More than medicine

Negative emotions are so rampant. We grow angry, feel insulted, and build resentment. Slowly but surely, grudges fill our hearts and minds. It requires a tremendous amount of emotional energy to keep a grudge going. When we nurse and hold onto grudges, we let bitterness grow within us. Bitterness is like a poison that can impair us physically, mentally and spiritually.

Another powerful negative emotion is guilt. When guilt about what we’ve done threaten to overwhelm us, we need to do something to gain a clear conscience. The apostle Paul stated: “I try with all my strength to always maintain a clear conscience before God and man” (Acts 24:16).

Pride is a big hindrance to getting a clear conscience. Our pride always tells us that we are right and others are wrong. But seldom is the case. 

Sometimes we belittle people. We may not recognize their value and worth. At times we show no concern for other people and their welfare. We may even be party to the exploitation and oppression of the weak. Sometimes, we may be guilty of hatred, ungratefulness, resentment and so forth.

Whatever negativity has taken hold of us, we need to ask forgiveness. “If we confess our sins to him, he can be depended on to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” (1John 1:9). God is, in fact, waiting for us to approach Him. Similarly, whatever wrongs we have committed against other human beings, we need to ask those persons to forgive us. If we have caused any material damage, we have to make restitution for the same.

I realize, this may sound frightening or difficult. But this is necessary in order to cleanse your conscience. It is important to remember that although God readily forgives us, people may not be so willing. There may be someone who refuses your apology. If this happens, don’t worry; simply concentrate on sincerely and prayerfully doing your part. Leave the rest to the One who can heal all wounds, and melt all hearts. The end result is in God’s hands, not ours. We only need to do our part and leave the rest to Him.

Holding feelings of hurt and bitterness affects our spiritual and physical health. The Bible says: stop being mean, bad tempered and angry. Quarrelling, harsh words, and dislike of others should have no place in your lives. Instead, be kind to each other, tender hearted, forgiving one another, just as God has forgiven you because you belong to Christ (Ephesians 4:31-32).

How can we forgive people? When others do things against us, it is natural to feel offended. We often blame the offender for the problem. But the more we blame others, the more we build anger and dislike against them. Before we know it, we get worked up inside and waste a lot of time and energy.

Our body chemistry often gets upset in that agitated condition, and we become prone to certain kinds of sickness. We unnecessarily invite physical stress when we give in to wrong responses to unpleasant situations. Our muscles, nerves, and body systems are affected. What a price to pay for anger and bitterness!

As Christians, we know that God watches over the affairs of His children. Nothing happens to us that He doesn’t know about or that is out of His control. So what does this mean when we feel offended? Should we suppress our negative feelings when someone wrongs us? No. If you suppress such things, they will not go away; they will just find another outlet, or build up until on one particularly bad day, they explode.

It is much better to try and understand what is happening.

When someone has wronged you, try to find out whether you have contributed to the problem. If you are in the wrong too, the way forward is to take the initiative and do your best to rectify the situation. But let’s assume that you are innocent, that and the other person has wronged you without provocation. How do you forgive in that situation?

When someone has hurt you, especially if that person is 100% in the wrong, you have every reason to feel resentment. But what good will holding anger and bitterness do to you? Such responses only add to the problem, and could possibly cause you emotional or physical stress. Ultimately, you lose.

One way out is to view the offender differently. When we are up in an airplane, even skyscrapers look like matchboxes. The buildings are still tall, but they look tiny because our perspective has changed. You can begin to forgive with a similar change of perspective. Trusting God, you can boldly say that whatever anyone has done against you will be to your own advantage in the long run.

In this way, you can consider the wrongdoers, a tool in God’s hand. Just see the person as someone being used by God to bring blessing on you, even though that individual’s aim may have been to destroy you. If you believe so, you are ultimately going to be blessed through the offender’s action. Therefore there is no need to hold anger or bitterness.

With God’s help, you can turn your bitterness into forgiveness. You can stop being bad-tempered, and angry. You do not know what good may happen to you as a result of someone’s wrongdoings. But you can certainly prevent further harm that will flow from nursing resentment. You can learn how to forgive from the bottom of your heart, how to love the offender, and even how to show him or her, a little kindness.

Be happy when things go wrong

We must do our best to protect ourselves from things that harm us. But we need not be overly concerned. Instead, we need to learn to relax in the sovereignty of God.

I thought I did everything right when I planned a short trip to preach in an evening meeting. I checked the car, started it, and even examined the engine. Satisfied that the car was ready, I went inside for a brief time of prayer. But when I went back to the car, it wouldn’t start. I tried for a few minutes, and it was getting late!

Finally, I had to call a taxi. When it arrived, I discovered that the driver was new to the area. He had just recently started his taxi business after a stint in the army.

Because he was unfamiliar with the roads, he had an assistant with him. As he drove out onto the main road, I thought: “Even a bullock cart can overtake our taxi. He came late and now he is going slow. It’s already time for my speech.” I was tempted to get out of the cab and hire another.

But all I said to the taxi driver was, “Who knows, the one person who is going to listen to my speech may not arrive until we get there”. He looked at me confused, so I went on to explain. “I am going to this place for a meeting. The one person who needs to hear what I have to say and know my God, might be working late somewhere and may get to the meeting only by the time I arrive.”

