Marbaniang, Domenic

For about 40 years now, Zac Poonen has ministered to the Church in India and worldwide through the ministry of teaching by voice and by letter. In an age when commercialization of ministry is on rise and the hype culture seems to consume the meaning of Christian virtues, Zac stands for integrity and sincerity to the Word of Truth. The story of his walk with Christ is recorded in his book The Day of Small Beginnings  (2007).  Zac follows the Lord in the holiness tradition and had close connections with Hebron and with Brother Bakht  Singh, who also performed Zac's wedding with Annie. Zac is honest about his experiences with God. In chapter 21 of The Day of Small Beginnings, he makes some daring confessions: The period from mid 1971 to end 1974 (when I was 31 to 35 years old) was the period during which my fame grew rapidly in my public ministry. It was also the period during which I backslid the most in my personal life. Popularity and backsliding go together in the lives ...

This young man was a ferocious drunkard and a violent police officer in Punjab. But, his life didn't just get better. Karamchand Hans became one of the most influential evangelists and Christian leaders in Punjab. He spearheaded a powerful indigenous church movement that proclaimed faith as the foundation of ministry, forbade salaries, and saw great signs and wonders following their ministry as thousands thronged into the Kingdom of God; all because one woman prayed for her son to be saved. Over four decades ago, Karamchand's mother came to Christ through a miraculous healing of her daughter. Her conversion was repulsive to Karamchand. He warned her not to allow the Western missionaries and began to become violently aggressive. But, his mother prayed. One day, this mother's piety became too unbearable for the young man. He punched her, pushed a cot over her, and began hitting her aggressively. All the time, the mother prayed and loved him. He left her saying he would never ...

"My desire is to be an exhibition of His power, an extension of His life, and an expression of His love," says Dr. Matthew K. Thomas. Presently, the President of Central India Theological Seminary, the Chairman of the Fellowship of Pentecostal Churches in India, and Secretary of Pentecostal World Fellowship, he looks back at his younger days and remembers the toils through which his family had been. "We sat on the ground in school and wrote with barru ," he says to the younger generation. "My dad didn't have a few paise to buy me a ticket to Hoshangabad, so we bi-cycled to the place.... We patched our torn trousers and wore it to school....." His father, the late Dr. Kurien Thomas, had this humble confession about the birth of Matthew: On the 2nd of November, 1948, our second son was born. He was delivered in the house attended by a village midwife. One of the believers, a sister, was also present. She told me that according to the custom of the place,...

The Bible calls us to Christ-likeness (Gal. 4:19) 1. Being Christ-like in Attitude (Phil.2:5-8) 2. Being Christ-like in Serving Each Other (Jn.13:3-5, 13-15) 3. Being Christ-like in Forgiving Each Other (Eph.4: 31,32; 5:1,2) 4. Being Christ-like in Suffering Injustice (1Pet.2:19-23) 5. Being Christ-like in Prayer (Heb.5:7) 6. Being Christ-like in Pressing Forward (Heb.12:1-4) 7. Being Christ-like in Death (Phil.3:10) 8. Becoming Christ-like at His Coming (1Jn.3:2,3)

From the book Principles of Serving God (1999) 1. Never make your financial needs known to anyone but God (Phil.4:19). 2. Never accept money from unbelievers (3Jn. 7). 3. Never expect any gifts from anyone (Ps.62:5). 4. Never allow anyone to control you or influence your ministry by giving you money. 5. Never accept money from those who don't receive your ministry. 6. Never accept money for your personal or family needs from anyone poorer than you. 7. Never be dependent on any man for your financial needs. 8. Never handle God's money in a way that would cause others to suspect mishandling (2Cor.8:20,21). 9. Never be excited when you receive money. 10. Never be depressed when you lose money.

Desire wisdom above wealth or pleasure (Prov.8:10-11; 16:16) Be humble. Wisdom dwells with the meek and lowly (Prov.11:2; James 3:13; Prov.15:33; 22:4) Ask God for wisdom (James 1:5; 1Kgs.3:9-14; Prov.2:6) Fear (Honor) God and depart from evil, it’s the first step to wisdom (Prov.1:7; 8:13) Study the Scriptures (2Tim.3:15; Col.3:16) Obey His commandments, practice what the Bible says; it opens our understanding (Deut.4:5,6; Psa.111:10; Heb.5:12-14; John 7:17) Be willing to actively practice wisdom and apply it to life situations, trusting in the circumstantial guidance of God (Prov.32:8-9; Matt.7:24; Eph.5:15) Study God’s wisdom in His creation (Psa.19:1-2; Rom.1:20; 8:1-9) Receive wisdom from God’s creatures; we can learn even from a tiny ant (Prov.6:6-8; 1Kgs.4:33) Walk (Associate) with the wise (Prov.13:20). Bad friendships can damage thinking and behavior ((Prov.1:10; 1Cor.15:33) Listen to instruction and correction (Prov.8:33; 9:9; 13:1; Eccl.7:5) Commune with God in the innermost...

Simplified from the Works of James Arminius, Vol.2, Disputation 8: On the Perspicuity of Scriptures The Bible has the quality of letting its thought be clearly understood through its words to all who are ministered to according to the good providence of God. This quality of the Bible is called the perspicuity of Scriptures. The Bible has this quality because God, the source of Scriptures is both wise and good and has not failed to clearly and perfectly communicate His thoughts. Also, the ones for whom the Scriptures are given cannot be saved without the knowledge of what God has revealed in the Bible. Of course, this doesn't mean that everything in the Bible is equally clear to all persons alike; but, there are a few things, as for example in the epistles of Paul, that "are hard to be understood" and "the gospel is hid, or concealed, to them who are lost, in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe." But those senses or meanin...