Learning

Genesis 40 :4

 

« The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he attended them. »This is the well-known story of when Joseph is wrongly accused and put in prison and that some time later, the chief cupbearer and chief baker of Pharaoh are put in custody with Joseph for unknown reasons. Joseph, who never did a thing to deserve to be there, now has to “attend” those fellow prisoners. I don’t know what it implies at all but I thought it was interesting.  

I read that passage today and I thought that if a guy like Joseph who was smart and that God was with him always, could bend low and attend fellow new-prisoners; I should have the same attitude. I should be able to do the things that I know in my head are good and pleasing to God. I should not just think I am wise in my own eyes and set a line in between me and the “others”. No. I am to attend my fellow brothers and sisters, I am to help and uphold and apologize, humble myself and just realize I am among them, not above them.  

Something happened this afternoon with someone. Let’s say quickly that I was right and the person was wrong. And that I tried to make this person understand that it was fine that she was wrong, that it was not even a big deal. But the person would not admit she was wrong in any way. So the person became upset out-of-proportions and wanted to be left alone.
Man. Yeah, I was right, but the issue was so unimportant that I did not need to push it too far. I should have dropped the matter and let this person believe she was right (the matter was really something like “Someone told me that the cat was black, and I’d say, no, I remember clearly I saw it, the cat was white”). After a few minutes, I went to this person again and apologized for my attitude. The person said it was alright. I basically apologized in order to set an example before this person and I hope I will learn to not be so proud and that this person will learn from the bit of “humility” I showed my apologizing. 

Then I remembered Joseph’s story. Joseph was right in his doing and he had to attend fellow prisoners. I was not totally right in my doing and I had to apologize to someone who should have apologized to me as well. I felt that it was not fair, but eh, I let it go. I’m realizing that I must act according to what I believe, and sometimes, it requires me to bend low and “attend my fellow prisoners”. 

I don’t want to think I’m smart or good. I’m learning and I hope I grow and do the right things more often.

Monthly letter from KP Yohannan, Founder & President of Gospel For Asia

Gospel for Asia 

“How cold does it get where you live? How hot? How do you dress for the extremes? Now think for a minute about
India.If you want to experience extremes, I could take you to the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, where temperatures can exceed 45 degree Celsius. Or we could visit the high mountains of
Sikkim, where winter temperatures can be 40 degrees below zero!  And in either place, we would find Gospel for
Asia native missionaries going out daily to share the love of Jesus with those who have never heard His name. But believe me, in addition to the persecution and rejection they often face, these courageous men and women also persevere in situations like the harsh
Sikkim winters.(…) 

‘We get snow all around us during winter,’ Arhyam, a GFA leader in
Sikkim, says. (…) He explains that even where people have electricity, they often gather around a fire because they don’t have the proper wiring for an electric heater. And even if they did, Arhyam says, they cannot afford the extra electricity.‘Still, you have to get up in the morning,’ he adds. ‘But people get sick here due to extreme cold, especially the women. Arthristis, backaches, stomach problems, and headaches are common problems we face during extreme cold.’ 

The solution for Arhyam and other missionaries in the Himalayan region of
Asia is to have adequate, warm clothing for the brutal winters. ‘If we don’t have warm cloths it becomes really hard to walk around,’ Arhyam says. ‘Sometimes, we cannot afford them.’ 

The problem is that winter clothing is much more expensive in remote areas lie northern Sikkim than in others parts o
India. A sweater can cost 800 rupees (19$) and a warm jacket can be more than 1000 rupees (24$). And while these may seem modest prices in
Canada, they put great stress on a missionary’s budget.  That’s why Gospel for
Asia provides a winter clothing packet for missionaries like Arhyam through a special offering – and that’s why I would like to ask you to help provide one of these packets for one of our missionaries today. We can provide this packet for only 40$, and it may include a blanket, sweater, socks, warm trousers and shirts for men, skirts and shawls for women, and even hiking boots, depending on the need.(…)” September is almost over. As I am sending to Gospel for Asia the money we’ve got in the Bank for Native Missionaries in a few days, and as there is no more money in our bank, please think of those missionaries who need warm clothing and give your 2 or 3$ for this Bank. It’ll be faithfully sent to GFA at the end of October 2006.  

Rest

I have been fairly busy for the past three weeks of my life. I am not used to be so busy and I do like it. It makes me think I’m cool and important because I have always a lot of things to do. But really, I am just immature for thinking that way. I have literally spent 90% of my free-time doing homework, reading and doing projects. In the metro, on the bus, almost every mid-class break I spent in reading for my classes. Apart for my weekend in
Sherbrooke and the day I went to
La Ronde (by the way, this picture is Corinne and I in the Monstre!), I was just plunged into my studies. 

