I didn’t sleep a wink last night. I’m so exhausted.
Today, the second day of the conference, was the day I was supposed to present in the evening. I woke up not feeling well. Actually I have not been well for quite some time. I have been getting sick with one thing or another ever since we returned from the US, about 3 months ago. Now, I am experiencing extreme pain. Ranee Didi even offered to take me to the doctor so I could get medication to control the pain. But, I decided not to go because I needed to prepare for my plenary presentation in the evening (plus, I am scared of doctors ).
In the morning, a Pastor from the UAE did a presentation on going beyond cultural boundaries. He shared about how we do not have to think that the Lord is only going to use us in and amongst our own people. We need to think globally. He talked about Acts 1:8 and how when Jesus said that we need to be his witnesses in “Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth,” this was not just geographical expansion, but also cultural expansion of God’s kingdom. Judea and Samaria were not very far from each other, but culturally, they were miles apart.
In the afternoon, there were some seminars, but I did not attend any of them because I needed to prepare for my talk. My sermon had been written for some time, but I just didn’t feel comfortable with it. At the last minute, I almost changed the entire thing, but decided against it. My topic was “Beyond Fear and Failure,” but as I was preparing to speak, I experienced so much fear of failure. I had to remind myself of the very things I would be teaching that night. I just had to speak what God put on my heart, and Jesus would do the rest
I wore a white salwar kameez. Everyone was so sweet, they gave me so many compliments. Ranee Didi and her husband said the same thing, that I looked like a bride. It is weird how married people think alike I guess you really do begin to think like the person you spend most of your time with, without even realizing it. Thus, if we spend more time with Jesus, we will become more like Him
I was nervous, but a lot of people were praying for me, and the talk went well. Afterwards many people told me that they were blessed by the message I shared on. Praise God!
As we were leaving the sanctuary, we ran into Rabi Maharaj, a man who has written one of the most widest selling Indian-Christian testimony books. He gave me a very high compliment. He said that my speech was perfect in that it had the right amount of personal testimony, scripture, humor, etc. He said he would not change a thing, and in fact the speech should be copied and distributed widely around the world!
After the talk, we spent the evening in the family from the UK’s room. Ranee Didi had each person share one thing that blessed them from my speech. It was interesting to hear how in the same talk, different things touch different people. God speaks to each one of us differently. Aster Didi shared an awesome testimony of how many years ago, she was stricken by some sort of partial paralysis from knee down. The doctors said it was incurable. They said she would have to use a walker for the rest of her life. But, God healed her completely, and today she is walking, running, and dancing!
One guy shared something that surprised me. He said that at the last conference in London, he felt very intimidated by me (little old me…can you imagine?). He said that he felt like I had accomplished so much for the Lord, and he had done so little that he couldn’t even talk to me. But over the past two years, he has been working for the Lord and now he was able to talk to me. He said that it wasn’t that I had done anything to make him feel this way, it was just something from inside of himself. hmm…I really don’t want people to feel that way about me. I pray that I never project a “holier than thou” attitude. But, I am glad that my life was able to challenge him to go out there and accomplish more for God.
By the end of the day I was feeling much better. The pain was less.
Jesus Branded
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