This is an extract from a mail I had written to my friends and I wish that most of you my readers would get this message too.
I want to tell you about a few testimonies that changed my perception of testimonies. Most of you may have heard me say this many times, but then since its that good, I wish your Christmas memories could include this one too. The first story occurs in a little village of pullad. Now that is in Kerala, and for those who do not know where it is, the place is near kumbanad, and around 15 Kms from Chengannur/ Thiruvalla and some where in the mid point between ernakulam and trivandrum . SEE IT ON MAP
I HAD WRITTEN THE STORY IN A BETTER FORMAT OVER AN YEAR AGO. SEE TOTALLY SIMPLE FAITH.
It is a village more than a town , with rubber trees, bugs and the sweet sound of rain in the woody and leafy region, so it cooler and humid than most other parts of kerala. So, i was here, in a prayer meeting run by a pentecostal group called the hallelujah prayer fellowship that my aunt went to, in a nice coconut palm leaf covered tent, sitting on mats. now, i wish you would take this scene in, mix scenes from movies into it, over their now imagine a pastor, who like the black pastors we know of walked up and down the stage praising God. It was a very zealous feeling. I was also worshipping God, and then the pastor called people to tell testimonies. Some aunties stood up, many told amazing deeds of God and we praised God. Amongst them was a woman, a thin woman, who well had no peculiar features to be admired, well aged, may be 50s stood up and told this. "Yesterday our daisy was in a lot of pain. It was her delivery time, she had been having this pain recently, but we knew this time she had to give birth. But suddenly , it became dark and there was no electricity, and it was raining, I told some boys to get a doctor, but the flood had blocked them from reaching too far. I called some of my neighbours to help me. I was all alone at home. I have no men in my house, so I was terrified. A kind lady assisted me, we were with daisy till the early hours of the day. It may have been somewhere after midnight when she finally started crying our deeply. I was very worried , I began to pray. I was crying to see her in pain. I kept comforting and patting her so that she would bear the pain. I prayed to Jesus to comfort her pain " .... All this time the pastor and the people went crazy worshipping the Lord, we said many Hallelujahs and "Sthothrams" ... The lady continued ... " At last after some hours she delivered" ... The pastor praised God for the new life .... "God had made my daisy give me a wonderful baby calf " .... AWKWARD SILENCE! .... What had this woman just said? The pastor thanked God and the congregation "hummed" and went to the next testimony. I found this story very funny and at almost every meeting I used this story to make fun and sometimes to break the ice. It was much later , while I spoke with one of my mentors I understood the whole meaning. The testimony of a person, if heartfelt tells us a lot about the person. It tells us their fears, their past, their hopes and their source of hope. My mentor told me, that this woman was probably a widow, much like Ruth and the cow, "daisy" was probably her entire life savings and future investment.
This made the story even more scary, you see if the cow died, she would be broke for a long time and be pushed below poverty line. Her faith in God was not just for her present, but for her future and over her past. She believed in a God who not only took care of her, but also her cow, who now was her "only family". Who is God to her? The shortest answer is now EVERYTHING. Isn't this one of the best testimonies ? a simple woman, whose education is negligible, whose world view is restricted, whose future is obscure , yet is one whose faith is a billion times bigger than anything I have felt, I am humbled. This is what I want people to say, things that remain only in their spheres as important, no matter how irrelevant to anyone else in the crowd, showing the simplest reason for faith, and yet like the woman who was commended by Jesus as the one who gave it all (when she gave a coin) .... had spoken heartfelt truth.
I want to tell you about a few testimonies that changed my perception of testimonies. Most of you may have heard me say this many times, but then since its that good, I wish your Christmas memories could include this one too. The first story occurs in a little village of pullad. Now that is in Kerala, and for those who do not know where it is, the place is near kumbanad, and around 15 Kms from Chengannur/ Thiruvalla and some where in the mid point between ernakulam and trivandrum . SEE IT ON MAP
I HAD WRITTEN THE STORY IN A BETTER FORMAT OVER AN YEAR AGO. SEE TOTALLY SIMPLE FAITH.