I started noticing that I had a lot of things I wanted to do, like writing a letter to a friend, start reading a new book (for pleasure)… but that I wasn’t able to find time to do them. I could make room for these things, but I knew I had “more important / urgent” things to do for school. I didn’t like that. I was putting to much of my time on the university part of my life and stopped caring as much about an other part: my friends, myself. You know, the things that keep you going and healthy. 

So Saturday night I said to myself, “Gabe, tomorrow you’re off. You won’t be doing any school-related business.” It is not that I am done all my homework and readings. I could be doing many things right now that I really want to do soon for school. But from the time I got up this morning, I haven’t touched anything school-related. I didn’t know it would be so neat. I really feel like on vacation, I am prohibited to work! It feels good and I did not expect that. I know I do have a lot of things to do yet for school, but I need to take a break, otherwise it’s going to be unhealthy.  

So my day was good. I went to church in the morning and the evening. I wrote two letters to friends. I would like to start reading a new book, or just sit down and process my thoughts. Relax.  

I talked to my grandma about it, that I was taking a break today. She thought it was a good thing. But when I told her she should do the same and take a day off from always be walking around do millions of things, cleaning up and so on, she said that it was not possible because she had to do these things, “Ça n’aurait pas d’allure, j’en ai bin d’trop à faire.” (It would be crazy, I have too much to do). I didn’t go further. But this is the point: You take a break not when you’re all done, but in the midst of all your business, you stop and refresh yourself. I know some of us feel guilty for doing so, but we must learn to take breaks.  

Do you need a break?  

That’s the same with grace. God offered us free salvation, the forgiveness of our sins because of Jesus’ sacrifice. In the midst of all our efforts to reach salvation by our own means, Jesus calls us to stop and simply come to Him by faith. To rest. And start working again with a new spirit and attitude: desiring to obey Him out of thankfulness and love.

Failing Gabe

Bank for Native Missionaries: 19.61$ so far for September. Thanks to all who gave. I’ll be sending the money pretty soon and we’ll start again for October. Please think about helping by giving a buck or two next month. Pray for them.

Psalm 119:98, 99

“Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever within me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.” Last year when I was planning on starting university, I read that verse and I thought I should keep it in mind just to encourage me to seek to meditate on God’s commands. It’s been a long time since I sat down in a class to be taught. I don’t know if I was ready to start school again. I call myself “Failing Gabe” these days, things simply do not seem to be working as well as I would like them to. I want to be good, but I can’t for now. God does not leave me and really desires to shape me; humbling me, telling me He’s doing the job, I am not. I am more than blessed to be able to go through this all. I know it sounds not to be a big deal to go to university, but it seems to me that everywhere I go, God has something to say, to add or to remove in my life.  

I am foolish and childish. But I think I might be wiser than my teachers because I have the Holy Spirit with me. Failing Gabe

Bank for Native Missionaries. Think & Give.

Tozer

“Our Father which art in heaven, we Thy children are often troubled in mind, hearing within us at once the affirmations of faith and the accusations of conscience. We are sure that there is in us nothing that could attract the love of One as holy and as just as Thou art. Yet Thou hast declared Thine unchanging love for us in Christ Jesus. If nothing in us can win Thy love, nothing in the universe can prevent Thee from loving us. Thy love is uncaused and undeserved. Thou art Thyself the reason for the love wherewith we are loved. Help us to believe the intensity, the eternity of the love that has found us. Then love will cast out fear; and our troubled hearts will be at peace, trusting not in what we are but in what Thou hast declared Thyself to be. Amen.” Tozer, A.W. (1961) The Knowledge of the Holy 

I was thinking it was time to write something on this blog. I don’t have much time these days, I’m a bit busy. So I thought I’d pick a book and open it, then write the first paragraph I see. I fell on something good I think.  If I remember correctly, in this book, Tozer opened every one of his chapters with a prayer-like introduction. This one is about the love of God. This is a very good book by the way! Sorry for this random posting choice.

