In the Name of Jesus

What does it mean to pray in the name of Jesus? I am pretty sure that you can find a good explanation from the pages of the Bible. I think Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkeegard has given us a good insights of the theme.

To PRAY "in the name of Jesus" may perhaps be explained most simply in this way. A magistrate orders this and the other thing in the name of the King. What does that mean?

In the first place it means I myself am nothing. I have no power, nothing to say for myself—but it is in the name of the King. Thus to pray in the name of Christ means I dare not approach God without a mediator, if my prayer is to be heard, then it will be in the name of Jesus. What gives it strength is that name.

Next, when a magistrate gives a command in the name of the King it naturally follows that what he commands must be the King's will, he cannot command his own will in the King's name. The same thing is true of praying in the name of Jesus, to pray in such a way that it is in conformity with the will of Jesus. I cannot pray in the name of Jesus to have my own will ; the name of Jesus is not a signature of no importance, but the decisive factor ; the fact that the name of Jesus comes at the beginning is not prayer in the name of Jesus ; but it means to pray in such a manner that I dare name Jesus in it, that is to say think of Him, think His holy will together with whatever I am praying for.

Finally, when a magistrate gives an order in the name of the King it means that the King assumes the responsibility. So too with prayer in the name of Jesus, Jesus assumes the responsibility and all the consequences. He steps forward for us, steps into the place of the person praying.

Kierkeegaard, Soren, Journals, trans Alexander Dru (1938), pp 974.

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He Will Bring Health and Healing

“Do you have insurance?” The nurse asked us after Narlin signified that she was so dizzy to stand up and may need to stay in the hospital for the night. She was complaining of deafness on her left ear. She had vertigo and suffering from nausea for almost two days.

Although she was given medication for anti vertigo, we decided to go to the hospital in Overbrook Chiang Rai for a thorough diagnosis. After several tests, the doctor’s diagnosis was that she is suffering from Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSHL). We are asked to come back to the hospital on the 5th of September to assess if the medications are working.

We don’t have any insurance but God. The cost made us think twice about buying a plan. The children’s needs and education are our priority. Regardless, we believe that God will provide, keep us safe and preserve our health.

This reminds me of couple of familiar verses from the Old Testament, Jeremiah 33:3, 6:

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know…. Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”

We trust that God will completely heal Narlin’s sickness, he will protect us in every situation and he will provide for all our needs. Thank you so much for praying with us and for being part of God’s answer to our prayers.

Thanksgiving

We are thankful for our friends who prayed and encouraged us by sharing their experiences similar to Narlin’s sickness. We are thankful for doctor friends who gave us medical advice.

We are thankful for Jennifer whose presence become more indispensable when Narlin was confined in the hospital. She looks after the children when we are away. She will be leaving on the 14th of September. Please pray for traveling mercy and provisions.

We are thankful for God’s provisions for Reuven’s schooling. We were able to get his credentials from Philippine Embassy in Bangkok, his certificate/records from Mae Sai Prasitsart School which cost us some money. He is now enrolled in a university in the Philippines.

We are thankful that God has given us the opportunity to help more children. Whether it is through teaching English or taking care of them may it be short or long term. Please that we can help a couple more kids this year.

We are thankful for the opportunity to work with teams, schools and villages in ministering to the children. We are looking forward for another team to come and help in the near future.

We are thankful that our children have the opportunity to participate in drama competition in Bangkok. Although we don’t expect to win anything this time, we just want to give glory to Jesus’s name for all the blessings and experiences they will be enjoying.

We are thankful that in spite of the big amount we spent in our children’s schooling this month (August), the Lord has provided us enough amount for Narlin’s hospitalization.

Most of all, we are thankful to God every time we remember your partnership with us. We appreciate your love, support and untiring prayers.

The Book of Jesus

The Book of Jesus: A Treasury of the Greatest Stories and Writings About Christ edited by Calvin Miller. Here is a book I wanted to read for a long time. Surprisingly, I found it in our library, one of the books I mindlessly picked up during one of the conferences held in Chiang Mai last year. The book is edited by Calvin Miller. He is a pastor, speaker and professor. He is the bestselling author of more than thirty books including the enormously popular Singer trilogy.

From the blurb, it says that The Book of Jesus is an essential volume for every Christian library: an all-embracing collection—in style of the The Book of Virtue—of the best stories, poems, essays, and songs about the life of Jesus Christ.