I told him not to speed just because I was in a hurry. He seemed to relax, and I asked him to tell me about his new business. He told me of his plans for settling his children, renovating his old house, and taking care of other personal matters. Finally, we reached the place, almost an hour late.

I asked the driver to wait for me and straight away went to the dias. Once there, I found that some of the young people had been singing all the songs they knew to keep the audience entertained as they waited for me to arrive. I spoke for about forty-five minutes and went back to the taxi for the trip home. As we drove towards the main road, the driver asked me who that “one person” was. I realized that he was asking about my conversation with him on my way to the meeting. I told him that the person may have been in the crowd.

“I am that one person”, the taxi driver said in a loud voice. “I had the privilege of entering the kingdom of God tonight”. His assistant added, “Two persons entered the kingdom of God tonight, I am the second person.” I told the driver to pull over and park the car on the side of the road for a moment. I wanted them to tell me what they understood from the message I had given.

 “We were listening to you while you were in the taxi”, one of them said. The other one nodded in agreement. It seemed they were observing my reaction to the delay and listening to my tone of voice as we talked. I had every reason to be upset, but God enabled me to talk to them and encourage them even though we were late.

The two men in the taxi heard me speak on that day and in the course of my talk, they met the same Jesus who lives in me. I explained to them the qualities of Christ and the ways for them to grow in Christ. I told them how Christ can strengthen their character and give them the power to react in positive, encouraging ways.

ALL THE PROOF YOU NEED

Questions have played an important part in my life.

I have been asked many different questions by many different people. Some people seek immediate answers. Others hope to learn something from my experiences. A few questioned me simply out of curiosity. My friends often ask me questions are in my area of specialty.

But there was one question that I asked myself for a very long time: “Where does God fit into the system of electronics and nucleus of the atom, or the system of planets and stars and galaxies of the universe?” From this question came my drive to find some kind of proof for the existence of God.

My parents and grandparents brought me up in a godly home. Intense belief in God was expected. We all prayed seriously and participated regularly in spiritual exercises.

Then I became a keen student of science, and suddenly my faith in God was shaken! In my science classes I gained knowledge from lectures. In my lab hours I would experiment to see the proof of my theories. I learned to put my scientific thoughts and theories to the test. Then, I began to feel a need to test my religious beliefs. How could I worship God if I could not prove that He existed?

My parents advised me to read my Bible and pray regularly. But to whom do you pray when you are in doubt? Then I thought, “Suppose there is a God, and I do not pray; perhaps something bad might happen to me. It is best to pray to be on the safe side.” But I knew it was almost intellectual suicide to pray and at the same time deny the existence of God. The best way to pray, therefore, was to say in the beginning. “If after all there is a God, let Him hear.”

I continued praying and reading my Bible every day. One evening I came upon a passage in the Bible: “Unless you are born again, you can never get into the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The term “born again” kept coming into my mind, among other things, and I began to concentrate on some math assignments.

But yet the issue of becoming born again kept coming back into my mind-along with various sermons I had heard on this topic in meetings and Sunday School classes, and the advice I received from parents and grandparents! I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I began to wonder if something was wrong with me. Why else would I find it difficult to accept the spiritual reality or God?

The funny thing is that I was right without knowing it. There was something wrong with me: my sins! I was trying to get the approval of my parents, relatives, friends and teachers, that I was leading a clean life.

I was like the pickpocket I had once heard about in a sermon. This pickpocket went to the bus station intending to relieve the travelers of their money. However, once there he found that all of his intended victims were guarding their pockets carefully, and he had no success. So he went home in the evening and said to himself, “At least I did not commit the sin of stealing this day.” True. But he didn’t commit the act of stealing, only because he lacked the opportunity! In his heart, in his intent, he had sinned already.

I, too, had often felt I wasn’t a sinner. After all, I hadn’t really done sinful things. But that night I realized I was a sinner. And I began to see that my inability to believe in God was rooted in my own sins. With this realization came another aspect. I needed someone to take away my guilt feelings.

I remembered learning in Sunday school that Jesus is able to clean up everything because of what He did on the cross. That night I knew I wanted to try Jesus. I decided to subject this offer of forgiveness and cleansing to the test of experience. How wonderful that in my search for proof of God’s existence, the first proof I discovered was the transformation that God produced in my own life. From that point, everything about me began to change.

I wanted to share with my friends what had happened, but I didn’t want anyone to misunderstand me. So I decided to go slow on making any public statement about this transformation.

It wasn’t long, though before I my friends noticed a change in my behavior. I overheard them talking to one another, saying there was something different about me, about my behavior, my attitude, and even the way I talked. I was thrilled! If my friends were seeing a change in me that meant my transformation had been real. After that, I began to share boldly about the entire experiment.

This became another changing point for me, the point at which I began to experience God’s love in my prayer life, my friendships, and attitude towards myself. It was a radical redirection of my motives and interests.

Several years later, I taught classes about the production of nontoxic and short-lived radioisotopes used in medicine. I told my class about the change occurring on a target material bombarded with neutrons in the nuclear reactor. Those who listened to me knew that I actually had first-hand experience with such reactor-produced radioisotopes. They knew that I was telling them something real and tangible. None of them questioned the existence of the radioisotope, because it is real and detectable. I was able to share my experience with confidence.

In the same way, I can also tell about another transformation that is even more lasting and real. The life span of those reactor-produced radioisotopes is small. But when you experience a spiritual transformation, you enter into an eternal relationship with God. This transformation is real, powerful, and never-ending.