Gabe’s Frustrations

So I decided I’d be a little nerd for Jesus and I’d propose to my grandma to read her a chapter in the Bible. She was thrilled. When I closed my Bible and looked up at her, I hit a wall. Don’t worry, she wasn’t angry. She told me that she didn’t like what I had read. She explained to me that she always read the parts that make her feel good. This is something that I do not understand and I hope, will never be able to understand. It’s true that there is a time for everything and I do search for encouraging passages sometimes (I’d need to do that right now), but do not tell me that you don’t want to hear Romans 1 because it doesn’t make you feel good, it’s not personal enough, because you can’t understand so much because it was written long long ago. This does not make sense to me and it frustrates me because I don’t know how to respond to someone who says, believe such things. I don’t know if my grandma is a child of God, but she talks as if she is one. I cannot judge her, but I find it really hard. I don’t know how to respond to her faith, at all. She is old and I cannot be harsh to her, I need to love her and help her understand better, but when I do so, it seems as if she believes we’re on the same team and … I don’t know where’s the balance. I need to be extremely cautious. That’s part of my frustrations for today. If you have any tips for dealing with this situation, please leave a comment or email me gabeleroux@yahoo.ca 

More frustrations: I feel as if the “pre-paper” I wrote for one of my classes, is really weak, poor, diluted, general, vague, without real argumentation (I was never good at that), when it should be clear, precise and with strong ideas. I am a bit discouraged. But I think I’ve done what I could when I consider the time and resources I had. Anyways. Something else that frustrates me is that one of my classes is seriously “du chinois” (“Chinese” to me), I couldn’t do my homework because I don’t get it. This usually never happens to me. And, on top of this, one of the courses I had to take this semester was full so I couldn’t take it (they did not tell me it was so important I take it before 2 weeks after I started). So I might be in trouble, like not being able to do my intership next semester, and if it happens, then the rest of my time at university will be… trouble. Anyways. What I am reminded of though, is that I started this journey with faith, leaving every single detail into God’s hands. I just need to think about my acceptance to Montréal, and my English test! It was really outside my control and I thought it was impossible for me to be accepted. It was. But God had a plan. He still does. I remember that I cannot start to trust my own ideas and abilities. It’s all God’s business. I do my best, He does the rest (sorry for the cliché). So I am encouraged when I think about it again and reaffirm that God is in control, He allows things to happen, or not happen and He’ll do as He pleases and this good, this is perfect.  

Money Money Mamon Manon

Just a little update about our Bank for Native Missionaries we’re at 19.61$ now for this month! Mister D owed me some money and ended up giving me too much (11.36$)… so I told him I’d give him the money back, but Miss C said I should keep it for the Native Missionaries. We all agreed. Have a good day!

Belong

These days I don’t really feel that I belong here. Well I don’t think I could ever feel as if I belonged to Montréal or university, it’s too big for a little town girl like me. But I’m thinking about living with my grandparents. I just feel as if I’m breaking up all their little routines and bring with me things they aren’t familiar with, like Internet and getting home after 9pm. I am always very conscious of people around me, not wanting to interfere in their lives and these last couple of days I’ve been feeling out-of-place, that I don’t belong here. I would probably feel worse for moving out though! Life is okay and it’ll pass anyways. I’m enjoying going to university and being able to interact with new people – people who need Jesus. 

That was a little update on my little simple life. Now I just would like to encourage you with something you’ve heard many times probably. Every good Christian knows that reading the Bible and praying is good. I wanted to be a good Christian, so since a couple of years now I’ve been opening God’s Word pretty much every morning and I’ve been reading and praying. That’s really good. We should all do that.Since I moved to Montréal, I decided I would spend time with God in the same way I used to do it in the beginning of the year 06. Instead of quickly reading two chapters and then pray for two or three people and start my day, (a process that took about 20-25 minutes) instead, I started to “link” my readings with my prayers through “meditating”. I’d read a chapter, notice a thing here and there, open a notebook, start writing down thoughts about the verses I thought interesting, and see if I was finding myself somewhere in these thoughts, if I could apply it to some situations in my life or not. Then I read a second chapter and did the same thing. Sometime I couldn’t come up with anything in one of the two chapters, which was okay. Then I would pray, starting with the very things God had taught me, or showed me through my readings. And then I’d pray for two, three people. Good times. Real good times.

So I started doing that again, it’s been almost three weeks. It’s been really good. I am being taught by God, and I am encouraged everyday. I am always so thankful in prayer for the privilege I have to simply sit down in that little corner of my room, read, think, write, pray, in the Presence of God who cares for me. I am more than blessed.  I’d encourage you to start doing something like that. Taking the time, not only to read and pray. But taking the time to meditate on the Word. Yeah, it means it’ll take more time. Now I use about an hour, but I cannot simply go without it. I am so thankful that God is with me and loves me that it seems foolish not to spend meaningful time with Him. And what’s even better is that I am blessed as I spend time meditating His Word.

