Have you ever been angry? Probably not because most readers of this blog (that I’ve met anyway) are the nicest people on the planet. I could never picture you ever getting angry at any moment in your life. (heavy sarcasm intended).

We ALL get angry. But now…examine your life a little more closely. Can you remember a time where you were furious? Now we’re talking a whole new level. I’m talking…boiling point, red face, steam-coming-out-your-ears-like-you’re-a-cartoon angry. Yes? Congratulations….you’re normal.

Lots of things make us upset. But there are a select few things in life that push us over the edge. The kind of rage/anger that ignite us to say:

“this is intolerable, and needs to stop.”

Human trafficking, child abuse, rape, and injustice are some of the words that come to mind. Hearing hurtful stories of pain and suffering, especially against the helpless, illicit those emotions in me and I only pray that justice is served.

I heard a story in the news recently about a person who kidnapped a 7 year old girl and killed her. He hid her body by chopping it up into pieces and putting it in his freezer. I couldn’t finish the story without cringing, and instantly biting my lip to prevent any horrible words from coming out of my mouth.

Anger has a negative connotation, but the Word says: ”When you are angry, do not sin, and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day” (Ephesians 4:26 NCV). So we can be angry, but don’t let sin be a result of your anger. Plenty of notable Bible characters were angry. Nehemiah was angry at the injustice done to the poor (Neh 5:6). David was angry towards his enemies (Ps 139:19-22). Even Jesus expressed anger towards selling in the temple (Mk 3:1-5).

All of these things have one thing in common. These people were angry at the same things God is infuriated by.

Sin. 

Does sin make you angry? Do you tolerate it? Do you see your friends suffering with sin, and….do nothing? I’ve learned lessons the hard way within my own life. One little sin can have a snowball effect. It can turn into an avalanche and ultimately lead to death. All that injustice you see in the world…the human trafficking, crimes against children, modern day slavery….all birth from one thing. Sin.

If those crimes infuriate us, why doesn’t the presence of “little sins” make us righteously angry? Bad habits, swearing, lying…..It’s almost if we as Christians are waiting for the sin to get “big” enough for us to start intervening, fasting, and praying.

Yo momma jokes were all the rage in 5th grade. But you know that one kid who kinda knew your mom, and then said a Yo Momma joke that was a little too personal, and you were furious? How come? It’s because it’s your momma he’s talking about! That guy just made fun of the closest, most caring person in your life and…that’s intolerable and needs to stop. It hurts more because this time…it’s personal.

I’ve been involved with this ministry going on 6 years now. Going to war with these guys is an understatement, so to say we are close doesn’t describe it. The moment I see sin creep into any of us….I get righteously angry. It gets real personal with me. The audacity of the devil to try and plague my friends and loved ones infuriates me to no extent. I’ve seen what sin can do….and I will not tolerate it.

Does that make me perfect? Not at all. I fall into sin just like the next person. But the way I view it is totally different now. The Gospel itself sheds such a new light on the matter. God cannot stand sin. He is completely holy…and He will not tolerate it. He’s not going to let some things slide here and there, and then get involved when things seem to spiral out of control. He was so furious against sin, that His wrath was poured out on His only Son on the cross, just to save us from it. That righteous anger was poured out on the only Person who walked this earth that was truly righteous.

He doesn’t stand sin. Neither should we. The good news is….He’s already defeated it. Although we shouldn’t tolerate sin, we can’t go around thinking we are going to beat it ourselves. Jesus has done the work for us already.

So go ahead and get mad. Just don’t stay that way because the battle is already won. And that’s something to be happy about.

God bless,

Jobbin

You must be the change you wish to see in the world – Mohandas Gandhi

I’m a young adult striving to be a real Christian in a world that could care less. Many people say this world needs to change the way it acts and does things. Human beings are becoming wicked and selfish. How though? How can you change individuals and how they act?

I’ve seen Christians  point out mistakes of people or judge people in hopes of having them realize they need to change their ways. NOPE!!!! It makes me sad to see Christians acting nothing like Jesus Christ. I read the gospels and every parable you read about Jesus shows he was an influence. Think about it. When Jesus spoke to the crowds, the crowds were from few to thousands. His teachings had an influence on people. He taught to love others, to help the sick, to forgive others, to not keep grudges, to give to the poor, and not to judge others, just to name a few.

How can you show people this? You be the influence. You offer help to someone who needs it, you forgive those who ridicule you or persecute you, don’t judge others, and most importantly LOVE others as Christ loves you. There’s a saying, you can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?  Don’t sit around and hope the world changes.

You be the change.

I hate packing. It always seems so daunting, and I spend about a week worrying about what I may forget.

But when it comes to actually doing the task, it’s no problem since I have everything at my disposal…and I wonder why I worried about it in the first place.

10 days worth of clothes? Check. Toothbrush? Check. Bible? Check. Underwear? Double check.

That’s my list of things I’m taking to New Delhi for our mission trip in a few hours. I’m actually pretty excited about this trip just to see what God is going to do. But this has literally been a year long process for me to get to this point.

I started off 2011 by going on my first missions trip ever to Orissa. I went by myself, but before I left I was completely discouraged, confused, unsure, and….worried. 2010 was quite possibly the worst year of my life with so many question marks involving work, school, family, and ministry. There was not one area of my life that wasn’t in utter confusion. All of that culminated into one giant, random (so it seemed), decision to go on a missions trip to Orissa in January.