Who’s flying the plane?

One morning, as I was having breakfast in a hotel room, the receptionist called to let me know there was a man waiting in the lobby.

I did not expect anyone that morning, since my host already had made all arrangements for my ride to the airport. The receptionist connected me to the visitor using the in-house telephone.

“I came to thank you for your help,” he told me in a grateful voice.

“What for?” I was curious.

“For saving my life!” he said, surprising me. “I was in your audience last night. I thought you were talking about myself in your speech. Thank you for helping me!”

Now I was even more curious! When he asked me to pray with him, I invited him to come up to my room.

While I waited for him, I thought over the previous night. I had spoken at a dinner meeting arranged by some friends who were interested in spiritual things. They had invited some of their colleagues, and they had asked me to speak to the group.

I talked on our relationship with God. I explained how our relationships are affected due to the damage caused by sin and that man was made in the image of God; but due to man’s sin, his image was defaced. Of course, the good news is that our defaced images can be restored in Jesus Christ. And when our relationship with God is restored, other relationships follow-relationships with others, in the sociological dimension, relationships with ourselves, in the psychological dimension and even our relationship with the environment, in the ecological dimension. We can demonstrate this restoration by subjecting our beliefs to the test of experience. This was what I shared with the group.

When my visitor arrived, I showed him to a seat. He began to talk immediately: “Several times I have thought of attempting suicide, but then I thought of others, it prevented me from doing it.” He went on to describe his strained relationships at home and at work.

He told me that he reached the point where he couldn’t even stand the sight of other people talking when he was around them, because he always assumed they were talking about him. He said he almost became psychotic. He did not want to live, and was waiting for an opportunity to take his life. This was disturbing: it became more so when he informed me that he was a commercial airline pilot. He hinted that he had even attempted suicide.

“Then,” he said, a smile lighting up his face, “I heard you speak. And now everything has changed! I do not want to die; I only want to live. And I know God will help me to do so, and He will help restore me and my relationships.”

After we prayed together and he left, I began to think of people like this man in whose hands we place our lives and safety. I was grateful that God had used me to help this man. God also helped me see that when we open ourselves to be used by Him, we may well be helping many other people, too. In this case, those who could have been passengers in an airplane flown by a troubled and suicidal person!

God and Science

I don’t find it difficult to believe in God. As a scientist, I often have to exercise faith. Any time I do research, I have to exercise faith. Any time I do research, I have to believe that what I am exploring is real. It would be difficult to explore something that is unreal or only appears to be real. I don’t know all there is to know. But I can build on what I do know-that the natural world does exist. When I begin to explore something, to research it, I demonstrate my faith in that thing’s existence. Similarly, when I pray I show that I believe in God’s existence.

As a scientist, I also have to believe in the regularity of events in nature. I may have to wait until next year to find whether certain things will operate the same way as they did this year. But until I am shown differently, I go ahead with my research, believing that nature is unchanging.

Similarly, I can boldly believe the unchanging promises of God. God will care for me, God will be close beside me, and God will provide for me (sometimes, even bypassing the laws of nature!). God’s promises are unchanging because God is unchanging. In Him are wisdom, power, holiness, goodness, justice and truth. That will never change.

As a scientist, I explore nature, believing that it is understandable. There is no point in working hard if nature is not understandable. Then, as I continue exploring, I am able to unravel the mysteries of nature. Likewise, though God is infinite and I am finite, I believe that He is understandable to the extent that He reveals Himself through Christ and in His Word. So I can begin my exploration believing that I will at least in part, be able to understand God.

When I first began my work as a scientist, I had to study systematically, intelligently and diligently. I would start with the accumulated knowledge that others had discovered regarding my topic of study. I had to learn how they obtained proof and what methodology they adopted. As a person who wants to know God, I can use the same approach in studying the Scriptures, which contains a record of what others, by divine inspiration, have written about God.

I have carried out experiments, with the help of experienced scientists, to prove my personal convictions. I also have had to rely on the experiments conducted by others. Experiencing the living presence and abiding love of God in my life can be verified on an experimental basis. In fact, God is verifying Himself to us through various life experiences. There is a difference in understanding for persons who have experienced the living presence of God and those who have not yet experienced it.

To understand that difference, consider Matthew 5:8 “Happy are those whose hearts are pure, for they shall see God.” In science we wouldn’t say that only the pure in heart can see, say, a nuclear reactor. Anyone, pure or impure, can see a nuclear reactor. But in Scripture, things that are true and real to the pure in heart may not be true and real to the impure. Truth and reality take on new dimensions once you have experienced the living presence of God.

In science, we continue to carry on independent investigations to unravel greater mysteries of nature. As we gain more information, we publish it for the benefit of others. Similarly, when we have other kinds of experience-especially experiences of a spiritual nature-we should share what we learn for the benefit of others.        

What is the Purpose of Your Life?

What is the Purpose of Your Life?

Not long after my transformation, a man I respected very much asked me a question that I have never forgotten: “What is the purpose of your life?”

I answered that I would like to become a nuclear scientist who would find a cure for the effects of nuclear scientist who would find a cure for the effects of nuclear weapons.

Obviously, I knew little of nuclear weapons. But I had become determined to fulfill this goal when I read a newspaper report of the first detonation of a hydrogen bomb. I was only fourteen years old at that time. The newspaper reporter explained all the possible havoc that could result from nuclear explosions. I was determined in my young mind to develop a cure for the harmful effects of terrible destructive weapons.

