Prayer Letter - July 2008

Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men. --Colossians 3:23

So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.--Isaiah 55:11

 "I believe God made me for a purpose--for China. But He also made me fast! And when I run, I feel His pleasure. To give that up would be to hold Him in contempt."  - Eric Liddell, film dialogue, "Chariots of Fire"

One of my enduring movie characters is Eric Liddell from the movie “Chariots of Fire”. Based on the true life story of an Olympic runner who devoted his life to being a missionary in China, the story is powerful in its communication of a man’s understanding of his purpose!

Eric Liddell never saw winning the Olympic medal as the purpose of His life. His purpose, his life service, would be working as a missionary, and ultimately becoming a martyr, for the cause of Christ in China.  But he understood what many of us in the workplace struggle to understand or recall…honoring God is about doing our best in today's work, not waiting for tomorrow's promise.  Being competent in the place God has us right now is how we honor Him.  Whatever we're doing this day – responding to customer calls at a call center, teaching in a school or college, managing a company, working as a banker, serving on the frontlines as a soldier, caring for the family-- now is the moment God calls us to honor Him.

If a first key step in shaping our workplace is forming a bond with our co-workers in the workplace, then the second must surely be competence in the task before us this day.  Developing ourselves into effective and valued workers is a vital building block for influencing our work culture.  God may indeed choose to use someone who is not competent to bring glory to Himself, but more often the most effective impact for Christ comes from Godly workers who seek to do their work responsibly and competently, and to honor the time and resources of their employer.  The examples of Joseph and Daniel constantly challenge me. We often fail in our efforts to honor God precisely because we fail in honoring our employers.

When an employer, coworker or customer trusts our daily efforts, they are more likely to trust our spiritual efforts also. When we are good at what we do, we have earned the right to speak out for Jesus!

Just as we must be competent in the job, though, we must be equally competent in our handling of the Scriptures on the job.  It is essential we find ways to steep ourselves in the truths of the Bible.  Life at work seldom offers us time to stop and find a passage of Scripture that applies to the task before us.  Rather we must work to commit the truths of the Bible to our mind so they are accessible in the heat of workplace moments. Even in the most boring of our quiet times, God is at work making His Word come alive in us. Let us remind ourselves of what Scripture says it can do:  So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.--Isaiah 55:11

We see in these passages that as we read His word-the Bible, He begins to work revealing truth to us. He is also faithful to bring those truths forward as we go about the routine tasks of life. His word will not return empty!  Now our decisions at work can be guided by those truths, and our culture begins to be influenced by them through us.

Eric Liddell won a gold medal in the Olympics, then slipped into the tiny villages of China to serve Christ daily there.  "He made me fast!" was but a scene in his life, and he played his role well in many other unseen scenes.  He didn't wait to reach China to serve God, but served Him in the circumstance, and with the skills, God gave Him each moment.

We must not think God an easy task master.  He desires nothing but our best! This call for “our best”, for unrestrained stewardship of His Kingdom assets, for sacrificial service to the people we meet each day, may rest heavy on our shoulders as we face the place where He's sent us to serve Him, but it is most assuredly the only path of true satisfaction for the “workplace missionary”

Most of the battles for the souls of those around us are not waged inside the walls of the church, but rather on the holy ground of the office room or work station, and the sacred altar of the home.  Though the church must surely equip us, restore us and strengthen us, it serves most nobly when it is a launching pad for the testimony of Jesus Christ to the people in the places God sends us outside its walls.

We have the privilege of running the same race Eric Liddell ran; to take the baton and carry it into the corners of the culture we inhabit. Someone once said the world has yet to see the impact one life can have if it's totally surrendered to Christ. 

Surely, Eric Liddell was close. It's our turn now.