“No two people know quite the same things about Jesus or see him in quite the same way,” says Calvin Miller in the Introduction to this monumental work. “Some see him as judge, coming to scourge the nations. Others see him primarily as a lover of children. Scholars tend to see him in scholarly ways. Poets see him more poetically. Preachers see him as a preacher, teachers as teacher. Carpenters like remembering he was one of them.” The Jesus of Scripture, Dr. Miller says, “is only finished in the individual hearts of those who believe.” In compiling The Book of Jesus, Dr. Miller’s goal is to bring together some of the most fascinating, original observations on the life of Jesus Christ, and the result is truly wonderful.

The Book of Jesus contains hundreds of selections drawn from every era of history, presenting a spectrum of contributors from Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Dickens, Hemingway, and C.S. Lewis to Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, and Desmond Tutu. This broad, eclectic volume also includes works by contemporary Christian writers such as Max Lucado, Elisabeth Elliot, Charles Colson, and Eugene Peterson, and other poems, songs, and essays, traditional hymns, and verse from the Bible.

The selections in this indispensable book, when taken together, present “the Christ of universal reflection, “for many thousands of people who see to find out exactly who is this most important man.

The Lord is My Shepherd

Three days before we hadn’t the slightest idea that we would be in the Philippines attending the funeral of Gavs. We were all shocked by his “untimely” death caused by brain aneurysm. He was a funny and humble man, a good father and a loyal friend. He was our nephew but more than that he was like a son to us. He never knew his father and her mom got sick when he was little. We took him in our young family then. He spent many years of his life with us. He was 30 years old.

Just before his body was put into the ground, the Pastor recited Psalm 23 and uttered a comforting prayer for the bereaved family.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Although this Psalm is considered to be part of the funeral liturgy, we believe that God’s promises in this passage are being fulfilled in our lives on daily basis.  Thank you for being part of God’s fulfilled promises to us and our children. We are thankful to the Lord for using you in our ministry to help children, youth and women in the community.

English Camps

It is a joy to watch a group of young people sharing the gospel to more than a hundred of students through songs and Bible Story in an English Camps. We thank the Lord for the YWAM team composed of youth members of Faith Family Church (Illinois) who came last week that helped us in a 3-day English camp at Tesaban 1 Wat Proweehan School. These young people shared God’s love to the students.

We have another YWAM Team that came last Friday and will help us in another English Camp in Suntard Village School. This is a small village school that the government is planning to close down if the student population will not increase. We want to help the school to have more students next year so that it will continue. Together with our friends who live there, we are praying that the presence of the YWAM Team teaching at the English camps will help the school. We also hope to get volunteers to teach English at the school on regular basis.

After helping the school, we are praying that we can start the ministry with young women in the area with our friends. We also hope that we can share the gospel and a community of believers will gather to worship in the village. Please pray that God will use the English camp as a channel of God’s blessings in that village.

Visa Extended For Another Year

As far as I can remember, this year holds the record for the smoothest visa extension we ever had. We drove to Chiang Mai to visit the immigration office to have our visa extended. We noticed right away that there were fewer people at the immigration office even though we went there on a Monday. We learned later that the place is being used solely for visa extension and the 90-day appearance, re-entry permit and such like transactions are transferred to another location. We are thankful that we don’t nee to come back after a month. The office granted us one-year visa in just one visit. Thank you for including this concern in your prayers and for your contribution to our visa expenses.

Little Family Update

Although we are mourning, our visit to the Philippines also made us happy. We were able to spend precious time with our own children for 4 whole days. Those days were the happiest days for us in a while. We have many wonderful things to be thankful for. Jared is already working as teacher in a private school. Jillian defended her thesis last week and she will graduate next year. Reuven will be enrolled in college soon. Please pray that the certificate from Philippine Department of Education for his passing the ALS Test will be given soon. We are praying that he can enrol this August. Thank for helping us in praying for our children. Please pray for God’s provision for their studies.

More Prayer Concerns

• Please help us to pray for the following concerns:
  Pray for the ministry in Suntard Village. Pray for our friends, Wayne and Jeen, who live there and want to spread the gospel to their neighbours. Pray for Larry as he works out the details of our plan for the ministry to the young women that will be based in that village.
• Pray for our ministry at Pantamit church. Preaching, training and teaching children in Sunday School.
• Pray for Jennifer, our friend from Ireland who has been helping us immensely with English teaching ministry, English Camps, music and caring for the children.
• Pray for good health for all of us specially the children during this rainy season.

Thank you so much for your prayer and support. We sincerely appreciate your love and generosity. We pray that God will continually prosper and bless you. The Lord honors the sacrifices you made in helping us in our ministry.