Later, my interest as a budding research scientist was to invent some kind of tablet that one could take to nullify the effects of nuclear weapons. I thought, most sincerely, that people who took my preventive medicine would be able to walk through the radiation and fallout.

The man who had questioned me, considered my answer thoughtfully. Then he said, “George, the purpose of our life is to glorify God.” I looked at him in surprise as he explained that we should seek, above all, to glorify God by a life that is utterly devoted to serving Him.

I remember thinking, “I’m already doing that. I am praying regularly, worshipping God and glorifying Him.

This dear man then asked me questions about my work. I told him I was a student and that my work was studying. He then asked me whether I was glorifying God by my studies. I told him that I was scoring good marks for every test and remarked: “What more can one do for God’s glory?”

“Are you studying merely for good grades or studying for God?” he asked. I knew I was studying for good grades. I knew how to select the questions that were likely to be asked and then study their answers instead of learning the entire book. I got good grades using this method, but I didn’t realize that I was cheating myself and God. This man helped me to learn that I wasn’t glorifying God by my studies.

I have never forgotten that conversation. It became the turning point in my attitude toward work and studies.

THE ROOM OF GOLD!

Like most people who travel often, I usually allow myself plenty of time to get to the airport.

I also try to take special precautions when I check in for a full flight, to ensure I don’t lose my seat-and possibly the price of my ticket-if I happen to be late. When there are a lot of people travelling, it can be difficult to get a seat on subsequent flights. Moreover, taking a flight other than the one you originally booked can be both inconvenient and risky-luggage, connecting flights, meeting people, all of these factors become a cause for anxiety. So I do all I can do to prevent problems. However, “all I can do” sometimes isn’t good enough.

On one trip in India I sat next to a passenger who had been given the window seat. When the flight attendant came around with beverages, she poured tea for us. She had to lean over my tray table, as the passenger sitting in the window seat was reluctant to lift his cup for her to pour into it. During the process she spilled some tea on his tray table. Immediately I took my paper napkin and offered to wipe down the tray table, but he refused.

Instead, he began to spill more tea from his cup on the tray, then folded the tray so that the back of the seat in front of him got soaked with tea! He also made sure that the materials in the seat pocket in front of him got wet before the attendant returned with paper napkins. I began to wonder if I would be his next target!

In due course the flight attendant collected the tray and cup, apologizing for the spill. As she walked away I glanced at my seatmate, wondering why in the world he was behaving so strangely.

“I think we’re on time today,” I said, trying to break the ice.

“What’s the use?” he responded.

“Are you going to be late for your next appointment, sir?” I asked politely.

“I was supposed to leave yesterday,” he said with a coarse, angry voice. “But those wretched airline people gave my seat to someone else.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that!” I said with sympathy, and he went on to tell me that because his car had broken down on the way to the airport, he hadn’t arrived in time for check in. Since there were a lot of passengers on the waiting list, his seat had been given away after his name had been announced repeatedly over the public address system- which, of course, he could not hear because he was stranded on the highway! When he finally made it to the airport, his flight was closed and all the passengers had passed through the security area.

“I pleaded for my seat”, he told me in a pathetic tone, “but they said I couldn’t go”. It seems he argued for a long time with the agents at the check-in counter and exchanged quite a few angry words. He was still angry at the airline staff.

“Did you sleep well last night, sir?”, I inquired. He replied, “They promised me a seat on the flight the following day, but I had to pay for a room in a hotel to spend the night”.

“All night, I was thinking of the behavior of the airline staff”, he explained “They were very rude to me. They could have given me my seat”.

I enquired about his occupation and was surprised to learn that he was a qualified surgeon and a member of the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (F.R.C.S). Why would such a man react as he had? After all, flight delays and sudden flight cancellations are not uncommon in India. I wondered how he would respond when something went wrong in the operating theater. It was frightening to think of his holding the surgical knife while behaving as he did in the airplane. Sometimes even highly educated people behave like beasts, especially when they are angry about unpredictable happenings.

I smiled at him and said, “Things that are out of our control are on the increase, aren’t they?” I told him how, when tap water became available in my home village, we all buried our wells and depend entirely on tap water. If something goes wrong with the water works department, including electrical failure, we don’t have water from the tap. In the past, water had been under our direct control. Now, thanks to modern technology, it wasn’t!

“Although I am not in control, my great big, wonderful God is”, I continued. “For instance, I may be about to solve some pressing problems when another heap of problems suddenly come up.” He looked at me and encouraged me to continue. “But my great big, wonderful God is much, much bigger than all my problems put together!” As I talked to the man, he began to share his personal problems in response. I went on to tell him that though we know that our God is sovereign and in full control, we often try to make our problems bigger and our God smaller. This is foolishness, plain and simple. I explained how one can find rest and peace in God’s power and care.

“These concepts will help me in my work,” he responded. He did not have much difficulty in accepting God and the spiritual reality and the methods and procedure based on faith.

The surgeon I met on the plane subjected his new found beliefs to the test of experience. His practice is going wonderfully now, and he reports he is a different person. He does not become so upset over unexpected crises. He has discovered, as we all can discover, that if Christ is living in us, we are being transformed every day.

Is it necessary to get upset and worried? Not at all! God is in control. This is not a mere assumption on our part. Day by day, we experience God’s control on us.

