Wednesday, January 11, 2012

A dog stole my sandals, but it was totally worth it.

Tonight is a night that I will never forget (and I mean it). Jesus Christ has power.  Tonight we did a program in an unreached slum. Our stage was a Hindu temple. We did skits, we sang songs, we proclaimed the name of Jesus. At the end of our program, we opened it up for prayer and told people that we would pray for anyone that wanted it. We were asked to go into a house and pray for a man that was paralyzed. I really wanted to see this man healed, but it would all be by God's power. It was Denanje, Paul, Sam, and me. This man had had a stroke two years ago. For two years he hadn't moved his right hand, fingers, or elbow. For two years he hadn't moved his left leg, toes, or walked. He also had some issue in his brain, so he couldn't speak.

We dove into prayer. Nothing ever happens by man's power, by my power. Every miracle that ever happens happens by God's power. So we prayed that the Holy Spirit would over take the man. After 15 minutes he could close his hand. Next he could move his toes a little. His muscles were shaking. We could hear bones cracking. He was sighing. We kept praying and calling on Jesus. We told him to praise Jesus, even though he couldn't talk. His tongue started to loose. He said "Yeshu" (Hindi for Jesus). He started talking more. God continued to heal. Eventually he stood up and walked to his door and back. While he was standing he accepted Christ as his Lord. When I left, he was standing in the doorway with his left hand on his head. He shook my hand and gripped it tight. Never have I been so full of faith. This is real. Jesus's life was real.

More than physical life, this man received eternal life. I know that this brother of mine will be with me in heaven. This is a night I will never forget. There's no way that I can deny that Jesus is Lord.

And...when we came out of the house we found out that someone had stolen our shoes (probably a dog). I give up all my shoes to see this again :)

Saturday, January 7, 2012

This really has been an adventure

So I'm writing this while riding on a train. Today was pretty amazing. I can't explain it. The amount peace that god has given me is phenomenal. Our God is good. Since we got here we have prayed so much. Some people have been healed, some haven't. At first this was very hard because it's hard when God doesn't answer prayer the way we want him too. 

One family we prayed for had multiple injuries. One lady had a big boil on her neck, and she had dark dreams every night, and was depressed. When we prayed for her, the Spirit came on her and she was healed. That night the bad dreams stopped. The next time I saw her you could see joy radiating off of her face, telling you she had exeriwnced something amazing. Her husband had had a bad ankle, and after we prayed for him two weeks before this, he was healed. We talked to them and they wanted to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit again, so we shared the gospel with them, and told them again that it wasn't by our power, but because of God's love. After this they both accepted Christ.

Another time we were doing prayer visits we went into a Christian home. A man asked us to pray for his two sons, both of whom were mentally handicapped. As my leader Brandon and I started to pray, we asked God if he wanted to heal these boys. These boys were the happiest people I had seen. They had so much joy. They showed us notebooks of pictures they had drawn, and I was so encouraged. As we prayed, I felt God say that he wasn't going to heal these boys. Instead of praying to heal these boys, I prayed that God would use them to show their community what this joy is that comes from Christ. That's what matters.

God did not send me to heal people physically. Yes, that has happened, but only by God's power. We didn't do anything. Physical healing isn't what matters. What matters is internal healing; finding the joy and freedom that comes in Christ's love, and then spreading this message of good news. YOU, MY FRIEND, CAN BE SET FREE AND EXPERIENCE THIS LOVE. GOD LOVES YOU! That is our message and the only thing that matters. That is what God is trying to get across to the people of India, the people of America and the rest of the people on this planet.

Today a Hindi man asked me for a Bible after seeing us pray for a woman's group. He saw the love and joy. He told me he knew nothing about Christianity, so I shared what I knew. God made us. God loved/loves us. Man sinned. Man turned from God. God condemned man to hell. God felt compassion and love. God came down as human and was perfect, innocently being nailed to the cross. God raised him from the dead and conquered sin and death itself. In doing so he brought freedom to all that ask for it. "If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." It's a gift. We are saved by grace, not works. I have a God that loves me, and cares about the little things. That is why I can smile when life is hard. That is why I can find peace when I have no money. That is why I can't help but talk about my best friend, Jesus Christ.

India is awesome. My team is another part of my family. I rode a camel. I've learned to play cricket.  I played jingle bells with a group of Chinese people in front of a couple hundred Indians. I watched cats play with a toad the size of a baseball. I've played an improv worship set on the side of the street to a crowd of 40 Indians (then we preached!). It's been awesome. I'm really learning about God taking control. We pray so much. We go to slums multiple times a week. Our God is good, so good it's worth talking about.

I've been so humbled by the love of Christ. Reading Matthew has humbled me. Jesus was so wise.