Think about your life for a moment. How many times do you use your cell phone a day? How many times do you use it to call someone? Do you use it for calling someone or browsing? When you search for something on the internet, the program behind the scenes is knowing your thoughts. When you go to places, the program behind the scenes tracks your movements. When you buy something online, the program behind the scenes is knowing your purchases. And the list goes on. By years of use, the programs behind the scenes know you better than you (yes, you read it correctly!). By knowing you well, it’s easy to control your thoughts, actions and behavior. If you want to know how powerful is the influence of your smart device, stop using it for a day! Through research, it’s now a known fact that many democratic elections around the world were heavily influenced by social engineering through social media. Riots were initiated through social media. People were killed because of the influence of social media. Lies and misinformation spread through social media like wildfire. It won’t be good if I don’t point out the positive outcomes of social media in our society. It is helping people to connect in ways that never happened before in human history. It is helping small businesses to run their businesses more efficiently. Coming back to algorithms, whether positive or negative, algorithms, the backbone of every computer program is controlling the world immensely. It is a new reality of life we are living today. But, what is the point of discussing algorithms here? We will discuss it in the next edition. (to be continued…)
Lord Sees See as the
By - Carol Bevil
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 In this age of social media and filters that alter every aspect of our appearance, is anyone surprised that we have become fixated on self-image and outward appearance? No matter our time in history, humans have sought ways to improve and change their appearance. In 1 Peter 3:3, believers are told beauty should not come from outward adornment or to concern themselves with its pursuit. In 1 Tim 2:9, Paul reminds believers that care for appearance should be exercised with self-control, not drawing attention to how they look. Jesus said not to worry about what we wear; life is about more. Humans have always, whether from insecurities, vanity, or a need to cover what is broken attached worth to self-image and outward appearance.
The difference from then to now lies mostly in social media’s broader impact. Our constructed self-image is now available to an epically larger audience: the majority of which are complete strangers. With its pervasiveness and elevated importance, the reality of self-image holds little importance. We no longer care if people know that our outward appearance is filtered or photoshopped. It is now more important that our image reflects who we want people to believe we are, even if we become unrecognizable to those we love. With the scope and power of social media–the ability to photograph ourselves incessantly–self-image has grown beyond insecurity or vanity; it has morphed well beyond simply wanting to put our best foot forward. Self-image has become a false idol. We worship at its altar with our time and money. This is ripe territory for the enemy. He uses our fear that we are not enough or worthy of being loved, to plant seeds that Jesus is not enough.
Without realizing it, in our quest to construct a perfect self- image and the world’s constant elevation of outward appearance, we have ceded territory in our hearts to the enemy. The importance of appearance has grown into a beast that devours who we are and twists how we treat others. The enemy has weaponized self-image to deceive, divide, and destroy. Through the false worship of self-image, we have grown blind to the truth: our appearance is superficial. We fight the beauty of life etched into our skin. We ignore the evidence of the divine woven into each cell. We fear, judge, or dismiss our brothers and sisters in Christ. We admire and allow those whose image is worldly celebrated to hold influence without caring about the content of their character. God knew self-image would ensnare and make us vulnerable to enemy attacks. He knew the beast that prowled in the shadows of a focus on outward appearance would twist self-image into a false idol. God knew if we set outward appearance above the content of a person’s heart, then the seeds of judgment, fear, mistrust, and even hatred would be sown. We would grow blind to His artistry, the worth of all, and His goodness in the pursuit of this unworthy master. But even as the Goliath-sized beast of self-image attempts to destroy, we have the truth as shield and sword. A person’s worth, YOUR WORTH, is so much greater than the self-image you chase and construct. And, although there is nothing wrong about putting your best foot forward (“exercised with self-control”), we must be on guard against the beast that twists its pursuit into a false idol. 1 Samuel 16:7 is a glorious shield through a simple command: “Do not look on outward appearance.” The Lord gave us the true path that leads to Christ-mindedness: to see ourselves and others as He sees; eyes that reject appearance to search for hearts overflowing with Christ’s beauty. A sword against the beast of self-image can be found in Genesis 1:26-27: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him” This truth pierces through every lie about your imperishable beauty and the intrinsic beauty of others. We are divinely fashioned together, a masterpiece; altogether beautiful. His truth moves us from the danger of pursuing self-image without self-control and false worship to a heart transformed to desire God’s image above a world-approved self-image. Imagine a world where reflecting God’s image is more important than self-image! A world where our concern shifts from “outward beauty” to the “beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit.” (1 Peter 3:3-4) In that world, we know our true worth: we are each “very precious in God’s sight” and can pursue Kingdom impact over influence, secure in the knowledge that God gave each of us an imperishable beauty that is not ravaged by time or diminished by difference. A world where we love more deeply and serve humbly. When we choose to pick up the shield and sword of God’s truth, we trust that we are each God’s workmanship and Christ’s image bearer. Let’s transform the world to a place where outward appearance is second to the heart.