God’s Top Athletes

God’s Top Athletes

Sports are a big part of life in almost every country. We appreciate athletes who win. We even develop a great deal of respect for certain players who are especially good at what they do.

However, if you wanted to perform as well as they do, simply observing, taking lessons, practicing, or even eating the same kind of food usually will not be enough to bring you up to their level. Probably, the only way for you to become as proficient as they are is to transplant an athlete’s mind into your head. For it is in the mind that true change begins.

The Bible tells us, “Actually (we) do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ” (1Coritnthians 2:16 TLB). It makes a lot of difference when you have Christ living in you. When we are born again, we “have been crucified with Christ: and (we ourselves) no longer live, but Christ lives in (us)”(Galatians 2:20 TLB). We experience a spiritual transplant.

I knew this when I accepted Jesus Christ. But I realized only later that I had to live a ‘daily crucified’ life. When Christ was crucified, His feet –which He had used to walk to needy people and help them-were immobilized, His hands-which He had used to touch many and bring healing and consolation-were nailed. His enemies thought, He would never again serve others with those hands and feet.

Not only did they immobilize Him; they mocked Him, telling Him to “perform another miracle” and come down from the cross. Though Christ had the power to perform any miracle, He suffered and listened to them. This is the crucified life.

Each of us need to live such a life daily. When we do so, we continue His work, enabling Jesus to walk and touch through our hands and feet. “When God the Father, with glorious power, brought him back to life again, you were given his wonderful new life to enjoy.” (Romans 6:4 TLB).

Christ’s hands and feet didn’t remain nailed. He lives inside the born-again believer, and He therefore has great potential. The Spirit of God gives us spiritual gifts and power. The Bible talks about understanding “how incredibly great his power is to help (us)” (Ephesians 1:19 TLB).

As a parent, I have seen how children reflect what they learn and inherit from their parents and environment. Parents have a role in the inheritance & development of talents, character and behavior. Likewise, when Christ comes to live within us. He begins to transform us. By the will of God, He is even now changing us from what we are by nature to what we need to be. God wants us to bear His character. God wants to work through us.

This means that our veiled character traits must be removed and replaced with good qualities. Our inability to love God and man must be replaced with the ability and strength to do so. Due to our learning and environment, all of us have instincts for various actions. Some of these are good, some are bad. We know which areas in our lives need cleansing and further development.

When we allow Christ to come into our lives, we become a combination of genes, training & plus, what God gives us as a result of accepting Jesus Christ. In the mystery of God’s grace, all these-heredity, genes, environment, training, and the spiritual component work together! The spiritual blessings God bestows on me work in harmony with what good qualities God has given me in my genes, environment and training. If I disregard the spiritual component, I lose a great deal and become deficient. This produces a myriad of problems. But God also works in myriad ways to bring about His will and work, despite our deficiencies.   

THE UNKNOWN THIEF!

Several years ago, in September of 1982, I was at the airport in Lima, Peru. I didn’t want to bother my host by asking him to stay with me at the check-in area at the airport. So I asked him to drop me at the departure area and go home to have some rest.

I stood in line along with the other passengers, holding onto my briefcase and pushing the suitcase forward until it was my turn. When I got to the counter, I requested a good seat, as it was a night flight from Lima to Los Angeles. I handed the agent my tickets, passport, and the ten-dollar airport tax. All the other documents- my health certificate against yellow fever, Bible, notes, glasses, items for personal use, and money-were in my briefcase, which is allowed as a hand- carried bag.

Then disaster struck! During the few seconds I was talking to the agent at the check- in counter, someone stole my briefcase! I thought I had been watching it carefully, but apparently I hadn’t been careful enough.

I approached the airline staff and the local police. They responded in Spanish- probably telling me that I would never see my briefcase again. Finally I decided to telephone my host so that I could at least block the traveler’s checks from being used. But my glasses were in the briefcase, and I couldn’t find the telephone number because of the small print.

The airline staff showed some sympathy, and offered me a cool drink to quench my thirst. As I sat and sipped the drink, I began to wonder how, without the certificate for yellow fever, I was going to enter the U.S.A after visiting South America. Thankfully, an airline official gave me a letter explaining the loss of my health certificate, which would be sufficient.

Travelling empty-handed was a strange experience for me. I knew that anxiety and frustration could lead to fear and depression, and could even cause me to get sick. So I didn’t want to get bogged down in worry, even over the loss of valuable documents.

Although my hand was empty, my heart was full of assurance and hope. Bible verses like “Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4), and “Always give thanks for everything to our God” (Ephesians 5:20) kept coming to my mind.

I began to see that I have to rejoice and praise God even for losses. When we praise God in the midst of loss, we acknowledge that He will compensate us for the loss. God never takes away the good and desirable things from our hand unless He is going to replace them with something far better!

Once I made it home, I had to replace the Bible and practically all the materials I used for travel, including the briefcase itself. Of course, the Lord taught me to be more careful, and I told my traveling friends what had happened & cautioned them against overconfidence.

Several days later, I thought I would be able to trace the thief when the bank informed me that a traveler’s check was cashed through an account holder in a South American bank.  I was surprised to see the copy of my forged signature. The thief must have copied my signature from the health certificate. I corresponded a great deal with the bank, but they weren’t cooperative in tracing the thief. I was just grateful that my air ticket (all the way to Trivandrum, India) and passport weren’t in the briefcase when it was stolen.

