... the door that will always open.

One of our young people in Canberra wrote to me to share an exhortation. It is a wonderful thought so we will share it with you. Pastor and Sister Downs

Recently in our home, 3 doors have broken. The front screen-door is dangling off its hinges; the sliding door between the lounge room and family room, and the sliding door to my bedroom are not opening properly. It's frustrating!! Why? Because its security and privacy; and it keeps the cold out.

There is one door in my house though that never breaks. It never stops you from entering in. It has warmth and peace inside, and most of all, security! It doesn't slowly disintegrate at the hinges or show any wear and tear. It's the "perfect" door! However, in the past I have piled things in front of it and it wasn't easy accessible and could not function properly in my life. I guess I could call it rubbish or sin. Now I want to throw those things out so NOTHING can hinder me before the Lord. I don't want this door to be "just another door" in my house. I need to enter in daily...

The Lord's word says in Matthew 7:7 ... Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

This is a beautiful promise to my family. I don't want the world opening doors to my kids so I need to lead them by example. I need to look deeply into every aspect of my life. I have to be careful of everything I say and do. I have to make sure the way I talk is as if I was talking for the Lord; how I handle situations as if every situation is directed by Him - and even how I dress - I need to "wear the Lord!" I must always maintain my over-all relationship with the Lord. Sometimes it’s soooooo hard, but I WILL finish this race that the Lord has set before me! I have to hold on to Jesus. So as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! I guess now’s a good time to start by checking that door and clean the mess in front of it...

What gifts should a girl accept from her boyfriend?

Question:

I know some girls whose boyfriends buy them clothes to wear, expensive gifts, and give them money. My mother thinks this is not right. What do you think?

I am with your mother. Self‑respecting girls still do not accept presents of clothing, expensive gifts, or money. Such presents should be returned with a polite note saying in essence, “Thanks, but no thanks!”

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

The principle of a boy and a girl being ‘just friends’ until such time that a proposal for marriage is offered and accepted will always be very wise. Gifts of clothing are far too personal and the affect of receiving an expensive gift or money is far too binding on the emotions and clouds the thinking. It is important for a girl when she’s considering a proposal to marry not to have factors of obligation to cloud her mind. The only important consideration is if it is God’s will and if she loves him enough to commit to sharing the rest of their lives together.

This article was adapted from an article written by D Gray for a magazine.

I Have a Besetting Sin

Question:

Everybody thinks I am a top‑notch Christian. My pastor is always asking me to be more involved in the church. It isn’t that I can’t help; I can. The thing is that I have besetting sin. He doesn’t know it; in fact, nobody knows it. I try and try to overcome the sin, but before I know it, I have failed again. It is not something I can talk about. I feel so guilty and sinful. I do not want to be a hypocrite. What should I do?

Answer:

I am glad you have a tender conscience that will not permit you to keep putting up a big front while all the time you go on sinning. I hope you will always have that kind of conscience.

However, you should not continue on the way you are, sinning and living under condemnation. Your Pastor may think you do not want to advance in the service of the Lord. He may suspect that something is not right in your life, that you are layback or just lazy, or not spiritually minded enough to value the opportunities he gives you. However he may feel about you, he loves you and wants God’s best for you, but you are not honest enough or do not have courage enough to let him know the real reason for your reluctance to be more active in church.

By continuing to hide your sin you are in danger of making it more attractive to you. The more you hide it the stronger it becomes in your life, for you are protecting it by not exposing it. And it will continue to have power over you as long as you protect it.

Proverbs 28:13 tells us, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” This is exactly what you must do: confess and forsake. Forsaking is not nearly so hard once you stop protecting the sin and expose it by confessing it.

Allow me to tell you of the promise to all who are troubled with sin in their lives. 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Cleansing is what you want and need. But you cannot have it without confessing your sin. Confession with sincere repentance should be made to God in prayer. It is important that you acknowledge the sin itself, which is an essential part of repentance. David did (Psalm 51:3), and he was forgiven.