POWER OF
PERSEVERANCE By - Evg. Jacob Vilgi Oommen
Perseverance is nothing but doing something consistently until success, regardless of how hard or easy it is. Take a moment to look around from where you sit, and the smallest thing to the biggest thing your eyes capture is the result of someone's perseverance despite all the difficulties. I love watching documentaries because it gives you a clear picture of what's happening around the globe, and every documentary I watch has an eye-opening lesson to learn. One of the documentaries I always see is the process of making products. Before a product hits the market, what is the process it goes through from the first step to the last one. And sometimes, I was appalled to see the amount of tedious hard work and perseverance people put into seeing the final product. It taught me to be thankful even for a small thing because it’s the result of someone’s hard work with perseverance. It taught me to respect every single job on the planet. From janitor to the president of the country. Because every job is unique and requires a lot of perseverance and hard work. Our society is standing on mutual respect. If you tried to cut your hair by yourself during the lockdown season of the pandemic, you would understand more about what I am talking about. The global pandemic brought everyone more to the Christ-like perspective. Every human being is valuable, even if they hold big or small social positions.
What is the role of perseverance in Christian life? The answer is simple. Without perseverance, you would fall apart. Some time ago, I heard Evangelist Daniel Kolenda saying when he asked Evg. Reinhard Bonnke what is the secret of your success? He thought he would say Holy Spirit or something else, but Bonnke replied perseverance. The man who leads millions to Christ, and that's because of perseverance? Yes, it is. Because no matter how anointed and big calling you have in your life, if you don't trust God and work towards it persistently despite all challenges and difficulties you face, you will die with visions, not legacy. So the same excitement we show to receive the anointing should be there for perseverance. Often we judge fruitful servants of God by seeing the beautiful pictures they post on their social media. We wanted to become like one of them overnight. But we forget that everyone publishes the best part of their life. Many years back, I told my wife I wanted to be useful like Apostle Paul, and she asked me, so are you ready to get your head cut off for the Gospel? If everyone you follow on social media posted the sleepless nights, their spiritual warfare, sacrifices, rejections from the dear ones, accusations, painful words from the society, financial crisis, then I am sure no one would be wanted to become like them. Very often, we want to be used by God for the wrong reasons, which makes us stumble on the track of Christian life.
“Christian life is not about being free from all the trials of life, but it's all about overcoming the trials through Christ.”
Only a person who has the true revelation of the ultimate destination they are heading to can live with perseverance and make it till the end fruitfully. When you travel for an interview, you will see several things during the journey towards your destination. And if you get fascinated by something in between your journey, would you get down there? No. Because you know that your destination is greater than all the fancy things you see in between. Because if you pass your interview and get a job, that sustains you forever than the temporary pleasure in between. So your revelation about your destination helps you persevere until you reach your interview location. So if you cannot have the perseverance to do what God has called you to do fruitfully. The article or book that says five ways to build perseverance does no good. But you should pray and dwell in the revelation of eternal life and realize how privileged we are to serve the almighty God with the precious life God has given us. The Bible says in James 1:12, Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. The word blessing has a whole new meaning in this modern Christian world. Blessed is the one who has Cadillac or Benz. These teachings take us to a place where everyone who follows Christ has no trials but only triumph, which is wrong. Does that mean we are just a bunch of losers? No. Jesus never promised that we would never have a trial, but he said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NIV) The Christian life is not about being free from all the trials of life, but it's all about overcoming the trials through Christ. James reminds us that the one who perseveres under trial is the blessed one. During the challenging season of life when you fight it with perseverance and when you come out of that victoriously through Jesus Christ, you are the blessed one. Even when we have everything this world offers but don't have the peace of Christ and the strength to persevere through our trials, our life is miserable. I wouldn't trade in the peace of Christ and the strength to persevere during the trials, even with billions of dollars. I have experienced the value of God’s peace and the strength to persevere through trials on many occasions in my personal life.