God worked on my attitude toward the thief. Thieves are needy people. We have to love even antisocial elements of our world. We must always remember that Jesus came to save sinners. Yes, our Lord hates sin, but He loves sinners. Whether someone commits sin as a victim of circumstances or does it willfully, Jesus still prays the prayer: “Father, forgive these people …..for they don’t know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

God reminded me that Jesus is praying not only for people who steal, but for me also. I need to be forgiven for my wrong attitude that I show in my responses. In God’s mercy, we all receive forgiveness. But confessing our faults and sins and receiving forgiveness isn’t  a license to do it again.

I was told of one boy who lived in a community hostel. He confessed to the warden that he had stolen three apples from the kitchen store. But the kitchen staff found only two missing. The boy was questioned about the third apple mentioned in his confession. He replied that he would steal the third one, the following week – and so confessed in advance!

Admit before God your desire to avoid sin, and confess your sins. The apostle Paul said:”-I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down his people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I didn’t know Christ at that time.  Oh, how kind our Lord was, for he showed me how to trust him” (1Thimothy 1:13-14).

It’s easy for us to think we really don’t do anything that needs forgiveness. But we are all human, and we all sin. When we are lazy or waste time at our job, we are actually stealing from our employer. When we do personal things during office hours, we are stealing from our employer. If we aren’t giving a certain portion of our income to God’s work, we are stealing what belongs to God. Here too, we may have to get right with God.

God used this experience and my feelings about the thief to help me see that I need forgiveness. None of us are blameless. But we all can be forgiven!

    

A NICE DAY!

When I travel, I normally use air travel to save time. This can make flight delays very frustrating.

Once on my way to Madras, I had a stopover in Colombo, Suddenly the chief steward announced over the public address system that there would be a delay of several hours, necessitating a “night stay” in Colombo.

The passengers were sure they couldn’t have heard correctly, because it was only 9 am! Several began to complain and grumble. Some started getting angry. No one was willing to move out of the airport area.

While we were waiting for transportation to the hotel I decided to put Proverbs 12:25 into action: “Anxious hearts are very heavy, but a word of encouragement does wonders!” I looked around and shouted: “We are going to have a nice day here, not a night stay! That’s what I heard them say.”

Sometimes we feel powerless to change our attitude. But when we change our thoughts, we change the world around us. It’s true that we don’t have strength within us to counteract the strong influence of certain situations. That is the time we must turn to God for help.. In God, we have great power; that’s why we say that with God’s grace we can change the worst into best.

Dr. John Haggai has taught me the definition of grace. He said, “Grace is God giving us freely what He requires of us.” God wants me to change my attitude. Since I don’t have the power to do that myself, God, by grace, gives me the power to do it.

The airline put us up in a five-star hotel, where we enjoyed free meals. And we went sight-seeing. Then, around 5:30pm, we were told that the ground engineers had repaired the radar equipment of the aircraft, and we were all called back to resume our flight. As it turned out, we really did have a nice day instead of a night stay.

God’s grace can help change attitudes.

  

THE WRONG STATION

In July, 1960, I was asked to appear for a job interview on a Thursday. The invitation reached me by telegram on the Sunday afternoon. Before that time, I had never travelled outside of the state of Kerala. Now, suddenly, I had to travel all the way to Bombay, 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) away. Not wanting to do it all alone, I hunted up the address of a schoolmate who had gone to Bombay a few years earlier. On my way to the railway station at Cochin Harbour Terminus, I stopped by a telegraph office and sent a telegram to my friend’s post office box.

Not until I purchased the ticket at Cochin did I realize that I would be reaching Bombay Victoria Terminus station- and not Bombay Central Station, which is where I had asked my schoolmate to meet me. As you can imagine, I prayed a great deal as I considered the long, three-day train ride ahead of me. I wondered how I would find a place to stay in Bombay when I finally arrived, since I had told my friend to meet me at the wrong railway station.

The more I tried to picture Bombay, and the more I recalled stories of newcomers being cheated in large cities, the more powerful my prayer became Since I was travelling in a “through compartment to Bombay,” the possibilities for finding help along the way were limited. Furthermore, I didn’t want strangers on the train to know I’d be alone at my final destination.

My parents and grandparents had taught me to pray for everything. Throughout my life, I had seen prayer work in the lives of at least a few people. So it was only natural for me to pray now. I prayed for protection while I was on the train and when I reached Bombay, and I prayed for the interview.

However, I began to grow fearful as we got closer to Bombay. In casual conversations with my fellow passengers, I tried to find out as much information about Bombay as possible-especially the way to find accommodation and to move around in the city.

I tried to figure out how to find the location of my friend’s post office box. But even if I found it, there would be no point in going there-he would hardly be standing at his post office box, waiting for me! Still prayer sustained me through my worries. When the train came to halt, I stepped down onto the platform at Victoria Terminus with great courage.

Suddenly I felt a man’s hand touch on my shoulder, and heard a voice asking, ‘How was the train trip?’ Amazed, I turned to see my friend holding my telegram in his hands! I thanked the Lord for hearing my prayer. I hadn’t even had to look around. My friend’s appearance had been perfectly timed.

“How did you know I would arrive at Victoria Terminus?” I asked.