However, your sin is different than a mere slip once or twice. You have referred to your sin as a “a besetting sin”, and you indicate that you have failed more then once, so an added step becomes necessary in order for you to get the victory over sin.

We are earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4:7), and the precious content within us is the Holy Ghost. When you first stumbled and sinned, you rushed to the Lord and He forgave you. You were refilled with the Holy Ghost and received an opportunity to try again. However, instead of overcoming, you repeated the same sin again and again. As it were, a crack developed in the earthen vessel, and now the sin has become a habit in your life. It is as if the Holy Ghost simply drains away through the crack. Merely asking the Lord for forgiveness will not repair the fault.
God instructs: “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).

To repair the crack you should to go your pastor and confess your fault to him asking for his prayer and help. It is a necessity now to destroy the power of this sin in your life. I know you are ashamed, and afraid he will think less of you. Actually, because he is a righteous man he will think more of you for coming. Ask God for courage, because this is the way you will get your deliverance and victory. Expose the thing. Your pastor will honour you for coming clean with him. His “effectual fervent prayer” on your behalf will avail much. The Scripture then says, “that ye may be healed.” The healing is for your soul to be purged from the sin that makes you sick spiritually. However, you can be restored and renewed in God.

If you resolve to depart from iniquity, you will once again “be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21), and not a dishonourable vessel or a cracked vessel!


This article was adapted from an article written by D Gray for a magazine.

Visit to India Report

After leaving Australia on 6th April we travelled to Kolkata via Bangkok arriving in there at around 1.30am on 7th April. By 9am the next morning we were back at Kolkata Airport for the flight to Mizoram with Brother & Sister David Reynolds who had joined us from the USA.

When we arrived at Aizawl Airport we were met by the General Superintendent, Brother Lalrinsanga and other church officials. After a brief welcome ceremony where we were presented with flowers and photographs taken, we proceeded to Aizawl Police HQ to present our permits. After an early dinner with the Executive Board we left for Kolosib arriving at the orphanage around 9pm; all the staff and most of the older children were waiting up for us and we were received with great warmth.

After a very sound sleep and after being roused at sunrise by the 5.30am bell for chapel service we faced a busy day showing Brother and Sister Reynolds around the compound. After that we received a briefing regarding the dedication of the Older Boys’ Quarters and the new extensions to the school to take place the next day. Brother Downs also had meetings with the orphanage Superintendent, Brother Damhuala, and the school Principal, Sister Shanti to receive reports.

The Reynolds were very impressed with the total project and very moved when they saw the Older Boys’ Quarters almost fully completed except for some electrical work and the plumbing. Brother and Sister Reynolds contributed most of the funds for these quarters in memory of Douglas their deceased son. The new building is called the Douglas Reynolds Memorial Building.

We also inspected the new tower built on the side of the orphanage servicing each of the three levels. This tower will replace old facilities to be demolished which are suffering structural decay. The new tower incorporates bathrooms/toilets at each level for children and staff as well as a new laundry and storeroom.

The main wing of the school is also complete. It is four stories and has classrooms capable of accommodating up to 400 students and dormitories for 60-70 boarders.

On Wednesday 9th April 2008 the Dedication of the new facilities took place. A good number of UPC officials were in attendance along with Government officials and officials from other denominations. The Commissioner of the Kolasib District represented the Government of Mizoram.

The dedication of the buildings and the service which followed were a moving experience, especially for Brother and Sister Reynolds. All students from Year 3 up from the school attended the dedication and the service with the orphan children and the boarding students presenting choir items. A local UPC member sang the moving song “I’m nobody’s child” and the orphan children sang the song composed in the early days of the orphanage which expresses how God blessed them with loving carers who provide a home for them.

On Thursday 10th April we were to proceed to Aizawl; however, due to there being a large government conference in the city we had to remain at the orphanage until the Saturday. So that day the Commissioner of the Kolasib area insisted that we visit his office for afternoon tea. We received a very warm welcome and talked about the project and the Pentecost experience. It appeared that he was a member of the Salvation Army. He once again expressed that he thought the UPC project in Kolasib was wonderfully cared for and a great asset to the Kolasib area. He stated he was very impressed with the project and that our regular visits showed how much we cared for what was happening. Whilst in Kolasib town we took time to visit the shops and buy come needed equipment for the orphanage along with sweets and biscuits for the children.