“Spend quality time in prayer and pour out your heart to the Lord.” James reminds us that the person who receives the crown of life is not the person who started the Christian life, ran for some years, but stood firmly till last during the trials and tests. In Olympics, everyone who started the sprint race won't get the price but only the one who finishes on the first three positions. Others might have invested millions for their training and energy, but all those are in vain if you cannot finish the race on top. There are no shortcuts to the crown of life, but we must persevere through all godly processes. Perseverance is not you tried something, and it didn't turn out as you expected, so leave it aside but do everything you can to make it better and better until you see the result you need. As you read this, you might be going through a season where you are unable to stay focused and do what you are called to do with perseverance. Do you feel like everything is falling apart? I encourage you to stop worrying. Because worrying won't make any difference, your actions with perseverance make a difference to your current situation. Spend quality time in prayer and pour out your heart to the Lord. Focus your mind on the destination you are heading. And start taking small steps one at a time. Don't neglect the importance of small steps. Often time we fail to persevere because we set unrealistic goals. One tiny matchstick is enough to put acres of forest into the fire. When you are persistent in taking small steps frequently, that adds up and makes a big difference in your life than you think, and it helps you become a person of perseverance in everything you do and you will definitely see the fruit of your persistence. I pray that this article will encourage you to persevere in God's calling in your life. Never give up and trust God with perseverance and propel forward to your promised destination - Eternal Life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9
Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him; Psalm 41:1
T.D. Jakes
The
Authentic Scandalous Worship By - Daya Raja
Life in Between A woman in the Gospel of Luke poured her life at the feet of Jesus in the most authentic way I have ever seen in the scriptures. (Luke 7: 36-38) She was a prostitute. She let people touch her and enjoy her body and she had to touch and serve strangers’ bodies- their private parts for their pleasure as a part of her livelihood. We do not know if it was multiple strangers at a time, nor do we know if it brought her pleasure. We also do not know if her customers looked at her and her body with respect or took out their aggression on her. We do not know if she endured years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse behind closed doors. But we do know that the life of a prostitute outside those closed doors is stripped away of dignity. Even in this day and age, prostitutes are humiliated, ostracized and do not get to take part in community life like others. What could have been their condition 2000 years ago is something we all can barely imagine.
Coming to the scriptures, Luke 7:37, 38, “a woman of streets- a prostituteheard he was there brought an exquisite flask filled with expensive perfume. Going in, she knelt behind him at his feet weeping, with her tears falling down upon his feet; and she wiped them off with her hair and kissed them and poured the perfume on them.” What scandalous verses! Yet what sacred moments of worship! She- a known prostitute and Jesus- the saviour of mankind. She- a woman with a hideous past and Jesus- the eternally Holy One. She - a woman with unexplainable pain and Jesus- the ultimate Healer. If we are honest with ourselves, isn’t every moment of worship exactly this? An encounter between our ugly selves and the flawless beautiful Jesus! Worship in the ‘ugly and unconventional’ way is the only right response to the grandeur that He is.
The revelation of who Jesus is made her pour her savings- all that she has at His feet. She did not gift her jar of perfume to him in front of people to get some accolades. She served him. In that moment of revelation, Jesus was so worthy to her that breaking the jar of her savings wasn’t enough. In fact, breaking that jar was only one part of her worship. She knelt down and served him in unconventional ways which could be perceived as scandalous. But none of that stopped her. In the presence of the majesty and holiness of Jesus, she was undone.
“Worship in the ‘ugly and unconventional’ way is the only right response to the grandeur that He is”
If you remember, the man (David) who was certified ‘the man after God’s own heart’ also had these moments of extravagant worship. (2 Samuel 6: 14-22) He said, “Yes, and I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!” in response to Michal’s contempt of his worship before the Ark of the Lord. Now, since worship is a lifestyle required of every follower of Jesus, what does our worship look like? Is it a list of orthodox things we think need to be done before the Lord? Or is it unconventional and ugly? Is it self preserving or self-diminishing? Is it calculated and safe, or does it cost us? You see, authentic worship requires absolute trust in Jesus. It requires a deep knowledge that He knows your heart and you need not prove it to anybody else. It requires a revelation of His grandeur and beauty. It requires a conviction that letting go of our life is in fact finding it. I pray that God will lead you to more of Himself this New Year. God be with you.
Daya Raja, Bangalore Daya thinks it’s absolutely cool to be known by Jesus. She deeply appreciates nature, art and silence. Currently she is pursuing Masters in Development in India. 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 believe that you were inspired to know about Dr. Mully through this edition. The life of Dr. Mully is a reminder that God can do great and mighty things even through the life of one person. God can use your life to impact many around you. 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 baut 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 the 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
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