Determined to make 2011 different, I went. I came back excited about preaching the Gospel, but little did I know that God was prepping me, and my friends, to grow closer to Him through a series of events through the next 12 months. The discouragement turned into encouragement. The troubles of the prior year served as lessons and guardrails for this year. Every so-called trial of the past revealed itself as having a purpose to make us stronger as a unit.

You may have seen our “Give Thanks” video on YouTube that we put up on Thanksgiving Day. We really meant it. This year, and seeing God literally revealing Himself to me through my job, family, friends, and ministry, I can honestly say 2011 has been completely amazing. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. The lesson I learned can be quickly summed up by James 1:2-4 (NASB):

² Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, ³knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ⁴ And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

What is this perfect result? I can’t describe it. Am I there yet? No way. But to give you a glimpse, I’d like to share a picture from my trip to India back in January. I went on that trip in an utter state of confusion. But during my time there, I had the chance to go on a “houseboat”.

A houseboat is the Indian version of a…umm…boat with a house attached to it. But this was my view. The moment I sat on that boat, put my feet up on the deck, and stared out into the never ending river, I experienced a peace I’ve never felt before. It was pretty surreal on how I could feel so at home during a time in my life where everything was supposed to be confusing.

That’s God working through your trials. If you approach trials with the faith that He is perfecting a good work in you, it will give you a whole new outlook when challenges come your way.

Are there obstacles in the path of this upcoming trip? Sure. Have I seen discouragement come my way mere days before we leave? Of course. But this time, I expect it. Because I know better. This time, I know there is a reason for the trials. And to be honest, I’m ready to confront them head on because they are going to make us even stronger.

Yeah, I still have to pack. But I’m not worried. I’m actually pretty excited for what’s in store.

The prophet-evangelist Jonah knew the compassion of God, but he had no compassion himself. It is familiar to Christians that God is “loving, gracious, merciful, and compassionate”, but do we have such feelings for the lost? Do we have compassion for the lost as God does?

Jonah had none at all. He preached only out of obedience. A man of God once said, “Evangelism is not a matter of simply mouthing words of God’s pitying love, or spelling theology, an evangelists heart should beat in tune with the heart of God, expressive of His heart’s longings and compassion”. Many preachers today may say, “Preaching the right thing is enough”, they are wrong. Rom. 5:5 says, “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us”. The Holy Spirit partakes a major role in evangelism in which it presents the love of God. The love of God in Christ is meant to come alive in those who proclaim it.

We must have the same compassion Christ had for the lost, when we preach his word. Today we must ask God to give us an outpouring of compassion for the lost.

“Father, teach me Your love for the lost.” – Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke

Hello Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

First of all, I’d just like to wish a happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  This year has definitely been a wild ride for most of us and so it’s great to have a day (off, for some of us) where we can fellowship with the ones we love and just look back at all the wonderful things God has done in our lives since Thanksgiving-past.  I really hope this blog post finds all of you in good health.  I know all of you are just waiting to dig into that bountiful feast being prepared around this time but I’d just like to take this time to share a few words with you.

I’m so thankful for everything Gods’ blessed me with whether it be family, friends, health etc.  Everything I can ever call my own is all from Him and is His to give and take away and thats why I’m thankful for His abundant mercies in my life and in the lives of my loved ones.  One thing I’ve learned and have begun to understand is that even a lifetime of praise, worship and/or Old Testement-style sacrifices (I hope no one thinks the latter is still effective or even legal)  offered up to the Lord will never equal or even come remotely close to the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross.  All these things we have on this earth will fade away eventually.  Nothing is eternal except for the love of God!!

So this thanksgiving, I’ll definitely be thankful for the blessings I’ve received from God because without them, I wouldn’t still be here.  But even more than just blessings, more than the very air I breathe..I cannot be more grateful for the love of God.  It sustains me everyday more than the bare necessities of human life.  It is my water, my nutrition, my oxygen!!  I’ll be thankful for the trials and obstacles that arise in my life because through them, I grow closer to God.  Through the good and the bad, one thing remains and thats the unending love of God.  What I’m trying to say is..lets not spend another Thanksgiving just being grateful for the tangible and positive things in life.  How can we show our thanks to God without taking and taking over and over?  This thanksgiving, lets give something back to God; He’s been so faithful and providing when we don’t even come close to being deserving of any of it.  Give glory and praise to whom glory and praise is most due!

On a final note,

This year, I consider myself very blessed to have been a part of this great ministry for the past 5 years.  Its taught me so many things and helped me grow spiritually closer to God and develop others to strengthen their relationship with God.  Of course, all glory and praise goes to God for allowing us to do all of this. And thats everything ranging from conducting small groups every Sunday afternoon to making silly videos that you see on Youtube to get our point across (which I think we do every time) :).  Our goal since the very beginning was and still is to develop a community for Christ and after witnessing the events that we’ve been able to create by God’s grace, I know that goal is being accomplished little by little…slowly but surely!  And its only because of all of you out there that make our goal possible to reach so from the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all us here in ROC 3:22..THANK YOU SO MUCH!   Shout out to all my brothers that make up this organization: Jobby, Siby, Philly, Alvin, Dany, and our brother Joel all the way in Banglore..were praying for you and we’ll see you soon bro! :)

Psalm 107:1
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (NIV)

Thanks for reading and God Bless,

Jonathan

…..P.S. You can go eat that turkey now:) Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!!