• The AGM and elections of New Delhi Alumni Association held dated 14th Jun’08.
• Ministry openings in Gurgaon and Dwarka in New Delhi and Jalandhar, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Gurdaspur and Patiala in Punjab.
• The Alumni Meet held at Chennai dated 28th Jun’08 at St. Andrews Kirk Parish Hall with an attendance of 55 Alumni, chaired by Mr. Rajkumar Ramchandran, National Executive Committee member of Haggai Institute.
• The successful ministry visit by Executive Director, Mr. Paul Balasundaram, to Tamilnadu dated 16th to 22nd June along with Area Manager, Mr. J. S. Anbu to meet key Alumni & potential participants for National & Special Leadership Seminars.
• The new LCD Projector gifted to Haggai Institute Ministry for ministry purposes in the State of Maharashtra.
• The revival of Nasik and Buldhana Alumni Associations.
• The successful meeting which led to a breakthrough with the leaders of the TLM where a decision was taken at a National level to conduct Haggai Institute Seminars at all TLM centers.
• The breakthrough received into the Orthodox Church in Central Region through the    Bishop Geevarghese Mar Coorilos.
• The first ever seminar finalized at Bhilai with the Christian Community Church which is one of the biggest Churches in Chhattisgarh.
• The Alumni Meeting held at Cuddapah on 2nd Jun’08 with an attendance of 23 Alumni through which a seminar has been planned at Proddutur.
• Ministry openings in Rayalseema, AP Region.
• The seminars conducted in the month of June: NE Region: ETC, Jorhat (SS); AP Region: Hyderabad.

Please Pray For:

• Forthcoming North India Regional Council Meet scheduled 31st Aug’08 at New Delhi.
• New Coordinators to be appointed for Rajasthan, Punjab & Uttaranchal in Northern Region.
• The forthcoming Ludhiana AA meet scheduled on 2nd Sep’08.
• Forthcoming Faculty Initiation Seminar, a joint venture of Northern and Central Regions on   3rd & 4th Oct’08 at New Delhi.
• Jaipur International Alumni Get-together scheduled 19th July’08.
• Mrs. Usha Abraham, wife of Mr. Thomas Abraham, Regional Director-South who recently underwent a kidney biopsy.
• One day promotional seminar scheduled 6th Aug’08 at Jalna, Maharashtra.
• The first Central Region International Alumni Get together scheduled to be held at Bilaspur dated 13th Nov’08.
• Mr. Donald Pant, Regional Director-Central’s ministry trip to Ratlam, Bhopal & Indore and also for his meeting with Mr. Thomas Zechariah in New Delhi to finalize the dates of the State Seminar and Special Leadership Seminar for the TLM leaders.
• Mr. Donald Pant who was recently hospitalized and is suffering from high blood sugar.
• The Anchor Person Training scheduled at Visakhapatnam dated 10th & 11th Jul’08.
• The Annual General Meeting of Vijayawada Alumni Association scheduled dated 15th Jul ’08.
• Haggai Institute National Executive Committee Meeting scheduled 2nd Aug’08 at Chennai.
• Alumni Get-together scheduled for Chennai Alumni on 2nd evening of Aug’08.
• The bereaved family of Mr. Bijoy Sangma whose Sister-in-law Mrs. Cynthia passed away last week.
• Lt. Col. Monteiro, Society Member and family as they shift their factory to another place, for all the Government formalities including clearance from pollution department.
• The members of the Regional Councils – North, South, East & NE Regions.
• Suitable candidate for the post of Regional Director for Western Region.
• The upcoming State Level Seminars in 2008-09: Lonavala 22 – 26 Jul, New Delhi 24 – 28 Jul, Hubli 11 – 15 Aug, Chikhali 25 – 29 Aug, Belgaum 3 – 7 Sep, Lonavala 15 – 19 Sep, Nasik   23 – 27 Sep, Coimbatore 7 – 11 Oct, Panchgani 27 – 31 Oct, Chandrapur 10 – 14 Nov, Hyderabad 11 – 15 Jan 2009.

NS – National Seminar, SLS – Special Leadership Seminar, SLSD– SLS for Doctors, In-house - seminar fee is not disclosed as it is a sponsored seminar.

Please Note: We seek your prayer support for all these National Level seminars coming up. We also solicit your assistance in the recruitment of suitable candidates for these seminars. For more information regarding these seminars please feel free to call us at 040 27131209, 27141221 & 32928823 or email at hiindia@haggai-india.com also browse our website: www.haggai-india.com

May God continue to bless you and use you as a channel of blessing to others around you.

Note: Please be informed that you can now deposit your donation Cheques directly with our account # 1262560000416 with HDFC Bank, Sainikpuri Branch, Hyderabad 500 062. Please do intimate our office the deposit details indicating your name, the amount and the date of deposit.

Yours in Him,
Paul Balasundaram