Friday 11th April turned into a rest day and any matters of business that were incomplete were cleared up. We also attended an assembly of all the school children where they entertained us with a number of hymns and choruses in English and Mizo. Sister Downs was also able to initiate a new garden program for the older boys. She had been planning for them to grow vegetables but they showed greater interest in flowers.

Saturday we travelled back to Aizawl spending the night at dinner with a friend who is a member of parliament. On Sunday morning we attended the Annual Conference of the UPC Youth Department where Brother Downs preached to about 5,000 youth. Brother Reynolds preached in the evening. Both the morning message and evening message went very much in hand and after the evening service the youth worshipped the Lord until after midnight.

On Monday morning we travelled to Aizawl airport to leave for Kolkata. At check in time we were still in a traffic jam in Aizawl with a 50 minute journey ahead of us. Fortunately our flight had been delayed one hour. Every visit to India is full of the unexpected along with various anxieties.

Once again we are happy to report that both the orphanage and school projects are progressing very well. All of the sponsors would be very pleased not only to see how their children are fairing but to feel the beautiful atmosphere of love and caring in which they live. All this is happening because a group of wonderful people care enough to make a difference.

The staff of the orphanage and school are to be commended on their dedication to God’s service and the children. We are always moved to hold up these folk in prayer who work so sacrificially. They certainly shine the light of Jesus in a country of such physical and spiritual need.

How Can One Be Blessed by God’s Spirit and Continue to do Worldly Things?

Question: My friend is very worldly minded, goes to clubs, and has a non Christian girlfriend. But he can come to church, close his eyes, raise his hands, talk in tongues, shout, and dance in the aisles. I talked to him about this and he said, “If I get blessed and speak in tongues and dance, then surely that is proof that I am right with God.” This has confused me and I don’t know how to answer him. Is that so?

In a word the answer is NO, he is not right! None of those things prove that anyone is right with God. The idea that if only you can get an individual to dance, or shout, or talk in tongues then everything is all right, only serves to develop hypocrites. Often people are deceived into thinking that if they conform outwardly then that is holy living. Let me explain.

I am all for freedom in worship because it pleases God. However, such liberty is not proof of one’s spirituality, for all of these things can be counterfeited. We are warned in the Bible that there will be hypocrisy in the church in the last days. If someone speaks in tongues and they are not wholly committed to Jesus, doing as the Bible says, then you can be sure no matter how spiritual they seem on the outside, their actions are not inspired by the Holy Spirit.

I am sorry to say this, but your friend has deceived himself. There is only one way for a person to get rid of sin in their life, and that is by confession, repentance and forsaking it. You see, he has convinced himself that he is right with God without repentance, and now he is trying to deceive you by convincing you of the same thing. Study carefully 2 Timothy 3:13, and you will see that unless he repents and straightens up his life very soon, he will go downhill fast. So to hide one’s sin behind some “spiritual” activity is playing the hypocrite. And that is a dangerous game.

The Bible commands in 2 Corinthians 6:14 for us not to be unequally joined with unbelievers. This means that you should only marry believers. By dating this girl this young man is going down a path to marry an unbeliever. On the other hand, if he is dating an ungodly person and does not intend to marry he should seriously question any fleshly motives he may have.

Jesus said in Matthew7:21: “Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.” It’s not what we say but what we do that makes one a disciple; not in the claiming but in the obeying; not in the profession but in the submission of the individual to God and His Word. And that is just where your friend has been deceived. The Bible condemns his ungodly manner of living, yet he does not acknowledge his sin and repent of his misdeeds. God is merciful and longsuffering; however, God does not tolerate sin indefinitely. Let all of us therefore walk in the fear of the Lord. Faithfully warn your friend; if he fails to hear you then you may be able to influence someone else who has not gone too far down that road.

The above has been adapted from an article written for a magazine by David Gray.

Pastor J Downs