"General" Obedience Defined
Dear India Christian Fellowship (ICF) Friends,
Greetings in Jesus' matchless name. Here's a teaser question - What portion of a house that you knew was weak would prevent you from living in it? If you are thinking about the house's weak foundations you are on the right track. When Jesus described the parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock what did the rock refer to? We think (rightly so) the rock to be Christ. However, looking closer, our Lord gives us a clue in Matthew 7:26, "But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice...". The rock then is the foundation of OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST AND HIS WORD and we would be wise to build our "Christian homes" on this strong foundation that can easily bear the "storms" of life. Hallelujah! If you are wondering what the title of this month's newsletter - General Obedience Defined - means read on. The Bible offers us life sketches of two mighty army generals. Both were asked to do 7 kind-of-silly things by God. One of them readily obeyed, the other, well had to be pushed a little bit. Can you guess who they are? Yes, we are talking about General Joshua and General Namaan. Joshua was asked to do walks around Jericho 7 days in a row (1 time each day for 6 days, and then 7 times on the 7th day) (Josh 6:3,4) while Namaan was asked to dip into the river Jordan 7 times (2 Kings 5:10). Can you imagine Joshua asking his seasoned armies to walk around the city instead of laying siege on it? God rewarded their obedience and gave General Joshua the city of Jericho without a fight and gave General Namaan a cure from the dreaded disease of leprosy. That is "General" obedience defined! Friends, on that note I am thrilled that we have Dr. Sam M. Harry from Bethesda Assembly who will be expounding on obedience to God. Also this month we will be trying out a new format in which we will be "interviewing" our very own Rajan Chacko on how he strives to remain obedient to God through his service to the ICF. Jolly Meloottu who led the ICF Women's Retreat this year will have Sheila Thomas and Ophelia Elmer from her team debrief us about the event. Finally we have a surprise, that will well...remain a surprise! Additionally, this month we are trying out catered dinner instead of our regular potluck. (Dessert is not included with the catering so you are welcome to bring a small dessert) Hope to see you on the 25th at 6:30 pm. (we will promptly start at 6:30 pm so please be on time). For Him and In Him alone, Richard Lewis Your ICF Servant-President |
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