My friend, it’s worth it, spend time with Jesus. 

Bank for Native Missionaries: as of September 13, 2006 we’re at 8.25$Please check the “Bank for Native Missionary” side of this blog for more info/challenge about giving to help our brothers and sisters “out there”. Thank you.

Good Times

It’s taking forever to use the Internet so while I’m waiting, I’ll write something. I didn’t know I would need to use the Internet so much for homework and assignments. I’m in the process of changing my Internet server so I can actually do the things I need to do for school. I don’t know if I have anything really interesting to write here nor if there is anything good I’ve been noticing or thinking about these days. I drove two friends to Bible School for the Alumni thing this weekend. I was saddened to see that there were only 2 alumni from my year (and I am in the count!). I guess people are busy and it’s not easy to get a ride to Sherbrooke, I know. Oh well. So right now I’m tired. Driving back to Montreal and then to St-Timothée and then taking the bus and the métro (subway) home. That was tiring. I praise God for my time there though. We got to PdVB on Friday night and left on Sunday. It was neat to see old friends and be encouraged because they’re following Christ and they love Him. That cheers me up. To hear Jon Godfrey speak and challenge us was a blessing too. Just being back on campus was great.

But I left. Again, feeling like I’m leaving behind many blessings. It’s just too bad when you have to leave and people tell you they wished we’d have been able to sit down and chat about real stuff. Man, I so would like to be there again and just live comfortably with Christians 24/7. I know it’s not always comfortable, but you know, those are really the “good old days” when I was at Bible School. I know that the best word to qualify how I feel about leaving and all that would be “poche” (pocket). Frenchies, you all know what I mean. I’m just saying, “it’s boring, too bad” sort of. It’s true, it is “poche”, because I believe that my renewed nature just longs to live forever with my brothers and sisters… but we’re still on earth. It’s not yet the time. Yeah, I know I am a party-pooper. But that’s reality and nobody can deny that. So I go back to my grandparents’ place and go through each single day feeling a bit lonely and missing my true friends, I live with their pictures around me, unanimated smiles on my walls and memories in my head believing that God wants me here for now and not in heaven, enjoying His Presence and my brothers and sisters. “It’ll come” – that’s what He says.

So let us take courage and follow Christ wherever He leads. Let us not consider the sighs and the sorrow we are going through so they bother us in our walk with Jesus. May we be found obedient to Jesus, then we’ll meet again and at last, enjoy –truly enjoy- our God, and our brothers and sisters. Take hold of Christ. “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; the only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are longing for a country of their own. … Instesd they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:16) I hope it could be written something like this first verse on my grave, “Was still living by faith when she died.” I hope we live by faith whatever the cost is.

Bank for Native Missionaries: 0$ as of Septtember 10 2006

Pontius Pilate quoted in my English Academic class?

So I’m done with my first two classes at university. Six hours sitting in a classroom was rather tough, I’m not used to that anymore. Well, I was never used to sit for so long anyways. At the top, it was an hour at school or Bible School, but oh well, I’ll get used to it. For those who wonder how it went, it went very well. Too much new information though. Something interesting happened in my first class, English Academic, Research and Writing it is called. The instructor gave us a piece of paper with several quotes that were about “writing”. He then asked us to write a one-page essay on any one of these quotes. Some quotes were in English and some in French. There was this quote that said, “Ce qui est écrit, est écrit.” (What is written is written), at first I didn’t “click” it simply sounded familiar, then I looked at the author. Pontius Pilate, taken from the Gospel of John, 19:22. I was surprised! I just knew I had to write about this quote, (and verse actually). It was cool because among all the other quotes, it was the only one I actually knew the context, so I wrote about the context: That Pilate had this written notice nailed to Jesus’ cross, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews” or something like that, that many Jews didn’t like it, so they asked Pilate to take it off Jesus’ cross, or actually that I think of it now, to change it. But Pilate answered: “What I have written, I have written.” (John 19:22). And I went on just talking a bit about the quote and what I thought of it and blab la bla. I just thought it was exciting to be able to write something “bible related” for my first essay in that class. I just forgot to end with “Jesus is truly my King” or something like that. I know that that sort of thing probably won’t happen anymore.It’s weird to sit down and learn about things that don’t have to do with God. But I realize that it is good. I just wonder how I can use every opportunity to shine the light of Jesus.  BANK FOR NATIVE MISSIONARIES: 0.00$ as of September 5, 2006.