News from Nepal

Last week Sanjay, a student of HBI, and I visited a congregation.  They claim they are members of the Lord’s church.  They are worshipping according to the teachings of the New Testament Christianity as written in the Bible.  But the leaders were baptized some years ago in a denomination called NCF (Nepal Christian Fellowship).  At the moment they are not decided whether they should be baptized again.  However, we taught and preached to them and spent three days and three nights with them.  Eight, including four women and a 52-year old man, were baptized in this trip.

It is one hour away by bus plus six and a half hours on foot climbing up and down mountains.  We had to criss-cross a dangerous river as there are no proper roads.  In the recent month seventeen people, including five women, were swept away by the swift running water and their bodies recovered later.  Last year they say only two people died.  We plan to visit there again when the river water goes down.

Brother Jim Waldron must have told you about my plan to study language in China.  We have applied in Sichuan University in northern part of the mainland.  Remember me in your prayers for the success in church planting.  If you receive this, please acknowledge through Rudra.  Give our regards to the members of the church in Duluth and those who have visited us.

Yours in Christ,
Wungkui Zimik

(This was an email Ernest Burnette received.  Brother Zimik is a member of the church in Narayangarh.)
 
 

Our outline of Psalm 34 will concentrate on the words “We” and “He.”

 I.  We Praise and Exalt (vv. 1-3).
 II.  He Hears and Delivers (vv. 4-7).
 III.  He Blesses and Blesses (vv. 8-10).
 IV.  We Teach and Fear (vv. 11-14).
 V.  He Watches and Acts (vv. 15,16).
 VI.  He Comes and Saves (vv. 17,18).
 VII. He and We Shall Overcome (vv. 19-22).
 
I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.  My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; the humble shall hear of it and be glad.  Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together (vv. 1-3).

At the very beginning of this psalm, David moves quickly from “Me” to “Us.”  He is praising God, and he wants “us” to join in.  His desire is to do this at all times, not unlike our need to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  He, as Paul, would boast “in the Lord”—not in human accomplishments (Galatians 6:14).  He would do this in a way that the humble (other lowly sufferers) would hear and accept the invitation to join in the praise.  His major goal was to magnify Jehovah (1 Corinthians 10:31), for in so doing, He receives what is due to Him, and others are drawn to Him (Matthew 5:13-16).

I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.  They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.  This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.  The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them (vv. 4-7).

Again on a personal level, David claims that the Lord had heard him and delivered him.  Then he affirms that “they” had also been helped for after “they” looked to Him “they” were radiant (brightened) and not ashamed (not disappointed; see 35:4,26).  Who are “they”?  The next verse speaks of the poor man, and the following verse speaks of those who fear Him.  Are you “needy”?  Are you respectful towards Jehovah?  Will you allow yourself to be delivered by Him by meeting whatever terms He has revealed?

The ability that heaven has to deliver is summed up in verse 7:  We are surrounded by the encampment of the Angel of Jehovah!  Of course, this makes them (and us) “more than conquerors” (Romans 8:31-39; see Genesis 32:1ff; Joshua 5:13-15; 2 Kings 6:13-18; Zechariah 9:8).

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!  Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him.  The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing (vv. 8-10).

A song we sing says, “He blesses and blesses again.”  This is the theme in the verses that come before us now.  David wants us to see that the good Lord blesses the trusting man, the fearing saints, and the seeking souls.  All who truly look for Him shall find Him, and all of their needs shall be met.  We are encouraged to “taste...see...trust...fear...seek.”  If we do, we will be “blessed...have no want...not lack any good.”  And in all of this, as He blesses and blesses, He will see to it that the “young lions” (strong beasts of prey) will NOT have their desires satisfied!  Ah, yes!  Let us sing!

Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.  Who is the man who desires life, and loves many days, that he may see good?   Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit.  Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (vv. 11-14).

Others who have outlined this psalm see a transition here: The praises of verses 2-10 become a motivation to teach others about Him.  So let us teach!  And let us begin with the children!  We don’t have to be profound, or detailed, or pushy, or...

Let us be happy, Biblical, sincere, and full of His praises.  Let us impress the children with the Bible, our love of the Bible, and our happy lives in His service!  Let us teach them to:
desire life
love days
keep evil out of our tongues
keep deceit off our lips
depart from evil
BE GOOD
seek and pursue peace.

What a glorious quest: teach the children!

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry.  The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth (vv. 15,16).

That which Jehovah does includes the fact that He sees and acts. The children need to be taught about this, too. He has His eyes of  those who do right and He knows all of their cries for His help.  Do you not see how good it is for people to learn this as early in life as possible?  The Lord delights in seeing us do good things, and He wants us to call upon Him to supply our needs.  So, let us do right, and let us ask Him (Matthew 7:7-11)!  On the other hand, all of us need to know that He does not countenance evil or evildoers.  He will cut them off.  So, even though we must live among them, we do not have to live as they live (Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 3:16,17).

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.   The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit (vv. 17,18).

Something else about the Lord is that He cares and He saves.  He is in a position to hear and recognize the cries of His faithful.  More than that, He can also deliver them from ALL troubles.  Think of these and their deliverances:

Noah, Joseph, Israel, Joshua, Caleb,
Ruth, Naomi, David, Esther, Job, Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Joseph & Mary,
Acquila & Priscilla, Paul, and Jesus.

Has He ever delivered you? If you are righteous (that is, if you keep His commandments; 1 John 2:3-6), then He is constantly delivering you!

Even those who have the most serious problems—problems which lead to a broken heart and a contrite spirit—even they can count on Him to care and save.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.  He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken.  Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.  The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned (vv. 19-22).

Now, in this final point, the “He” and the “We” come together.  “He” Who does all of the rest has given a whole Bible full of assurances that “We” shall overcome—together.

Many afflictions—He delivers.
Many bones—none broken.
Evil, hating slayers—condemned.
My soul—redeemed.
Trust in Him—not condemned.

All of the things and people who have the potential to destroy us will certainly cause us problems during this life.  But we should always look for a God-approved way out of such circumstances (1 Corinthians 10:13).  And if we actually give in and sin, let us take the God-approved way out of sin: Jesus Christ (John 14:6; 1 John 2:1,2).

Have you escaped sin through Him?  Will you obey Jesus’ commands today and be added to His church? Please read and follow the will of God in these verses: Acts 2:22; Acts 16:31; Acts 17:30,31; Acts 8:37; Acts 22:16.

    — Skip Andrews