My friend smiled. “It was really amazing, I changed my job a long time ago, so the post office box where you sent your telegram was my old office address. But this morning I felt like taking a half-day leave, and something inside prompted me to visit my old office. I had just arrived there when the receptionist handed me your telegram! It is said you were arriving today at Bombay Central station, but the time given was for the arrival of this train, which brings passengers from Kerala. So I thought I’d better come and look for you here first.’

I did not have to wonder who had prompted my friend to take a half-day’s leave that morning. Not who had prompted him to visit his old office without any special reason. The answer was clear: the One God who cares for us and watches over us had heard my prayers- and answered! My friend took me to get something to eat and made sure I could have a bath to clean up from the long journey. Then he set up accommodation for me with good friends, and even showed me the building , where I would go the next morning for the interview.

As I sank to bed that night, I was filled with wonder at the way everything had been arranged for me, a stranger who was so timid and fearful. Surely the One who knew my anxiety and fear wanted to show me His power. God is more concerned about my safety than I am. “Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you” (1Peter 5:7).

I had been imagining all kinds of dangers and fearful situations. But the Bible says: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers’ (Philippians 4:6).

God not only hears our prayers, He also provides for us in wonderful ways. Jesus said: “Let not your heart be troubled…..trust in me” (John 14:1). There is no need to be worried and upset. We can believe the One who is always thinking about us. Sometimes God sends someone to meet your train right on time and saves you from worries and cares. Other times, God may delay the person and allow you to go through an anxious period. The choice is not ours. But I am happy with the choice of our sovereign God. I want to believe in and trust Him regardless of His choice.

  

KIDNAPPED!

On August 28, 1985. I arrived at Amsterdam on a flight from Mumbai-then Bombay-expecting a contact to collect me.

The flight had been long and tiring. I had left Cochin the previous morning, waited at Bombay airport till midnight, and then flown to Amsterdam via Cairo. I wanted to have a good rest before my next appointment, so I was eagerly looking about the arrival area, trying to spot a person holding up a card with my name on it.

Before long, I began to feel uneasy. I couldn’t see anyone waiting for me. Perhaps no one is going to meet me, I thought. Or maybe my contact has been delayed. With a tired sigh, I decided to find my own way to the hotel.

I reviewed my alternative, including making a phone call, which would mean moving my luggage to the telephone booth and risking the possibility that my contact would miss me. While I was trying to decide what to do, I spotted a van from my hotel maneuvering between cars. Not wanting to waste further time, I made for the van, knowing that hotel transportation is always safer for a stranger.

To my dismay, on reaching the hotel I discovered that they were fully booked and my name was not on the waiting list. I found a phone, called my office, and was informed that a booking had been made for me in another hotel. Of course, if I had only waited patiently for my host to meet me at the airport, he would have taken me to the right place. My only choice now was to take a taxi.

I hailed one on the hotel forecourt. The driver was quite helpful. He loaded my baggage and showed me into the vehicle. As he sped along, I felt thankful he wanted to give me such a quick ride. In no time, I thought, I’ll be getting a shower and breakfast-then I can rest, take my blood pressure medication, and be ready for my afternoon appointment.

Suddenly the taxi pulled to a stop.

When I looked up, I saw that we were on a deserted road. I knew immediately I was in danger. As I watched, the driver reached up and tugged at his hair, which fell away in his hand. He had been wearing a wig! Then he briskly opened a briefcase he had on the front seat. Fear jolted through me when I saw what it contained: a gun, a knife, and a syringe, probably filled with a poison or a drug.

I wanted to get out of the taxi, but he driver would not let me. Instead he searched me and the contents of my suitcase thoroughly. The only money I had was twenty guilders, which was worth $7.00. Disappointed the taxi driver vented his frustration over “kidnapping the wrong person.” He grew angry-with me, my luggage, and his car. He probably realized that he would end up behind bars if he released me. His only option was to get rid of me.

He drove onto the expressway, probably with the intention of killing me and throwing my body into a canal. No matter what I said, he would not listen. In desperation, I opened the left rear door, stretched out my arm and shouted for help, trying to alert someone in a passing vehicle. It was of no use. No one noticed my frantic efforts. When the robber saw what I was doing, he became even more angry, and reached for his gun. Desperate, I gave up my efforts to escape. I even asked him to forgive my foolishness, hoping a friendly approach would pacify him.

What should you do when your life is in danger? Who is there to give you counsel? I’d had a sleepless night of air travel. I hadn’t yet taken my blood pressure medication. I was physically tired and emotionally distressed. I couldn’t even remember the things I had learned in counseling about dealing with distraught or dangerous people. I was at a loss as to what to do.

Suddenly I heard a whispering inside me. “Son don’t you know that many people are praying for you right now?” A sense of calm began to fill me. My family and many people around the world pray for me regularly. Being reminded about this intercessory prayer was comforting and encouraging.

Reassured, I learned forward and spoke boldly to the robber. ”Look! Many people are praying for me. You cannot kill me! Please take me to the hotel I told you to drive me to!” He didn’t even respond. I continued to talk to him, seemingly without any effect. Finally I said, “I am going to join them in prayer as well. You cannot kill me.”

As I bowed my head in prayer, I was reminded of the way God had delivered Daniel from the lion’s den, and how Paul and others in the ship taking him to Rome were delivered from the shipwreck. Then there came to my mind a part of the prayer my son Ronnie had said just before I left on my trip: ”Lord, may none of the assaults of the evil one come near us.”