It is a village more than a town , with rubber trees, bugs and the sweet sound of rain in the woody and leafy region, so it cooler and humid than most other parts of kerala. So, i was here, in a prayer meeting run by a pentecostal group called the hallelujah prayer fellowship that my aunt went to, in a nice coconut palm leaf covered tent, sitting on mats. now, i wish you would take this scene in, mix scenes from movies into it, over their now imagine a pastor, who like the black pastors we know of walked up and down the stage praising God. It was a very zealous feeling. I was also worshipping God, and then the pastor called people to tell testimonies. Some aunties stood up, many told amazing deeds of God and we praised God. Amongst them was a woman, a thin woman, who well had no peculiar features to be admired, well aged, may be 50s stood up and told this. "Yesterday our daisy was in a lot of pain. It was her delivery time, she had been having this pain recently, but we knew this time she had to give birth. But suddenly , it became dark and there was no electricity, and it was raining, I told some boys to get a doctor, but the flood had blocked them from reaching too far. I called some of my neighbours to help me. I was all alone at home. I have no men in my house, so I was terrified. A kind lady assisted me, we were with daisy till the early hours of the day. It may have been somewhere after midnight when she finally started crying our deeply. I was very worried , I began to pray. I was crying to see her in pain. I kept comforting and patting her so that she would bear the pain. I prayed to Jesus to comfort her pain " .... All this time the pastor and the people went crazy worshipping the Lord, we said many Hallelujahs and "Sthothrams" ... The lady continued ... " At last after some hours she delivered" ... The pastor praised God for the new life .... "God had made my daisy give me a wonderful baby calf " .... AWKWARD SILENCE! .... What had this woman just said? The pastor thanked God and the congregation "hummed" and went to the next testimony. I found this story very funny and at almost every meeting I used this story to make fun and sometimes to break the ice. It was much later , while I spoke with one of my mentors I understood the whole meaning. The testimony of a person, if heartfelt tells us a lot about the person. It tells us their fears, their past, their hopes and their source of hope. My mentor told me, that this woman was probably a widow, much like Ruth and the cow, "daisy" was probably her entire life savings and future investment.
Another testimony is of a amazing entrepreneur I know, this was his testimony ... "Today I woke up and went outside, I saw the flowers, the sun shining and heard some birds singing. I smelt the flowers , they were beautiful. I cannot praise God enough!" ..... Did his testimony change the world? Did it bring anyone to tears? No, nothing. It left people like me (the super holy type) wondering why this testimony was even worth saying?
This is why Peter's testimony of Paul is that what Peter has seen and felt and known and understood, is what Paul does. You see, Peter could have assumed a super - apostle position and said that Paul knows less because he has not seen Jesus in flesh, but rather we see (2 Peter 3:14-18) Peter agreeing with Paul although Paul was a tough cookie. A testimony is a true witness account of an event, and the Bible does not restrict the event to be an accident, a disease or a suicide of a friend, but rather tells on how and where people saw God work in their lives. I agree, we do have to scan than false teachings do not spread, but on the other hand, if we did encourage more, have people say things common in their lives like " I had tea this morning, God is Good!" ... this does not bring chaos, but rather allows us to see the grace of God working uniquely in individuals lives.
I know this mail was long and some of you may have skipped over a lot of portions, but I wish you read it all and get an idea of what I do intend. A good year is not one that had great highlights, it is one where all days were lit. May you have a great year ahead. With love, prayers, and virtual hugs *****
I know this mail was long and some of you may have skipped over a lot of portions, but I wish you read it all and get an idea of what I do intend. A good year is not one that had great highlights, it is one where all days were lit. May you have a great year ahead. With love, prayers, and virtual hugs *****
HOPE YOU HAVE A BLESSED 2013 AND A HEART FELT CHRISTMAS
Comments