I was greatly strengthened. My fear of that gun and knife vanished. I sat in the back seat of that taxi and continued praying-praying to the One who hear our prayers. I knew without a doubt that God had heard the prayers of my family and friends. He had spoken to me through that inner voice to confirm this.

Another soothing thought came to me while I sat there praying. I recalled a Bible verse my grandmother taught me when I was four years old: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me.” In The Living Bible, this verse reads: “Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way” (Pslam 23:4).

Though my situation was frightening, that Bible verse calmed me. I felt Someone close beside me, guarding me. It was as if the Lord was sitting and riding with me. That was so precious.

So often, I had read promises such as, “I am with you always, even to the end of the world” (Mathew 28:20), and “God is our refuge and strength, a tested help in times of trouble. And so we need not fear even if the world blows up” (Pslams 46:1-2) Now I knew God’s promises were real ; they are there for us to use. They are relevant and meaningful, and they can bring us peace in the midst of fear. That is exactly what they did for me that night.

Suddenly, I wanted to share that peace. Instead of commanding or cursing the driver, I tried to become his friend. I talked to him about the One who was sitting with me in his cab. Again he did not respond, he just kept driving-fast. But I was not distressed Terms like “the dark valley of death” and “God is close beside me guarding me” were echoing inside me, yet what I felt inside was peace.

Finally, the robber spoke, his gruff voice breaking the silence: “If you assure me you will not report me to the police, I will release you.”

“I will be very grateful if you do that, “I replied immensely thankful. I was ready to get out right there on the roadside, even if it meant leaving my baggage with him. I told him so.

“No, I will take you to the hotel,” he said in a soft voice.

He turned the cab and suddenly I knew we were heading for the hotel instead of the dark valley of death. When we were still a little distance away, the robber pointed out the hotel to reassure me. At long last, he pulled to a stop.

Don’t get out or open the door, “he instructed I obeyed him. I saw him carrying my baggage to the hotel lobby. “Leave all the money you have on the front seat,” he said when he returned. I informed him I only had twenty guilders with me, which was sufficient to pay the fare for the original five-minute ride. I handed him the money with gratitude, and he then escorted me to the front lobby and pushed me inside the reception area where he had left my baggage. Then he was gone.

I felt week with relief. Oh, I am not afraid of death; I am immortal until my work is done. After my work on this planet is finished, there is no point in remaining here. But I did not feel that my work was done, and I was grateful to know that God agreed!

When I was finally in my hotel room getting ready for a shower, I began to relieve that taxi ride. The more I thought about it, the more I thanked the Lord. After the shower, I began to imagine my body floating in that canal water and my family waiting for my return. What terrible pain and distress my disappearance would have caused them. Once again I thanked God for his intervention and protection.

Looking back, I know that what controlled this dangerous situation was prayer. Whether we go through dangerous experiences or not, God hears our prayers. Prayer is an expression of our faith in God, and we show our love toward others when we pray for people and their needs.

When we pray, we have the assurance that God is listening. I can pray boldly. Even if I am not sure how to pray, I can know that prayer is a spiritual exercise and that God’s Holy Spirit is decoding my words, making them acceptable to God.

I remember, for example, when my daughter Annie was one-and-a half years old. She used to crawl to the dining table where we kept a pretty, double edged knife for cutting bread and other items. One day Annie asked me for the knife so that she could play with it. As a living father, I sensed her real desire- to play with something pretty –and so I gave her a brand new toy. Though Annie had asked for a knife, which would have been dangerous in the little hands of a child, what she really wanted was a toy. I “decoded” her request, and gave her what was best for her.

Likewise, our prayers are decoded by the Spirit. Even though we are not always sure how to pray, we can still ask, believing that God will give us only the best. Romans 8:26

God wants so much to care for us in all we face. Too often we don’t realize that! Nor do we realize the many ways God is able to help us. In Luke 8:23-24, we read of an incident when Jesus was with His disciples in a boat. Suddenly “a fierce storm developed that threatened to a swamp them, and they were in real danger…’Master, Master we are sinking!’ they screamed. So Jesus spoke to the storm: ‘Quiet down,’ he said, and the wind and waves subsided and all was calm!” (Luke8:23-24). Those disciples had already experienced the presence of Jesus; now they experienced his power.

Many people wonder if we can also experience that power today. There I so much evil in the world. We have to overcome many unpleasant, and sometimes dangerous, situations. We find it difficult to overcome with only our own strength. How wonderful that we do not need to do so! God not only gives us the strength we need, but He also comforts and encourages us! He knows our anxiety and fear.

In fact, Jesus came to earth to know our pain, fear, and anxiety. That was one of the purposes of the incarnation-of God becoming man ”Since he himself has now been through suffering and temptation, he knows what it is like when we suffer and are tempted, and he is wonderfully able to help us” (Hebrew 2:18).

God’s power is available to each of us. He waits to enable us to overcome every dangerous situation we will ever face. The grace that enabled Jesus to walk through the world overcoming all difficulties and problems is able to support us and sustain us today. I know this for a fact-I have experienced it first hand!

I later found out that the person sent to meet my flight at the Amsterdam airport had, indeed been delayed. If I had made my own arrangements, I would have planned beforehand without making any on-the-spot decision. If I had known earlier about the hotel reservations, I would have made foolproof arrangements. But things seldom work as we expect them to. We face risks every day. And the greatest –and best-risk any of us can take is that of trusting God and believing that He will fulfill His promises to us!